How to Eliminate Your Cable Management Woes

By Jason Biggs
03-22-2017

The clutter of cables can cramp any competent computer setup. However, with a few simple tips and tricks, any technology novice can reign in their unruly cable clutter and remove the constant feeling of chaos from their lives. Read the full guide below.

How to Eliminate Your Cable Management Woes

If you are reading this in your home or your office at work (if not, don’t feel badly… just think about your setup), I’d like you to look around yourself for a moment. What do you see? Is there a rat’s nest of cables in front of you? Look under your desk. What does that look like? Stand up and take a few steps away from your desk. How does that look? Cluttered? Messy?

Desk with computer, monitors, and keyboard

Well, lucky for you, the first step is to admit that you have a problem. Alternatively, if you are still in denial about your setup, keep reading to find out what you can do to clean things up anyways.

To those of you honest, budget-oriented persons out there, the least expensive suggestion for upgrading your office or desk setup is to organize your cable and desk clutter! The best thing about this process is that not only does it make your work space feel more open and less stressful, depending on what products you already have lying around your house, you might be able to get this job done without dropping a dime.

Desk with monitors and computer. Also within view is an under mounted cable tray with well managed cables

A list of mentioned and additional cable management items will be included at the conclusion of this article.

The first, most basic step of organizing your cable and desk clutter is to identify what in your setup is necessary and what is unneeded. To complete this process, I suggest taking a picture of your desk and looking at it over a period of several days. Really consider how often you use everything on it. If you only use something on your desk once or twice a month, consider putting it away or moving it to somewhere more out-of-sight until you need it again. Another strategy for identifying what you do or do not need is to take a day or week to keep a tally of the times you use something in the week. If you use something more than 10 or 15 times in a day, keep it. If not, think about moving it.

The next piece of the process is the more involved aspect and could take you anywhere between a couple of hours and a full afternoon, so be prepared to spend some real time on this process.

Cable management materials including zip ties, zip tie mounts, and velcro strips

To start off, collect some organization materials. I suggest zip ties, Velcro strips, zip tie mounts, a cable raceway, or Ikea Signum (maybe 2 depending on the size of your desk), a hot glue gun, and some 3M mounting tape. You might want to consider picking up a wire paper organizer and some mug hooks as well, for under desk storage of hard drives or other seldom touched items. I would also recommend getting a large-capacity (8+ outlet) surge protector.

I would start this process out by disconnecting everything attached to, near, or on your desk. You may want to take pictures of the backs of your input components to keep track of what goes where. Once everything is disconnected, pull it all off of your desk. You can put stuff on the floor, in another room, on another table, but get it all off. Once all of the big stuff is off, get your cables untangled and organized somewhere. If you would like, marking cables with a tag of some sort to identify what it goes to isn’t a bad idea during this step.

Under desk mounted surge protector with cable management tray with well managed cables

Once your desk is cleared off, start by identifying where your monitors and your PC will go. Put those where they need to go without any cords. Then begin adding all of your essentials back into your setup without worrying too much about cables. I generally just push cables off the back of the desk during this step and let them rest on the floor or just hang off the back of the desk.

At this point, I would recommend installing your Ikea Signum racks or your cable raceways and your surge protector (you will mount this under your desk or behind a visual break of some kind). Before putting anything on permanently, dry-fit the layout to ensure that everything will fit and be as functional as possible where you intend to put it. Once you know where all of your permanent mounting solutions will go, drill things into place. If you are using a cheaper Ikea desk during this time, it is important to be careful not to strip any holes that you create in the “wood.” If you have any hard drives that you don’t need direct access to, you can also mount those into place using a wire paper tray and mug hooks. This creates a shelf of sorts that can keep your drives near where they need to be without taking up valuable desk space.

When the setup and mounting process has been completed, you can start reconnecting your desktop electronics. During this step it is important to try to think about where cables go and which need more or less slack than others. Keep in mind that you don’t want to be crawling under your desk on a regular basis to fix things that you could just plan for right now. Plugging your electronics into the surge protector is a good idea to do now as well. Think about how to route the power cables so that they are sufficiently supported by your wire hiding solution.

Upon completion of reconnecting your electronics, the stuffing process will begin. Take all of your loose cables and begin gently, yet thoroughly cramming them into your wire hiding solution. When you finish this process, sit at your desk and move your mouse around and any other peripherals that may need some slack. Ensure that all of their cables are set to appropriate lengths that allow you to use them without pulling them too taut (to prevent damage or disconnections).

Once all of your organization is completed, it is important to keep the cleanliness up. It is way too easy to let all of your hard work go to hell, but taking the five minutes a day to clean up your space and fix your cables will save you hours of work down the line. Remember that being a mess is what got you here in the first place!

Under desk with well managed cables, includes a surge protector and cable management trays

If you liked my guide to decluttering your office for under $50, go ahead an leave a comment down below! If you use this guide to help you, tag me on Instagram with your insane organization skills and I’d be happy to show you some TTR love!

Cable Management Materials (Some items were chosen based on reviews and price, NOT experience):

Pile of zip ties and zip tie mounts

Additional Cable Management Materials