Giant spaghetti tangle of electric cables around desk - anyone found a good solution?

[bimble]

yes i'm procrastinating, untangling cables instead of doing any work but.
Have 5 plugs and a couple of smaller connector cables, they either dangle under desk or tangle on floor or sprawl over surface of the table, see have tried various things but none works. If you have an elegant solution to this first world problem tell me it? or better post a pic.
I really hate them the dusty nests of cables that seem to just grow in corners.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

You can get some basket type things that fit under the desk at the back to house your 4 way adapter with plugs in etc

 

[Magnus McGinty]

This kind of thing

https://www.amazon.co.uk/REFLYING-Management-No-Drill-Basket-Managing/dp/B09L62NFJ2/ref=asc_df_B09L62NFJ2/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=570480429005&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1262679216634352465&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006886&hvtargid=pla-1595341462540&psc=1

 

[JimW]

You can knock up something like this, expect it would work fine made of stiff card. Then a few zip ties round bundles in various directions.

 

[The39thStep]

yes i'm procrastinating, untangling cables instead of doing any work but.
Have 5 plugs and a couple of smaller connector cables, they either dangle under desk or tangle on floor or sprawl over surface of the table, see have tried various things but none works. If you have an elegant solution to this first world problem tell me it? or better post a pic.
I really hate them the dusty nests of cables that seem to just grow in corners.

Post photo so we can see the scale of the problem

 

[bimble]

Hmm. Maybe .. a length of plastic pipe under desk ? Like guttering stuff. Could keep self busy attempting that anyway instead of doing work

 

[souljacker]

I've got an Ikea desk that has a bit of netting on the underside that holds all my cables. Still a mess when it leaves that though. I've tried those cable tie things that wrap around all the leads. They sort of did the job.

 

[JimW]

Hmm. Maybe .. a length of plastic pipe under desk ?

We'll come to the toilet arrangements later, let's sort these cables first.

 

[maomao]

Those velcro tie things are good for bunching cables together. Mrs maomao bought a bamboo 'cable tidy box' but it's now full of junk and the cables are still untidy.

 

[xenon]

I have not and it’s annoying. Not so much the plugs but my desk has a mixer on it and various bits of equipment. Headphones wires trailing everywhere. I’ve been meaning to fix this.

 

[xenon]

Although I am quite proud of the way I got the ethernet cable to run around the doorframe using electric tape, the socket is in the hallway.

 

[hash tag]

several solutions here.

DIY Supplies & Accessories | DIY at B&Q

www.diy.com

Do there wires come up through a hole in the desk - if not, drill one for one of these

 

[Fez909]

Although I am quite proud of the way I got the ethernet cable to run around the doorframe using electric tape, the socket is in the hallway.

I've bought some of these for the same job:


They've been sat in a bag for at least a year, with a cable running through two door frames, and across the landing all that time.

I will get around to it one day.

 

[Leafster]

Those velcro tie things are good for bunching cables together. Mrs maomao bought a bamboo 'cable tidy box' but it's now full of junk and the cables are still untidy.

I have some of those velcro ties. They do work well. I've also used spiral cable wrap which is also good.

Less successful have been those self-adhesive cable clips that you can stick to the underside or rear of your desk. They do work for a while but the adhesive has failed on a lot of mine and then the extra weight of the cables pulled most of the rest off. But I think they were about a fiver for a box of 100 so I've got plenty more.

I think it's nearly time for me to re-organise all of the cables again as I bought a new PC earlier in the year and didn't have time to sort out all the cabling.

 

[two sheds]

another vote for velcro ties that FridgeMagnet recommended to me. I bought 100 thinking I'd hardly use any but they're very handy.

 

[Spymaster]

Hmm. Maybe .. a length of plastic pipe under desk ? Like guttering stuff. Could keep self busy attempting that anyway instead of doing work

Get one of these.

 

[bimble]

The only solution that would be satisfying is one where all of the leads are well hidden, and you can’t see them at all apart from the little bits on top. So none of these various suggestions so far would do it for me. Will have to be some sort of tube / box thing that screws to underside of desk & contains the lot. But not today.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

What I suggested is pretty much the standard cable management for offices. Usually you’d procure a desk with it already inbuilt or you add some retrospectively.

 

[danski]

What I suggested is pretty much the standard cable management for offices. Usually you’d procure a desk with it already inbuilt or you add some retrospectively.

I’d not seen those before but think they look useful.

One for mains and one for data etc. Throw in a few cable ties and think it’d be great.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

I’d not seen those before but think they look useful.

One for mains and one for data etc. Throw in a few cable ties and think it’d be great.

Some of the desk ones where they’re inbuilt the top of the desk pulls forward so you don’t even need to scramble underneath to deal with it. Obviously you do have to with a retrofitted one.

 

[Artaxerxes]

Throw away the tech and the desk

 

[bimble]

I’ve got it, bag hung onto a hook on underneath of desk, spaghetti shoved inside it, done. Looks better than it sounds

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I bought some cable ties last year to sort out my cable mess but haven't got round to opening the box yet.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

It doesn't help that all cables are black - it makes it more daunting to try and untangle them and make them neat. So I just ignore it.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Top tip: when neatening up flexed cable connected to the mains don’t coil them. Especially if what they’re feeding are power hungry.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Top tip: when neatening up flexed cable connected to the mains don’t coil them. Especially if what they’re feeding are power hungry.

What happens when you do that?

 

[Magnus McGinty]

What happens when you do that?

It becomes a coil and can overheat. Those extension reels are such a bad idea.

 

[DotCommunist]

cut out a section of old hoover tube and feed them through that. Old hoovers and the tubes can be found at the tip, your attic, facebook or skips

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Top tip: when neatening up flexed cable connected to the mains don’t coil them. Especially if what they’re feeding are power hungry.

Coil them in a figure 8 pattern to solve this problem.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Coil them in a figure 8 pattern to solve this problem.

That never crossed my mind! You would know as you must deal with miles of it.