Cords and cables often have a mind of their own. When left unchecked those wires can quickly become an eyesore. So how can you rid your setup of cable problems? Keep reading to find out.

First thing’s first: theres no need to go poking holes in walls and running complex bundles of wires underneath the floor. All of your cable management needs can be satisfied without any major construction. Also remember that great cable management is a process not a project. The techniques you’ll learn are methods that you can apply over time in order to develop your setup into a organization masterpiece.

Elevate the Cables

Take a look at the existing wires in, or rather under, your setup. If there are wires laying on the ground, you’ll need to elevate them. How you do this is somewhat dependent on what type of desk you have and how it is positioned. The most common situation (with the desk facing a wall) will require fastening excess wires and power-strips to the underside or rear panel of the desk. There are two main methods to achieving this. The first is by fixing the wires individually to a concealed surface of the desk. Using tape or some other adhesive material, such as these adhesive cable clips , fasten the wires individually. This method is particularly useful in cases where you might need to remove a wire often but do not want to effect the other cables. The other option is to purchase a cable tray to hold the wires. There are many different varieties of this handy tool such as this under-desk cable tray from WireRun . Generally, they can easily be affixed to the underside or rear of the desk. They come in different sizes to fit your desk and amount of cables.

If your desk is not conducive to a suspended option, consider using a cable box on

the ground. These are especially effective at concealing unruly power strips. Take a look at this cable management box from CableBox . It will fit almost any size power strip and it comes in a few different colors to fit in any setup.

Bonus Option: If you have cable management in mind and are in the market for a new desk, consider purchasing a desk with a built in cable management solution. Check out this clean looking computer desk from Techni Mobili . On top of looking great, it has a built in compartment in the back to hide all those pesky cables out of sight.

Running the Wires

Now that you’ve figured out what to do about the wires underneath your desk, there is still the issue of getting at least one wire to an outlet. Hats off to those of you with a strategically placed outlet at desk height. However, not everyone has that luxury. For everyone else, hopefully you have pealed down the number of wires actually leaving your desk via the use of power strips. To conceal the remaining wire(s) that has to reach the outlet, here are some tips.

One option for getting wires down to floor level is to run it along a leg of the desk. To do this, you could use cable ties to strap the wires to the leg. However, avoid cable ties that bind permanently such as common zip ties. Instead, opt for some velcro wraps . These often come in rolls so that you can cut a strip to your desired length.

Another option is to run the cable(s) down the wall. While you could use nails or hooks to achieve this, we recommend cable covers or wall cable raceways for a much cleaner look. These are usually inexpensive and easy to install.

Back on Top

We’ve discussed what to do with the wires below the desk, but what about the wires that need to connect to things on the desk such as power cables and chargers? First off, your desk probably has cable grommets somewhere. What are cable grommets you ask? They are those plastic lined holes that are placed strategically on your desk to facilitate cable management. Make use of these. Wires coming up the back of the desk do not look as tidy.

There are other nifty desk accessories that you can find which can help keep cables such as chargers right where you need them. Take a look at this desk cable clip solution. It is adhesive so it can go just about anywhere on your desk. Options like this are great for keeping everything organized and in reach.

Who Needs Wires Anyway?

While all of the above tips will definitely help you achieve great cable management in your setup, the ideal scenario is no wires at all. While there are are a lot of items on your desk that do require a wired connection, you’d be surprised at just how many wireless alternatives exist. Take for instance this rechargeable table lamp . It can be recharged via usb, it looks great, and most importantly, it does not require a cable when in use. In addition to lamps options such as bluetooth desk speakers to replace wired ones and wireless charging pads built for desks instead of charging cables can really help to cut down the amount of wires and cables in your setup in the first place.

Hopefully you’ve found some useful cable management tips here that you can out to good use in your own setup! If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please feel free to write to us below.