There’s nothing worse than, when you’re in the depths of your work, you go to stretch your legs and end up snagging the cables under your desk, unplugging your computer. Unplugging your computer unintentionally is not only frustrating—it takes you away from your work and could even lead to losing your work. Of course, this would happen during the one time you didn’t click save, right? You’re not the only one that faces this problem, though; cables can easily get tangled and unplugged in data centers, homes, offices, and so on. Because of these problems, we came up with these effective cable management system tips to help you avoid these frustrations and potential work loss.
Reduce the Distance as Much as Possible
One of the simplest and most straightforward solutions to keeping your cables out of your way is by using the shortest cable available. Far too often, people use excessively long cables for a project that doesn’t need it. For example, you don’t want to use a 50 ft HDMI cable in an area that only needs a 10 ft cable; it’s just asking to get tangled up. Now, that doesn’t mean rearrange your entire office or room just to make the shorter cable work, but if there’s a shorter cable available, then go for that one. More benefits of a shorter cable are that it can reduce any potential latency issues and improve your overall connection, and they’re much easier to hide.
Tie the Cables Up
Another great way to organize your cables is by tying them up out of the way. This is common in offices to avoid the aforementioned tangling scenario. The best way to do this is by getting hooks underneath your desk to drape the cables from. However, we don’t recommend drilling a hook into your desk—your boss may not get a kick out of that. So, an easy solution is using hooks with adhesive backs, preferably permanent adhesive if you can, but non-permanent will work too. You can also tie the cables together with zip ties or Velcro. Just don’t tie them too tight, because that can lead to cable damage. If there’s no easy way to hide your cables because they’re in the open regardless of what you do, don’t worry; there’s still a way to hide them. Consider getting cable sleeves these wrap over most of the cables, making the bunch of cables look like one.
Additionally, there’s another handy use for binder clips. These clips are great for organizing any frequently used cables that go behind your desk. You can easily tape the clip to the back of your desk out of sight, and then run your cables through the silver wire that you’d squeeze to open. Anytime you’re not using the cables, you can push them behind your desk, and the silver wire will keep them from falling to the floor and getting tangled again.
Use Concealed Power
Concealed power is just a sophisticated way of saying hidden power strips. These power strips are largely popular in offices because, like tying the cables up under your desk, this reduces the distance for power supply. Many of these power supplies can attach to the bottom of your desk, and to avoid damaging your desk, you can attach these to the legs with Velcro instead.
Label Everything
This tip is especially helpful in areas that have abundant cables, such as data centers at your work building. A data center can have hundreds of cables, so you’ll need to know the purpose of each cable in your structured cabling system. By labeling each cable—though it’s a tedious process—it’ll make your life much easier when you’re trying to figure out why something isn’t working, or when replacing cables.
However, labeling your cables doesn’t only apply to big data centers; it also applies to your home. For example, some people have big entertainment set-ups at home including their TV, Blu-ray player, surround sound, sound bars, and so on. On the other hand, some have more modest set-ups. Whatever your situation, it’s helpful knowing which cable is going where when you look behind your TV to find why something isn’t working.
If It Doesn’t Negatively Affect Performance, Go Wireless Where You Can
There are times when going wireless can make your connection worse. On the other hand, there are a handful of devices that don’t experience a decreased connection when wireless. Common devices that are usually fine in wireless form are computer accessories, such as your mouse and keyboard. Items like modems may see a decrease in speed if they’re wireless. However, with the increasing technology, bandwidth, and Bluetooth, there are more devices that are capable of being wireless nowadays.
Ultimately, the best way to maintain effective cable management is by keeping them out of sight. It just looks better, keeps cables out of your way, and it avoids any problems. And we understand that while everyone is trying to go wireless with everything, it’s not always the best option because your connection quality can decrease. Only select devices work fine wirelessly such as a mouse or keyboard. The purpose of cabling is to make your life easier and to increase connectivity throughout buildings and homes. Cables shouldn’t get in the way every day—that’s why we wanted to share these effective cable management system tips.
Here at CableWholesale, we have all the cables you’ll ever need in every length—for instance, if you need a 75 ft HDMI cable, we have the best quality on the market. We can supply you with cables for something as large as your entire office building, or as small as your home entertainment set-up. And if you’re not sure what cables you need, we have the best customer service team available to help you find what you’re searching for. We’re dedicated to offering the highest quality products and customer service available, so you can shop with confidence. In fact, we believe in our products so much that we offer a lifetime warranty on most items!
