With as much time as we’ve been spending at home lately, it’s no wonder that many of us have found ourselves investing more of our time and effort into “feathering our nests.” From reorganizing closets to redecorating entire rooms, our efforts to spruce up our homes speak to a shared preference for spending time in clean, tidy, and nicely decorated spaces.
In my own home, there’s one thing that regularly undermines my efforts to keep things clean and tidy: cord clutter. Seeing a tangled mess of cords dangling out of the back of my furniture is one of my pet peeves, so I’ve been getting serious about finding ways to hide the seemingly infinite number of cords that are visible throughout my home!
And since I know I can’t be the only one who struggles with this modern problem, I thought it would make a great topic to cover in today’s blog post! :-) So without further ado, here are 7 of the best (and easiest!) solutions I’ve come across to hide cords and cables, so they can stay out of sight and out of mind!
7 Easy Ways To Hide Cords And Cables
1. Make A Simple Fabric Panel
If you’re tired of seeing a mess of cords hanging behind a piece of furniture with metal legs, you’re in luck! There’s a quick and easy way to keep those cords out of sight, and all you need is a bit of fabric and a few magnets to do it!
My daughter-in-law Kaitlyn found herself this very situation a few years ago, back when her husband (and my firstborn) Erik was setting up a habitat for his new ball python Zola. The terrarium stand did little to hide the cords that powered Zola’s light and heat lamps, but Erik ended up finding a simple and artful solution to the problem online: a super-simple DIY fabric panel.
All they had to do was measure the back of the terrarium stand, cut a piece of heavy fabric to that size, then attach the fabric panel to the stand with a few magnets. No sewing, gluing, or installation necessary—now that’s my kind of fix! :-)
2. Bundle Cords With Zip Ties
One or two cords visible cords may not be a big deal, but any more than that and things start to get unruly fast! One simple way to control cord chaos is by bundling the cords together with a few plastic zip ties.
Not only are zip ties cheap and widely available, but you’ll find it much easier to keep one bundle of cords out of sight than half a dozen individual cords! And if you ever need to remove or add cords from the bundle or reconfigure your setup, it’ll be as simple as snipping off the old zip ties and replacing them with new ones.
3. Run Them Under Rugs
Need a way to hide cords that run from the wall toward the center of a room, perhaps to a floor lamp or side table? The simplest way to keep them out of sight is to tuck them under a nearby rug!
I use this very trick in my own living room, and I’ve found that thicker rugs work best because they can hide cords without looking lumpy or bumpy. If you only have thinner rugs on hand, try stacking a slightly smaller rug on top of a larger one—you’ll get the same cord-hiding effect of a thicker rug while creating a great layered look.
4. Keep Cord Hubs Out Of Sight
“Cord hubs” are items or locations where several cords converge in one place, like internet modems and routers, surge protectors, gaming consoles, etc. Storing your most problematic cord hubs out of sight will go a long way toward reducing the amount of cord clutter in your home!
Place cord hubs in baskets, drawers, or cupboards where possible to keep them hidden. Cable management boxes like this one have built-in holes for cords and cables, making them a convenient option for hiding cord hubs if you’re willing to spend a few dollars!
5. Use Adhesive Hooks And Clips
Command brand makes several products that can be useful for hiding cords and cables. The most obvious one is their cord bundler, which I personally swear by for keeping cords for small kitchen appliances tidy and tucked away!
But even standard Command hooks and clips can be useful for hiding cords. You can stick them to the legs of your furniture and run your cords through them so they stay hidden and keep the area looking neat.
6. Get A Cord Wrap
Like the idea of bundling cords together, but want a slightly more sophisticated solution than zip ties? Look no further than these flexible spiral cord wraps!
Cord wraps make it easy to bundle cords together that are running to the same place, like your computer or entertainment center. And since the material is flexible, you can squish it together to make it more compact, or stretch it out to make gaps so you can redirect individual cords where they need to go.
7. Set Up A Charging Station
If tangled phone and tablet chargers are a major source of cord clutter in your home, consider setting up a designated charging station somewhere in your house. Charging stations (like the one featured in #8 in this list) typically have several slots for devices and shortened power cables, so you can charge several phones or tablets at once without creating a tangled mess of cords.
Or if you prefer to go the DIY route, you can easily make your own clutter-concealing charging station with a shoebox and power strip! Learn how it’s done here.
How do you deal with cord clutter in your home?
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