The problem is as old as there are electrical devices: The functional little helpers all have a cord through which they draw power - and there is rarely a socket in the immediate vicinity. Accordingly, real snakes of cables, often distanced by extension cables with multiple sockets, lead through all kinds of rooms. The result is often colloquially called 'cable tangles'.

• What do I have to pay attention to when managing cables in the office?
• What tricks are there for cable management in the office?
• Clothespin, gutter & toilet roll
• Cable ties, cable hoses and cable boxes
• Cable ducts, cable wall and cable trays

This is ugly, although many cables for permanently installed things such as televisions, Playstations or floor lamps can be laid behind cupboards, under ledges or under carpets in the household. The industry has already come up with clever cable storage options for less frequently used items such as vacuum cleaners or irons. When it comes to the office, however, the “issue” of tangled cables is a constant issue. A device only needs to be replaced or relocated once and a draw is drawn to see which intern can throw themselves into the woolly mouse-filled, furry, dusty tangle of cables under the desks in order to snatch the wire that needs to be sorted out from the tangle of entwined loops, like a fight with a cobra.

Experience has shown that the often-made resolution to clear up all the clutter at the next opportunity is rarely followed by action - the oft-quoted saying “Out of sight, out of mind” is, as always, exactly right. Although: If it is possible to lose sight of the problem, that is already half the way to a solution. As long as cables are out of sight, it is more difficult to trip over them. Because here lies the greatest danger in this otherwise annoying topic: the potential for stumbling. A cable hanging awkwardly from the desk or lying around in the footwell can literally knock the employee off their stool when getting up. And a sloppily laid extension can bring down the intellectual colleague who is studying a paper while walking.

Either way: Good for those who find a decent workplace. With a few simple tips and tricks you can establish a certain basic order - which doesn't even have to cost a lot. Of course, numerous companies also offer well thought-out solutions for cable routing; And anyone setting up an office should take a look at the local hardware store range anyway.

Office cable management can help here. The fully wired one Desk At home, in the office or in a shared office, you can get things in line with a few tricks.

What do I have to pay attention to when managing cables in the office?

A few considerations are important for proper cable management in the workplace. All modern office equipment has cables, and there can be up to eight on a PC. Therefore, it is important to develop a strategy, especially for cable management desks.

• Avoid tripping hazards: Run cables behind or under the desk

• Cable length: It is better to keep cables short

• Bundle cables so that individual devices can be easily removed (use resealable cable ties)

• “Hide” cables: This will make your office look tidy

What tricks are there for cable management in the office?

CLOTHES PEG, GUTTER & TOILET ROLL

Since many other types of cables can be observed in the wild in addition to power cables at the workplace, this place is the first to be examined. It is not uncommon for power cables to hang down behind the table from the monitor, PC, and possibly printer and scanner. Even on the desk, external hard drives, cameras, tablets, smartphones and other power-hungry gadgets create a tangle of USB, Firewire or Thunderbolt cables of infernal proportions.

As always, the first step towards order is: cleaning out. Just take a hard look at the whole debacle - and if only the printer connection that hasn't been used for a long time comes out: every less cable helps. Second: What is not necessarily on the Desk is needed, should disappear in a drawer. To prevent Gordian cable knots from forming there, it is recommended to either find a material-friendly way to roll up the cables - similar to the example of a climbing rope. But be careful: never “twist” the cable but follow the natural movement of the fabric or composite, otherwise the conductive fibers inside can be damaged or even twisted off completely.

A clever and inexpensive solution for cable management at the desk can be found through recycling: the cardboard tube that hangs in the dispenser at the end of every toilet roll has enormous potential for organization. If you place several toilet rolls upright in the drawer, they keep unnecessary cables away from each other and provide a quick overview of the range. You can keep things tidy on the tabletop with another item from the household department: the clothespin.

CABLE TIES AND CABLE HOSES

If a desk is free in the room and not against the wall, hanging power cables can become a problem. The easiest way to manage cables in the workplace is certainly to catch them together with cable ties and thus lead a thick bundle of cables from the desk to the multiple socket strip. You may also be able to place such a multiple power supply, ideally with an on/off switch, on the table behind a computer monitor or printer and attach it. As a rule, only one power cable leads to the socket. By the way, a variant of cable ties is a cable hose. Visually not at all dissimilar to a vacuum cleaner hose, but with a slot running along the side, it can hold more or fewer cables depending on its diameter. A slightly more expensive solution is a professional cable spiral, available from specialist retailers, which gives the whole structure additional stability.

CABLE BOXES

The new cable boxes from well-known designers, who have long been a thorn in the side of unstylish cable tangles in their design studios, look much more elegant. There is no other explanation for the fact that there are now so many variations Variety of cable boxes, cable chests, cable boxes and even cable barrels is available. Prices range between 5 and 500 euros, depending on how much design there is. The principle is always the same: All power cables are led inside through a slot or hole on one side of the box and plugged together into one or more multiple socket strips. On the other side comes a main power cable that supplies power to all of the office electrical equipment. By the way, you can quickly make a cable box yourself with little technical skill; from a shoebox or a wooden box, for example. However, there is one thing to pay attention to with these solutions: Depending on the condition of the electrical installation in the house, a fuse may blow if there is too much load on a socket. Depending on how many power vacuum cleaners are in the office: You may want to remember that it makes sense to divide them into two independently secured sockets.

CABLE CHANNELS

Even if only a power cable or a bundled strand leads from the desk to the floor: there is often no socket in the wall where you need it. So there is no other choice but to lay a cable again. Anyone who has a surround system or a hi-fi system with two satellite boxes and a subwoofer at home will probably also be familiar with the problem: in such rooms, long cable routes run along the floor along the room walls. “Cable duct” is the solution. On the one hand, there is the classic white one, which runs several cables along the wall in a kind of rail, hidden under a plastic cover. It is up to each individual to decide whether white plastic casing on the wall is more attractive than individual cables. Essential A cable duct is nicer, which has a second use – namely that of a carpet strip. There is a wide selection of such models in common hardware stores and with a bit of luck they will fit into the existing strip suspension. Behind them, the cables then run in clean paths from A to B - in some houses, especially old buildings, there are opulent wall strips above the parquet, which are usually hollow; They can also be used as cable ducts. Depending on the model, installing a conventional cable duct could also ensure order on the desk: There are even special models with rubber lips through which cables can be fed in and out as desired. The cable management office is ready.

CABLE WALL

Creative people like to see the problem of tangled cables as an opportunity to beautify their own four walls. The possibility of an entire cable wall is recommended to you. If you manage to run all the cables along one side of the room, you can hide them with a screwed-on cable wall. Wood, MDF, aluminum or Plexiglas are particularly suitable for this; The second wall is screwed a few centimeters away from the real wall - and all cables are gone. There are no limits to creativity: from a simple white structural color to LED light strips on the back as an indirect light source in the room, a detached wall can be anything from a subtle helper to a decorative eye-catcher.

CABLE SHELLS

Finally, a tip for people who live in houses with high-mounted electrical outlets. You often have no choice but to charge your cell phone, tablet or MP3 player by hanging it from the power cord. In the long run, this takes a huge toll on the material; ultimately, the contact points between the cable and the plug are permanently overstretched and bent. This can be remedied by charging cradle available from specialist retailers, which use the power supply itself as a hook. The device then lies on the hook like in a hammock made of plastic or wood - an apparatus that can also be recreated with a small basket, a cardboard structure or a cardboard ice cream cup.

Above all, of course, is the idea of ​​safety: devices that become very hot during the charging process do not belong in a cardboard box or in a closed plastic box. And cables that are routed openly through the room should have a color that contrasts with the floor if possible; Many manufacturers offer colorful power strips, for example in signal red. For apartments or offices to which animals (especially rodents) have access, the following generally applies: no power cables left lying around.