The Cord Wrangler

They call me...the Cord Wrangler.

I'll say it once and I'll say it again. I'll shout it from the top of the mountains:

I! Hate! Cords! Die, cords, die!

With our ever-growing dependence on technology, our house is slowly becoming a rat's nest of wires and cables from our multiple computers, laptops, monitors, hard drives, routers, speakers, and the like. So messy. So ugly. So... cordy.

I was reminded of this when we moved. Behind our TV was a huge tangle of cords, cables, AC adaptors, and plugs leading to who knows where. My OCD was triggering.

In an effort to make the home theater look cleaner, we'd already upgraded to a media console with closed doors (had to install an infrared remote to get the remote to be able to work through the doors). But man, just LOOK at the hellish landscape of wires beneath the thing!

 

In an attempt to remedy this...er, situation, I bought me a swiveling surge protector on the advice of my dear technologically inclined friend, and some 3M Command Strips, which I've decided are the spice of life. Isn't that how the saying goes? Command Strips are the spice of life? Seriously, these things can do EVERYTHING. Organize boots. Hang curtain rods. Show art. Did I mention rid your life from the rat's nest of cords that are plaguing you every time you look at your television?

I hired a professional electrician to mount the TV on the wall and hide the cords behind the drywall. Then I promptly let all those other organizational tools sit on top of the media console for another 2 months, further exacerbating my problem.

Finally, today I broke down and did it. I cracked it like a mathematical proof, piece by piece. I'm Beautiful Minded this dilemma!

First I unplugged everything and labelled the cords with washi tape and a Sharpie - yep, all 12 of them. That way, when deciding what to unplug, I'm not randomly pulling power from, say, the Wifi in the middle of a live stream about Star Wars. Just for example.



Then using the sticky strips from Command Hooks...

...I attached the surge protector to the back of the console. (Forgot to take a pic, whoops.) Then, using zip ties, I wrangled each cord so it was the minimum length needed to reach the plugs to prevent confusing tangles. Lastly, I stuck more command hooks to the back of the console and used them to hook any loose wires or wrangled cables together so it would be tidier. Phew!

I'll be honest, it ain't pretty to look at from the back...



... but it's a party in the front.



Here it is again! I hate to see you go...

...but I love to say hello.


Next up, I've got to wall mount that sound bar and hide the wire behind the dry wall (the single cord is killing me!) and figure out a solution for the fugly router and the bass amplifier. If anybody has any ideas for pretty-making that won't compromise sound and/or wifi access, let me know! And yes, I know it probably involves getting rid of that damn tattered cat scratcher.

Til then, death to cords!