There are a lot of miscellaneous wires and cables in modern homes. Here are the best tools you can use to keep them out of sight, out of mind.
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It’s almost impossible not to have a mountain of cords spread out in your home. Whether it’s in the living room by the T.V. or in your office around the monitor, printer and other appliances, it’s hard to ignore them. Instead of co-existing with the bulky mess, it’s time to get organized. That’s why we found the best tools to maximize cable management. Ahead, see Velcro clips, under-the-desk cable organizers and more to streamline your home.
The cables and wires from the electronic devices sitting on your desk look pretty bad when they’re left to hang in the wind. To fix this sloppy look, mount a cable organizer under your desk to tuck, wrap and stow your cables. Even if cables are visible, tidying them up will make them far less unsightly.
Anyone who has worked with vinyl siding on a house will be familiar with the concept of J-channel. It’s essentially a tube that doesn’t quite go all the way around, making it easy to slip wires and cables inside to hide them. For cable management, a J-channel cable raceway is a versatile tool. They can be mounted on the backs of desks, along countertops, or at the base of your floor to provide discreet, low-profile locations to stash long-running wires.
If you’ve got a whole mess of cables running in the same direction, wrap them all together into a cable sleeve. The sleeve zips up around a collection of cords and combines them into one, making them much more manageable with a cleaner look.
What’s the point of mounting a sleek new television on your living room wall if you’ve got HDMI and power cables dangling down ruining the aesthetic? If you’re unwilling to drill into your walls and snake cables through drywall, here’s how you can hide TV wires with simple cord cover on the wall. Make sure to get one wide enough to fit all your cords, especially if you’ve got a lot of things plugged into the back of your TV.
Standard zip ties are versatile little tool with a lot DIY applications, and they’re a decent way to keep cords and cables neat and orderly. There are two problems with them, though:
That’s why these reusable microfiber cable ties are a better call than the standard zip ties, at least for cable management. The soft cloth material won’t harm the cables, and they can be easily removed and adjusted. No scissors required.
As smartphones, tablets and other small-scale electronics have grown in popularity, more and more cables and wires accumulated in people’s homes. Adhesive cable clips can ensure all those wires stay put. The adhesive backing makes them easy to apply. And they come in a variety of colors (clear, black, and white) so that they can blend in more easily with walls and wires.
Despite the EU’s best efforts, there’s no guarantee that the cord you use to charge up your phone will be the same as the one you use to charge your tablet, e-reader, or smart watch. Cable holders keep your assortment of chargers organized and within reach so you aren’t bending over to scoop cables off the floor or trampling them underfoot.
There are going to be times where clunky cords with surge protectors and thick cables need to be next to the devices they are powering. If you don’t want bulky, ugly electronics sitting in plain view on a desk or a side table, pick up a cable management box. There are lots of these boxes available, from rustic wooden designs to more modern, minimalist versions. You don’t necessarily want these boxes to stand out, so go for the design you think will blend in best with its surroundings.
Cable management tools come in multiple forms, ranging from clips to handy desk organizers, so the first step is to decide what will work best for your home. If you’re looking to tuck away cords in your living room, cable sleeves, cable covers and on-the-wall covers are the best options. You can select colors that go with your decor. And if you’re looking to organize an office space, under-the-desk organizers hide cords easily. There are also decorative boxes and clips you can purchase .
Our team of experts has years of experience finding the best organizational tools to add to your home, including the best tools for cable management. Harrison Kral is an assistant editor at Trusted Media Brands and regularly contributes to Family Handyman. His expertise includes the construction industry, tools, technology , small spaces, the housing market and general DIY trends. His work can also be found on Reader’s Digest and Taste of Home.
To find the best cable management tools, our team gathered a list of the ones we owned and the tools we were interested in testing. We considered the best brands and their latest offerings. From there, we tested many of the tools to confirm how well they performed and if they cleaned up cords tidily. We also considered price points to ensure we provided products within every budget, and we scoured thousands of customer reviews so you don’t have to. We regularly update this article with new products and the most accurate pricing information.
After researching several cable management tools, we found that the best are ones with adhesive cord clips or cable management sleeves. These make it easy to hide cords along walls or under furniture out of the way.
Even though duct tape is readily available and you most likely have a roll in your house, using it to organize your cables is not recommended. It leaves sticky and messy adhesive behind on the cables and can be a fire hazard. Instead, opt for tools that are specially crafted for managing cables.
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