Today’s topic is neither sexy nor glamorous (but you know that the rest of organizing is!), yet it is something that I think most of us struggle with in our homes: our tangled mess of wires and cords hanging behind our appliances. How best to organize them? Here is a round-up of some great ideas from around the web:






Mary Jo, this is JUST the page I’ve been looking for! I’ve ruined cords by running over them with my secretary chair, and have wished so many times for a way to make them stay against the wall. Rolling them up is such a neat idea. I have a hint, too. Our office buys toilet paper by the huge box, and the cores are very thick and solid. A great place to store an unused cord, and you can write what the cord is for on the core.
Love your idea! The best ideas are the ones that are easy, inexpensive and effective, and yours is all three!
I have a suitacase full of odd cords, most of them do not say what they are for. How do I find that out?
Hi Laurel, I encounter this situation EVERY time I work with someone who works in high-tech! Often, even those who work in high-tech can’t even remember what all of the cords are for. We can usually identify the ones that go to our current digital devices (phones, cameras, iPods). We usually end up discarding most of the rest with the understanding that if you don’t even know what it is for, how will you know when to use it? And if you have gone this long without using it, then you probably will not use it in the future. So my advice? Toss (or donate or recycle) most of them. Hope that helps.