Untidy workspaces really grind my gears. That's likely a result of working in a spectacularly cluttered office for the best part of a decade, many moons ago. This was a place where great bunches of knotted-up cables snaked all over desks, and where the walls were composed of 90% teabag stains. It's no wonder I'm now obsessed with hiding my cables out of sight.

Good cable management takes some elbow grease, but happily, it's also pretty cheap if you decide your home office or entertainment area needs a good dose of decluttering. With a few ultra-affordable accessories you can easily pick up online or from your local office supply store, you can have your workspace looking spic and span in short order. Let me give you some cable management tips that have helped make my office less of an iris-offending mess.

Prepping to declutter your setup

The early steps of tidying your tech

So you've finally decided to spruce up or declutter your home office or entertainment cabinet. The first step is to unplug everything. I don't care how many HDMI, DisplayPort, or power cables you're dealing with; get them unplugged. From there, you need to untangle the nest of unruly wires so that they're all separated. I know my Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 needed serious cable management when I was setting it up with my current PC. This is probably the most painful part of the process, akin to solving a Rubik's Cube that keeps resetting itself every 99 seconds. Persevere, though, and you're well on your way to willing a tidier desk or TV area into existence. Once you've untangled your wires, give your desk or TV cabinet a quick wipe-down before proceeding. If your setup is anything like mine before I dedicated myself to getting my cables under control, your work or entertainment space might well be encrusted in dust.

Decluttering wires and other accessories that might be clogging up your floor really isn't that difficult. And if you know which pieces of kit you need to pick up, removing cables from your eyeline will cost you barely anything. The psychological benefits of a clean workspace are well-documented. Studies have shown that visual clutter can increase stress levels and reduce focus. A tidy environment, on the other hand, promotes clarity and calm. So investing time and a small amount of money in cable management is actually an investment in your productivity and mental well-being.

Handy gear for hiding those cables

What you'll need to tidy those leads away

I've bought a lot of cable-uncluttering accessories over the years. I'd wager the total sum is way less than $100. So if you want to rid your desk setup of unruly crumples of wires, it's not going to hit your wallet all that hard. My go-to pieces of kit for tidy cable management are a mixture of cable trunking, cable management boxes where you can stuff all of your wires out of view, and cable ties. For the latter, it's better to go with Velcro options over traditional cable ties, as you'll be able to reuse them next time you reshuffle your setup.

I use cable trunking for both my home office monitor and main TV arrangements. These cheap pieces of cable-concealing equipment attach to your wall in a flash thanks to their self-adhesive strips. A word of warning if you're a renter: don't install trunking, as the damage it can cause to wallpaper could potentially violate your deposit conditions. For renters, there are alternative solutions such as adhesive cable clips that leave minimal residue, or magnetic cable organizers that can be attached to metal desks. Cable sleeves are another great option for bundling multiple cables together neatly. And if you have a lot of power adapters, a cable management box can hide the entire mess under your desk or behind your entertainment unit.

When choosing cable ties, opt for reusable Velcro straps. They come in various lengths and colors, and they allow you to easily add or remove cables without cutting anything. For a more permanent solution, you can use cable raceways that paint over to match your wall. But for most people, simple stick-on raceways work fine. The key is to plan the routing before you stick anything down. Measure the distance from your devices to the power outlet, and map out the path the cables will take. Leave some slack at both ends to avoid tension.

The benefits of tidy tech

Decluttering my setups has made me enjoy my technology a lot more

Since I tidied up both my office space and my TV area, I can happily report that I'm enjoying working and gaming in my apartment without the constant guilt of being a mucky pup. When my dual setups were a bit of a shambles, a tiny voice in my head would perpetually nag me. "Clean up your tech mess, you savage slob!" Admittedly, I might have cleaned up the language from that internal monologue a smidge. Oh, and don't ignore cleaning your PC while you're at it.

Seriously, though, I find it easier to concentrate when there are few visible distractions on my desk—or on the floor under it. Similarly, I can slip into my favorite movies or some of the best PC games with a weight lifted off my shoulders when untidy clusters of cables aren't trying to sneak into the corner of my eye. On the work front in particular, the fact that I'm no longer constantly needling myself to see my HDMI and DisplayPort cables hanging behind my super ultrawide monitor has made work easier, and has at least given me one less excuse for being distracted when writing.

The benefits extend beyond mental quietude. With cables organized, it's easier to access ports and connections. If you need to swap out a device, you don't have to wrestle a spaghetti mess. It also helps with dust management—cables that are bundled and lifted off the floor attract less dust. And let's not forget airflow. In a PC setup, free air circulation around cables can prevent overheating. For entertainment centers, tidy cables reduce the risk of tangling and accidental unplugging.

Tighten your tech with a decent declutter

With an assortment of affordable cable-management accessories, you can easily breathe new life into your office or entertainment space. Looking back, I regret those years when I was far too content working in spaces where wires dominated my viewpoint. Now that I've finally decluttered at long last, I can work and chill out without persistent guilt. If you feel like your tech setup is getting a little messy, do some decluttering. I guarantee you'll feel better afterward.

To get started, set aside an hour or two. Unplug everything, untangle, clean your surfaces, then plan and execute your cable routing. Use the tools mentioned: cable trunking for long runs, cable management boxes for power strips and adapters, and Velcro ties to bundle cables together. Don't forget to label your cables if you have many similar ones—simple masking tape and a marker can save you headaches later. Some people even color-code their cables with colored zip ties for easy identification.

Finally, maintain your clean setup. When you add new gear, immediately integrate it into your cable management system. Resist the urge to just drape cables over the edge. The few minutes you spend securing that new HDMI cable will save you from future mess. And every few months, do a quick check: are any cables coming loose? Has dust accumulated? A quick dusting and retightening of ties will keep your space looking pristine.

Source: MakeUseOf News