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Ask HN: How do you deal with all the cables at home?

2 points by DirectorKrennic ↗ HN
There are a few spots in my home where multiple cables are enmeshed with one another. Just behind my WFH desk, there is a laptop charger, two power cables for the dual monitors, and another cable for a desk lamp, plus a few USB cables for the keyboard and other accessories. And behind my gaming area are a few more cables. These areas aren't easy to clean.

How do you deal with all the cables in your home? Any creative solutions?

2 comments

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marssaxman
I coil them up, using a pair of zipties or velcro strips, to keep them as short as possible, and I never let them dangle on the floor. I have zip-tied a power strip to the metal crossbar connecting the two back legs of my desk so that power cords dropping down the back of the desk need not touch the floor at all.
simonblack
Hide/replace them. Replace a CAT cable with ethernet-over-powerlines or WiFi.

Replace multiple cables with single cables - Use a single power cable and then distribute the power with a one or more power-boards close to where that power is needed. Use power wall-warts with multiple outlets rather than have a multitude of wall-warts each with just one USB outlet.

Speaking of USB power packs, install power outlets that have several USB power outlets included. I have envisaged having a very-high-current 5-volt power supply with as many as a dozen USB power outlets built in.

If you can't do that, make the cables as short as possible.

If you can't do that, coil and tape/cable-tie/(string, even) those coils so they don't un-coil themselves. Then hide those coils as much as possible, under desks, behind bookshelves, whatever.