Offices inevitably collect a tangle of wires and cables. Our workspace was no different — if you remember our post about building under-desk file storage, you know there was a cord jumble hiding back there. We wanted to make that chaos look neater and, more importantly, safer. With a baby on the way, keeping little hands away from plugs and loose cords became a priority, so a cord-control mission was launched.
Beyond safety and aesthetics, I had two practical goals: reduce the setup to a single power strip or surge protector, and clear the top of the file shelf so it could actually be used for storage instead of housing a power strip, an external hard drive, and a clock radio. We’d been working around blocked wall outlets and awkwardly stretched vacuum cords for long enough.
First step: inventory. I unplugged everything to count how many outlets we really needed and to see what could be eliminated. The clock radio got retired — our computers can tell time and play music — and we were left with seven plugs. From left to right they were: Airport Express, two MacBook chargers, a landline phone, the modem, a Lacie external hard drive, and a desk lamp.
We went shopping for a power strip with at least seven outlets (eight would be ideal). The first find was a Belkin concealed surge protector recommended by a friend. It offered many outlets and a cover to hide the mess — attractive features for a kid-safe solution — but the MacBook adapters were too large and prevented the cover from closing properly.
Back to the store we went and found a different Belkin model, the Conserve, which met our needs. It had eight outlets and an energy-saving feature: a remote switch that can cut power to six of the eight outlets to reduce standby, or “vampire,” power. That suited our setup since the modem, phone, and Airport needed to stay powered, while other devices could be switched off when not in use.
Most surge protectors are mountable, and I wanted the strip off the file shelf. I chose to mount it on the desk’s back rail so gravity would help keep plugs seated. To mark the holes on the rail I use a simple tape trick: place painter’s tape over the screw holes, fold it back to the front, and mark the positions. That way you can hold the item in place and mark exactly where to drill.
After drilling pilot holes and mounting the strip, I plugged everything in and confronted a new nest of cords hanging beneath the desk. The Belkin provided a cord wrangler, but the grouped cables still needed better routing to look intentional rather than chaotic.
I used adhesive cable organizer clips purchased at Office Depot to guide and secure cords along the back of the desk. Spacing a clip every foot or so let me hide most cords behind the desk until the point where each device needed its connection. Wrapping excess cable and bundling groups with a twist-tie kept things tidy and reduced sagging — important for baby-proofing as well.
For the cords running down to the modem in a storage box on the blue shelf, a simple twist-tie kept them consolidated into one neat bundle. I also reduced the visual clutter at the wall by removing the second power strip and using cable clips to run the remaining cord close to the baseboard. The black coaxial cable feeding the modem was tacked discreetly to the quarter-round molding so it blended into the floor.
With the blue shelf pushed back into place the cords looked clean and parallel from normal sightlines. I achieved both main goals: one freed wall outlet and a clear file shelf top. The dangling bundle under the desk still exists, but it’s out of sight unless someone sits on the floor — and we have plans to disguise it further with a small tray of supplies to fully conceal the plug cluster.
One more upgrade we tackled was going wireless with our printer. The old HP all-in-one under Sherry’s previous desk was bulky and lacked wireless capability. At Office Depot we found an HP PhotoSmart C4780 on sale; it was compact, added wireless printing and scanning, and fit nicely on the shelf. The wireless setup worked well, so the printer no longer needed to live close to the computers or add to the cord mess. Its power cord tucks between the shelf and wall and reaches an outlet behind the couch without creating any visible clutter.
This project left us with a tidier, safer, and more functional workspace. Since every cord situation is unique, we’d love to hear any techniques or products you’ve used to tame your own wire jungle.
P.S. Thanks to everyone who suggested sending postcards for our postcard art wall! We’re accepting them at PO Box 36665, Richmond, VA 23235 and can’t wait to share progress on that project soon.