Cable Managment

USB, Power, FireWire....There are many types of cables out in the world that do many different things. Bring things to life, carry data, output sound. But the more cable you get the harder it is to keep track of them. They start showing up in different locations around your room or home office. Here are my top five tips for cable management

• Keep one draw or box for all of your cables. This may be hard but when you go looking for that special usb cable for your iPod it cuts down the look time drastically.
  
• LABEL, LABEL, LABEL...after a while you might get two or three black power cords that have different ends but say the same thing or nothing on the adapter. Use a silver sharpie (4 for $5.19 at staples) or buy a pack of file folder labels and write on them in PEN. Nothing's worse than having the lettering fade of a label in a draw full of identical cables
• When storing fold them up and put a rubber band around them...It makes it easy to store in a draw and if you have them on a desk it keeps the desk clean.
• Put heavily used USB cables into the plugs in the back of the computer...this makes it easier to connect those "quick use" cables in the front.
• If you don't have USB connections on the front of the computer or have more usb cords than your computer has connections...buy a USB hub (Chris Pirillo reviewed one here). It makes access to ports better and you can put it right under your screen. When buying a hub always thing about future expansion.
• BONUS!!! Try and keep cords going to the same area rubber banded or twisty tied together. This makes it easier to control the mess of cords behind the computer and makes it look more sightly if your computer isn't in a case.

I hope these help you clear up the clutter on your desk and by your computer.

Chris Pirillo's video of my top 5 list.


--Jerry Smith