Question of the Day, Sunday, September 6, 2015

yesterday, i set up my new computer system. it's not 'up and running' at the moment, as there seems to be a problem with the brand spanking new cpu.   that will be resolved coming up, i'm told that a(nother) new cpu is what i'll get -- because a brand new cpu shouldn't have need of any repairs right out of the box. anyhoo.........i'm choosing not to focus on that disappointment today. 

some things i did do to set up this computer system are:  put up a shelf specifically to hold my router, phone modem, and the three power strips;  and, organize all the various computer cords/cables and label them near their plugs (using file folder labels, folded over the cords). my goal being easy access to them, and ease in locating particular plugs/cords.

i also have a few cord concealers here, and am planning on ordering a 'wire loom' (kind of tube, through which cords and cables can be inserted in order to organize them or keep them out of sight -- or out of reach of kitties who like to chew on cords  ).

so with these things on my mind, for today's Question of the Day.........

Let's talk about cords and cables, and how we deal with keeping them 'at bay' --

How do you organize cords/cables for your electronics (ie, tv, stereo, computer, dvd player, ereader, other electronic devices, cell phone, lamps, etc)?

Do you have any 'cord chewers' or kitty that likes to play with cords/cables?

i'll start!

i like my cords and cables well under control. i definitely don't like the look of cords dangling from wall mounted things (like my tv and roku), or from the computer components on my desk. and i prefer to prevent the trip hazard with cords on the floor if they're not properly concealed. i'm also taking a proactive approach to making it easier to locate particular cords when needed amongst the mass of cords/cables behind my computer desk, which tend to get very intertwined/tangled.

i use various types of cord concealers/organizers for my cords and cables. i use this kind for cords than need dealing with on the walls -- . i'm using this cord concealer on my floor, to keep my cpu cords from being tripped over -- . and of course the wire loom i mentioned earlier -- . this one is 10 feet long, so i'll cut a 6 ft length of it for use with three thicker cords (bundled together in the wire loom), then cut the remaining 4 ft into two pieces that will house some other short lengths of cables/cords related to my tv system set up.

my snick never chewed on cords, and neither does our jaspurr. when snick was much younger, she did 'strike' at cords sometimes though. i always believed she thought the cords could possibly be snakes, and would strike at them to make sure they wouldn't move -- like a live snake would when being struck. snick still looks at cords sometimes, i think considering if they could be snakes.

okay, now it's your turn!

All my cords are in the back of the computer against the wall, if you look behind the computer they are in plain sight but you don't see them instantly.

I do like your idea of putting labeled folders on each cord to show just what they are, a very good idea. 

As far as other cords in the house, I really have no problem with them showing and I have no cord chewer, thank goodness

Hope you get your cpu going and have no other problems.

LaRussa said:

 
All my cords are in the back of the computer against the wall, if you look behind the computer they are in plain sight but you don't see them instantly.

I do like your idea of putting labeled folders on each cord to show just what they are, a very good idea. 

As far as other cords in the house, I really have no problem with them showing and I have no cord chewer, thank goodness

Hope you get your cpu going and have no other problems.

Click to expand...

thank you! i have way too many computer and streaming device/tv cords to be able to keep track of what cord goes to what, so the labels make things much easier for me. of course, it took me quite a while to get the cords/cables untangled and figure out what went to what last night.

my next step will be to rule out a faulty hdmi cable. i have a dvd player that uses a(nother) hdmi cable to connect it to my tv, so i'll unplug this cable and try the new hdmi cable instead. if the new hdmi cable doesn't work with the dvd player, it's reasonable to assume the cable is faulty. i'll try this tomorrow morning, and see what happens.

mickNsnicks2mom said:

 i'll try this tomorrow morning, and see what happens.

Click to expand...

Hope you find it easily, good luck.

We (thankfully) don't have any cord chewers, so I go with the 'chuck them all behind the TV and hope to never see them again' approach. And it is a pain when something needs switched out. You'd think I'd have enough sense to organize them by now.

I have gone through a lot of iPad chargers and cables, so I am now super careful with those. After charging on a table, the white plug and cord get neatly stowed in a special bag. I used to charge at night while I was reading and fall asleep on the cord. Bad idea. But, I've gone through so many of the plug attachments, I've wondered if they are made to break. I mean, if you never have to buy one again, how is Apple going to keep making money off of you?

LaRussa said:

 
Hope you find it easily, good luck.

Click to expand...

thank you!

The various cables to my desktop computer and router, etc are tucked into a Cable Zipper.

Leroy used to chew on cords as a kitten but stopped when I adopted a cat for him to play with. He leaves cords alone now, although he did chew on the charger for my work laptop the other day

I need something as the cables and cords are out of control at my desk.

It may look relatively neat, but it is not.


The top of the desk has a hole behind the monitor and the monitor cable, speaker cables, and printer cable go down into the top of the desk


Then they all come down and go into another hole at the inside of the desk to get to the computer


With the door open, everything is a mess and I don't know how to get it all under control. The CPU  has its own place; to the right of the CPU is the subwoofer, the modem, the router, and the external hard drive that I use for back-ups.


I usually just keep the door shut, but you still see all the cords and plugs. It's a mess. I need to get something to get everything under some semblance of control.


When Ms. Pepe was a kitten, she was an avid cord chewer (and plastic licker). She actually chewed the mouse cord to my computer completely through and, of course, when I bought a new mouse, I had to tell the clerk at the store that my cat "ate" my mouse.   Way back then, we didn't have a digital camera, nor did we have cell phones, so our pictures were taken with a regular camera and we took them in to be developed. If we didn't put them away, Pepe would lick the pictures....some of our pictures are destroyed because we didn't put them away; we left them on the kitchen table and she licked and licked away at them. Thankfully she grew out of that habit. None of our other kids chewed on cords, thank goodness.

Winchester said:

 
I usually just keep the door shut, but you still see all the cords and plugs. It's a mess. I need to get something to get everything under some semblance of control.

Click to expand...

Have you tried velcro or twist ties to keep the cords somewhat organized? Command cord clips (three sizes) work well to keep cables to more lor less lie flat on a surface so they're not in the way. There's also the large cord bundler.

Something like this might work next to the CPU: http://www.containerstore.com/s/office/cord-control/cablebox/12d?productId=10028020 You put your power strip inside  the box and all the various computer cords go in through one end and it can be a jumbled mess inside the box but you won't see it. The Container Store has a lot of other solutions to manage cables and cords. You can find similar solutions on Amazon.

happybird said:

We (thankfully) don't have any cord chewers, so I go with the 'chuck them all behind the TV and hope to never see them again' approach. And it is a pain when something needs switched out. You'd think I'd have enough sense to organize them by now.

I have gone through a lot of iPad chargers and cables, so I am now super careful with those. After charging on a table, the white plug and cord get neatly stowed in a special bag. I used to charge at night while I was reading and fall asleep on the cord. Bad idea. But, I've gone through so many of the plug attachments, I've wondered if they are made to break. I mean, if you never have to buy one again, how is Apple going to keep making money off of you?

Click to expand...

the 'chuck them all behind...' approach was what i had always done with my computer related cords/cables too. i have a very heavy desk though, and it's a very big 'to do' having to pull it out to get to the cords (which were always in a mass/tangle). now my tv is wall mounted, so i have those legrand brand cord covers that 'herd' the cords behind the tv over towards one side of it, and another of the same to 'herd' the cords down the wall right next to my window (wall) frame.

that would annoy me, having the need to replace the plug attachment many times. i wonder if there's a generic of that plug attachment...? here's what amazon comes up with when i search for 'charger for ipad 2' -- http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n:172282,k:charger for ipad 2&tag=&tag=thecatsite . not sure about results using a generic charger though, so that would need looking into/researching.

LTS3 said:

 
The various cables to my desktop computer and router, etc are tucked into a Cable Zipper.

Leroy used to chew on cords as a kitten but stopped when I adopted a cat for him to play with. He leaves cords alone now, although he did chew on the charger for my work laptop the other day

Click to expand...

oh, i like those cable zippers! but, can you trim them down to the length you need? or are they only the 8 ft length?

cords can be so very tempting for some cats. 

@Winchester -- yours looks much better than what i had going on with my cords behind my desk. i really like that 'cable box' suggestion. you might try something like this --  http://www.containerstore.com/s/off...p-cord-catch-by-quirky/12d?productId=11001593, to control the cord parts that are within the cubby with the door (where your modem, router, subwoofer, and external hard drive live).

i'm glad that your ms pepe grew out of her cord chewing, plastic licking, and photo licking!

LaRussa said:

 
Hope you find it easily, good luck.

Click to expand...

well, my testing of the new hdmi cable showed me that that cable is functioning properly. so my next step will be calling lenovo's post-sales support tomorrow morning.

All my cords, I don't have many, are behind the TV. I don't have cord chewers thank goodness. Never have done surprisingly enough.

Stewball said:

All my cords, I don't have many, are behind the TV. I don't have cord chewers thank goodness. Never have done surprisingly enough.

Click to expand...

all tucked away out of sight, behind the tv!

LTS3 said:

 
Have you tried velcro or twist ties to keep the cords somewhat organized? Command cord clips (three sizes) work well to keep cables to more lor less lie flat on a surface so they're not in the way. There's also the large cord bundler.

Something like this might work next to the CPU: http://www.containerstore.com/s/office/cord-control/cablebox/12d?productId=10028020 You put your power strip inside  the box and all the various computer cords go in through one end and it can be a jumbled mess inside the box but you won't see it. The Container Store has a lot of other solutions to manage cables and cords. You can find similar solutions on Amazon.

Click to expand...

I was just going through a junk catalog (that's what I call the Harriet Carter catalogs and the like, largely because they have so much stuff!) and it has a cablebox. For around $20 or so, I think it was. I may buy two, one for my desk and one for Rick's desk. I like the idea of having everything put away and the box being on the floor. If I could get that to work, that would be great. Thanks for the idea!

And the twist ties would probably work right underneath the desk where all the cords go down through. With another one as they pass through the side hole. 

There are a lot of cords and plugs to a computer!