You may have grown accustomed to having your earbuds tangled, but there are better ways of storing your earphones without them always ending up in knots. All of these ideas will keep your earphones tangle-free and will probably make them last a bit longer, because earbuds tend to break easily, given the abuse they suffer.
1. TidyTilt: This smart little cover looks like an Apple Smart Cover that's been hit with a shrink ray, but it does more than just protect the back of your iPhone. It will help you keep your earphone cord tidy, and will allow you to mount your iPhone on any magnetically-responsive surface.
2. Sumneeds Tail Line: This Korean product will protect your earphone jack and will allow you to wrangle your cord at the same time. It comes as a whale, fox, or swan tail.
3. Old Earbud Pouches: We've gone through quite a few earbuds through the years, and some of them came with nice pouches. These pouches make it easy to keep your earbuds safe and untangled.
4. Turning Old Credit Cards into Cord Management Systems: With a bit of TLC, you can turn any old credit card into a handy way of storing your earbuds. They'll stay tangle-free.
5. Solving the Earbud Tangle the Easy Way: From DIY suggestions to a couple of smart ideas on how to keep your messy cords nicely separated, this post has some interesting solutions.
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Another cheap product to keep your earbud cords neat is the Nite Ize Curvyman:
http://www.niteize.com/products/curvyman
I got it on sale at Eddie Bauer for $2! I always keep the cord on the Curvyman so I can shorten or lengthen the cord as needed. It's great for running because you can clip it to your shirt so the cord doesn't go flying everywhere. And when I'm not using it, I just wrap the cord up and toss it in my bag.
I just saw this in the Container Store mailer yesterday. Looks cool, and it's only $2.99. I might give it a try.
http://bit.ly/Mwuh1o
@Anitano: I have a few. They're cute, cheap, small, and very functional!
Or you could find on YouTube several ways to wrap them without having to buy anything. Certainly no worse for the wires than wrapping them around a credit card.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHNfcpqebW8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4pFmV8KgOI
Cable management on you jacket-
http://www.sniktech.com/zipperpullers.htm
@anitano, I also got these about a month ago... they're great! And they have fun new colors since I purchased mine :)
Another great solution for earbuds.
THE EARBUDS NIGHTMARE: How much time do you spend every day fighting with tangled-up earbuds? Life's too short!
Yet there's no good solution to either problem out there... NOT UNTIL NOW!
Kickstand and Earphone Storage for all iPhone & iPod touch models
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dotan/smarter-stand-for-iphone-and-ipod-touch