So this is pretty simple. I needed 2 things in my life: 1. A place to hang my keys so I don't lose them and 2. A visual pun to show off how incredibly smart I am. Sometimes it's the little things that really impress people. The best news is that my fiance did not leave me. Even after I refused to tell her what I was doing and only figured it out once I started hanging keys on it. Yes, I had to say the mandatory:

"Get it? its a Key-Board - you know, for your keys but it's made out of a keyboard so its funny."

As her eyes rolled back far enough to see her brain.

"YES I GET IT, I'M NOT AN IDIOT!"

We are so in love!

She is willing to take on a widower with 5 kids so maybe a few dad jokes shouldn't be too surprising.

I am use to keeping my keys in my pocket but sharing cars and things with someone else has been a struggle. I arrive to work and realize that the van keys are in my pocket. My fiance is going to need those to take the kids to school. Should I make more keys? That sounds like too much work!

Step 1: Gather Materials

This is simple enough that most wouldn't need instructions to make, or indeed to improve.

Items:

Used keyboard Most of us will have one sitting around somewhere. The keyboard is more than a century old so finding a used one should be pretty easy.

Cup hooks I bought a box of 8 at Walmart for less than $3. That's right, I went to the store for this epic project.

Command strips Ironically this was the most expensive item. I had some left over from another project. You could use screws to attach the keyboard to the wall but I am renting so I decided against that.

Tools:

Marker I used a Sharpe. Just to mark the holes.

Drill I pre-drilled the holes for the cup hooks.

Razor blade To cut off the cord, if you have a corded keyboard.

Step 2: Cut the Cord and Drill the Holes

Seriously are you still reading this? It is a very simple project. You are smart. I don't have any secrets left but I will keep going with the instructions just for the fun of it. I won't feel bad if you just want to look at the pictures.

The first thing I did was cut the Ps/2 cord off. It's 2019, that cord had to go no matter what.

Next I measured the keyboard and decided to drill holes every 2 inches. That way I had enough holes for each of my cup hooks. The keyboard was 18 inches wide so dividing by 2 I came up with 9. But I only have 8 hooks. I really thought this through. It was suppose to be a simple project and I didn't notice my mistake until I put all the hooks in the holes and still had one sad hole left without a hook.

Then I drilled the holes. I don't remember what size bit I used. I think it was 1/16th. I noticed as I drilled that I didn't hit the circuit board so if I hadn't cut the cord off, this keyboard would still work.

Finally I added the cup hooks. I tightened them by hand, like a brute, but it was pretty quick and enough manual labor for one day. Oh man, I still have to mount it on the wall. So much work.

Mounting it on the wall. I added the command strips to the back of the keyboard and then attached the twin of each pair directly to the ones I just mounted, but these were attached to the Velcro side and so once the protective backing was peeled off I could stick it to the wall and my work was done. No I didn't use a level.

This is the part where my fiance realized why I was putting hooks on a keyboard (It seemed like a pretty bad way to go about cable management). This is also where the eye rolling started.

Step 3: Stand Back and Admire

I hung my keys and now I am the proud owner of a great visual pun. I have had fun showing off and over explaining to everyone who has come to my house. No one has enjoyed it so far. It's the best.

Now you can annoy your friends too. For extra points you can pull off the Esc key and then go on about how there is no escape. I have 5 kids and they 'love' all my dad jokes. You can always write the word 'everything' on a piece of paper and put it under the Ctrl key. Get it? Everything is under control. There are a million keyboard jokes. The fun never ends (or really begins according to some).

I thought about making a faux keyboard for this project. I would get a board that was about the right length and paint all the necessary keys...Nope! Too much work. Plus there are far too many unused keyboards in the world for that to really be practical. I cut the cord off and so now it is no longer a real keyboard.