How does everyone deal with cable management? I’m a velcro and/or zip tie, along with command strips kind of guy, but feel like it’s a little inefficient.
@ismh @MacSparky I think this could make a good episode segment.
Velcro wraps crossed over exactly once in an X (does that make sense?) Make it really easy to open and close. I learned from someone who does this at scale and who has made it into an artform that anything that can’t be trivially easily opened and reclosed leads to bad things down the road.
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I don’t have one - keen for some ideas!
Commenting to follow this thread. I just set up a new “minimalist” entertainment center and am going nuts setting and resetting my cables trying to hide and tuck everything out of the way.
One trick I learned back in my days of A/V production is to always label both ends of a cable, typically with a mailing label or folder label wrapped around it.
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I was out of Velcro when I set up my desk the last time. So I used gaffer tape with a bit of the end folded back on itself. Looks neat, but time will tell how well it works.
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My standing desk came with something I’d never used before — zip-tie adhesive backed mounts. They’re great. Each one has a plastic square with an adhesive back that sticks to the underside of the desk, and the other side of the square has a zip tie that cinches tight around a cable or cables. It made it so much easier than previous methods to get cables out of sight. This isn’t the exact model that came with the desk, but it’s similar to this:
Also, after years of trying to get unused cables organized, I tried a couple of these bins and ordered several more, and now have the bins stacked neatly and labeled in a storage room, with a pullout drawer on each one:
They’re just the right size to hold several of each type of cable I use, from monitor cables, to USB, etc.
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One thing I used to do when installing systems was to put a cardboard box behind the desks, and run all the cables into and out of the box, with the excess cable coiled inside.
That’s was a while back, and the cables were fatter then. Nowadays, you could achieve the same effect with a Blue Lounge CableBox, or similar.
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This reminds of something we do! When you get a loaf of bread with a clip on it, you can put that round the end of your cable and write what it’s for.
From Google Images:
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“VCR”
How old is this picture exactly? 
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My desk is white, and the space under the overhang of the back is just wide enough for a piece of cord cover kit similar to this: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/legrand-cordmate-iii-cord-cover-kit-white/5094201.p?skuId=5094201
I was lucky enough to have some left over after using most of the kit to hide cords in the living room.
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That’s simply awesome! Going to label my network cables that way this week!
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I have multiples of these around the house and really like them. Two in my home office - drop a power strip in there, and feed all the power cables in nice and neatly. I’ve also got a couple of them around the house in locations where I’ve got a few things plugged in and didn’t want an ugly power strip showing (living room near the front door - Sonos and a security camera on a table nearby).
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How warm does it get with a power strip in there? Some power bricks throw off quite a bit of heat.
I just got two “cable management trays/cages” which I will screw under my desk and throw every cable/power brick into it.
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I’m using the ones from IKEA, and they don’t get all that warm (nothing above normal)
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Am curious if you all have a solution for my dilemma with cables in living room. Hanging from my TV and mantle I have four power cables going to a power strip. Would love to get them into one of those plastic shield type covers but there’s a stupid power wart midway down one of them. (Cable box so not standard). Ideas? Thx
I think it should fit most of the containers.
Found that flipping it sideways also slims it down a bit
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I have an alcove beside my fireplace that has the cable outlet. Cable box and Apple TV sits there and HDMI cables run into the wall and up behind the TV. For power I installed an new outlet behind the TV and have the TV and sound bar plugged in there. Excess cabling is tied to the vesa mount. We have a gas fireplace that has a lot of empty space behind the wall. Easy to run new wiring. Only visible cable is the 2” from the bottom of the tv to the sound bar. In another thread I posted a pix of what it looks like.
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I love this thread. It is pushing all my nerd buttons. I know @ismh takes cable management to an unhealthy level. I think we’ll have to do a segment on this on the next feedback show.
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