Start going around your home and open a few random drawers and cabinets. In how many did you find cables?
Now, divide the number of the drawers with the cables by the total number of drawers in your home, multiply this number by 100, and you have the percentage of drawers filled with cables.
While there’s no official statistic on this matter, in many people’s personal experience, cables are one of the most common items that cause clutter in your home. In other words, when the time comes for spring cleaning, what to do with all these cables becomes a major concern. So you need to deal with the cables before you start letting the air in and look for high-pressure surface cleaning services.
To help you with this, here are some tips on knowing which cables to keep and which to throw away. Also, we’ll add a few extra tips on better organizing those cables you decide to keep.
Cables to throw
Generally speaking, damaged and not usable cables are always safe to throw away. However, there are some cables that you might want to throw away to declutter, regardless if they’re damaged or not. For instance:
- USB cables: These cables are a significant source of clutter, seeing how you get an additional USB cable every time you buy a device. Remember that you don’t have just outright to throw them away. You can put them all in one pile and count them. When you complete your audit and see that you have nine more cables than devices, you’ll see how futile it is to keep them around.
- HDMI cables: Most things we said about the USB cables apply here, too. It’s highly unlikely (almost impossible) to buy a device that uses HDMI and not get an extra HDMI cable. It’s fine to keep one (or even two) additional cables “as a spare,” but you definitely don’t need an extra six.
- Power cables: The same as with the previous two. You’ll get a power cable whenever you buy a new computer, laptop, modem, or TV. A spare is fine, but keeping a full drawer or cabinet is overkill.
- Ethernet cables: Besides being incredibly cheap and easy to get, you probably have an extra ethernet cable or two.
Lastly, when removing these cables, you can always do several things to make everything right. First, ask people you know if they need any of these cables. Chances are they won’t need them since, like you, they probably have more than they need.
You can also donate them or take them to an electronics recycling center.
Cables to keep
This point is a bit complex to answer since it’s, for the most part, situational. Namely, you won’t throw out the cables you use. Also, depending on your existing infotainment system, you might want to keep an extra cable or two for some devices. For instance:
- Charging cables: Regarding chargers, you might want to keep different types. You don’t have to have 10 of each, but you probably know how Android made several switches for chargers. You had mini-USB, micro-USB, USB-C, etc. Even if you don’t use some of these, you might want to keep an extra cable around. You never know when a guest or a visitor might need them. It’s just always nice to have options.
- Coaxial cable: Keeping a coaxial cable is always a great idea since these cables are versatile. They’re used for speakers, the internet, or television, which you will likely have in your household. Even when you change your devices, coaxial cables are worth keeping around.
- Adapters and converters: Without the right cable, the only way to use some devices is with the help of an adapter or a converter. Imagine you want to hook a second monitor to your computer, only to find that your GPU doesn’t have a VGA entrance. If you have a VGA to HDMI adapter, it’s really not a big deal. Otherwise, it could be a problem.
The last thing you must remember is that the number of cables makes all the difference. You want to keep some cables but don’t need 20 duplicates. So, like with our previous category, the smartest thing to do is to audit your cables and see what you can afford to get rid of.
How to organize your cables?
Keeping or hoarding cables would never be an issue if you had unlimited space. Now, this is impossible, but we just wanted to illustrate that the shortage of space, not the abundance of cables, is the real problem. So, how do you organize your cables so they don’t cause a mess or clutter your space? Here are a few tips you could use.
- Organize your cable drawer: The cables you already use will not be the issue. So, your biggest issue is with spare cables. In most scenarios, they’ll go into a drawer, but you might want to use some cable organizers to avoid getting entangled. Clips, sleeves, and velcro straps can be used even for not attached cables. Also, making some drawer dividers will allow you to get the most value out of your space.
- Use and label boxes: So, what if you really do have too many cables of each type? You could group them by boxes, label them, and place them in storage. Boxes come in different shapes and sizes, allowing you to exercise your space-management abilities.
The key thing to remember is that keeping the cable has a purpose. You fear you might damage or lose your cables and want a spare. However, this won’t be effective if you don’t organize it properly. With the above-listed two tips, you can easily do just that.
Wrap up
Identifying cables you need and telling them apart from those you don’t is a more useful trick than you think.
While the world is rapidly becoming increasingly wireless, the number of cables per household doesn’t seem to decrease. This is why mastering the art of cable decluttering might be incredibly important for any homeowner. With the right cable decluttering and cable management techniques, you’ll never have an issue tidying your drawers (and home) again.
