The New Wires of Christmas Future

What’s on your Christmas list? Are you hoping for a new TV to put in your entertainment center or home theater? Or how about a new game console? Maybe you’re dreaming of a new computer, tablet, or phone. No matter what kind of electronic device you have on your Christmas list, it will lead to one thing: more wire mess. But, how do you tame the mess that comes with all of those new cables, wires, and cords?One of the places in your home where you’ll find the biggest cord messes is in and around your home theater or entertainment center. With TVs, DVD and Blu-Ray players, game consoles, and a whole slew of other electronic devices involved, it’s not surprising. The next most common culprit is your computer desk, especially if you have a desktop computer. No matter where your wire mess is, we hope that these 4 simple tips will help you organize not only the new wires of Christmas future but also the cables of Christmases past.

Sort the Mess

If you’re organizing an existing wire mess (or adding to it with a new device), the first thing you’ll want to do is untangle your cords and get them sorted out. Unplug all of the devices from the power source and from each other, then untangle them and sort them by device.

Label Your Cords

While it won’t hide your cords or keep them from tangling, your next step should be to label your cords. This can be done by using pre-printed labels or tabs, a label maker, or whatever you have around the house. For example, masking tape doubled over a cord can be written on to designate what the cord is for. It doesn’t matter how you label them; what matters is being able to tell at a glance which cable is for what device. Generally speaking, you’ll want to label the end that plugs into an outlet or another device. This can also be very useful for the huge collection of power charges you’ve collected over the years for phones, mp3 players, tablets, and other devices.

Bundle Your Cords

Once you’ve sorted and labeled all of the cords in your wire mess, you may want to bundle cables that are going to the same areas. As an example, you may want to bundle the power cords of your TV, DVD player, and cable box together so that they aren’t moving around and getting tangled with each other. You can do this with reusable cable ties or in a number of other ways. However, you’ll want to make sure that your bundle solution allows you to easily separate them if needed.

Hide Your Cords

At this point, you may choose to hide your cables and cords from sight in order to have a cleaner area that is less prone to tangling. While this can be done with different types of tape, that doesn’t necessarily look any better than the loose cords, and it doesn’t offer any protection to your cords either. If you want your cables to be properly hidden and protected, you’ll want to look into a cord channel for use along walls and/or a cord protector & concealer for use on the floor.

Cable management might take a little time and effort, but it’s worth it. If you’re interested in any of UT Wire’s products for wire mess organization, you should check into where to buy them.