You've probably seen an episode or two of Hoarders, a program which leaves us with a strong desire to clean, organize and throwout everything and live a spartan lifestyle with one USB cord and a can opener. But even though we're far from being a bona fide tech hoarder like this guy, upon honest reflection, we've got a fair share of tech clutter (part of the job) that is dampening our otherwise clean abode. What to do?
The first part of the answer is pretty simple: sell, donate, throw out, recycle everything you no longer need. That collection of outdated audio gear? Sell it on Craigslist and upgrade to something nicer. For a lot of collectors, this is the hardest part, rationally realizing they can let go of things and that it will all be okay.
Fortunately, we're not stricken with a genuine hoarder-mentality, but we do have a pile of tech gear related to our work, accumulated over years of receiving products for review. Thus, we've organized our gear with affordable IKEA drawer organizers and cable/cord organizers (the photo below is from our previous studio, but the desk setup remains the same):
But that still leaves us with plenty of larger items, including backup hard drives, USB cables, speaker wires, HDMI wire galore, and a miscellaneous pile of other stuff that altogether looks like the trash compactor scene from Star Wars. The simplest solution for keeping all this junk out of sight and in order is to use a big plastic bin with a lid, throw all the stuff in there and bid it adieu after hiding it away in the closet.
Yet, that wouldn't be the Unplggd way, so we're just starting to pull everything out from this bin 'o "still-need-it-gear" and using a label maker and some rubber bands to bring some order to the clutter we've created since moving. Here's the challenge below:
Wish us luck...if you don't hear from us by tomorrow, please call the authorities!
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Pikers! I'm unpackng after a move. In the middle of the move, my husband died unexpectedly. He has every piece of tech he ever bought with, of course, the cords and cables for each and every one. I'm sure I'll end up with three boxes -- just of cords and cables.
WIsh I knew what to do with this stuff. Wish I even knew what some of it is! Anyone need a CB radio?
Good luck!
We went through all of our Tech junk and used rubber bands, zip ties and ziplocs to wrangle cords by type and then threw everything into an easily accessible rubbermaid tub. We got rid of most of the outdated/obsolete items, but we still have 4 wired mice that I really doubt we'll ever use again, but couldn't bring ourselves to get rid of...I'm thinking of making mouse art?
mdorothy: thank you, I'll need the luck of untangling some of these wires/cables. Perhaps you could snap and send us a photo and we can help you identify what you've got? And my condolences to you.
ramenandjello: it might be time to drop those mice off at Goodwill where they might find a new home!
This is a timely post! Just yesterday I took all my defunct electronics to be recycled -- it made a surprisingly large pile. Now to go through the bin of odds and ends -- which is full of cords and attachments belonging to long-gone items.
Good idea.
But really... "we are just someone"?! So hard to get past the horrible grammar in these posts to actually enjoy the information.
Having gone through round one of the tech wire pile, I decided to pull and old technique from my sound tech days and get hook and loop strips and coil the cords.
getting rid of the extras was simple, once I verified I didn't need them (which was the hard part for me). I did keep a couple spare USB and iPhone type cords and one spare ethernet cable. They are coiled together, in an envelope, and in a file folder.
For me, the biggest challenge is finding a way to hide the snake pit. Darn wires!
@gregory- Goodwill stores around here no longer accept computers or computer peripherals, because people kept unloading useless, outdated junk. It may be a company-wide policy by now. Either find someone to give them to, put them in your next yard sale for 25 cents a piece, or get them to an electronics recycler.
i organized one room and found 23 [23!] power cables and 8 crt monitor cables. i've still got two rooms to go. sigh.
my husband may appear on Hoarders one day ...