Wednesday, April 13

Electronics Graveyard

We all have it.

Especially in the last few years, if not before.

We all have electronics that we no longer use daily but aren't ready to let go. 


  • Cords, Cables and Wiring
  • Headsets, Mice, Speakers and other Accessories
  • Printers, Monitors, Fax Machines
  • Cellphones, MP3 Players
  • Chargers and other misc electronic gadgets

How do you store and organize these items so you can find them when you need/want them?

At our house, like most everywhere else, until recently, these things were all tossed in a bin, shoved in storage and left for dead.  Wires and cables all tied around each other, tangled and impossible.  Screens being scratched, power cords disappearing.  Dead PCs with personal information still on the drives.


This is my pile of dead PCs.  It is in my craft room, taking up a corner previously only occupied by dust bunnies.  They are tucked away and not really in my way, but they are there and I know they have been sitting forever.  I recently discovered a way to purge the information off of them, so this pile has now dwindled.  You can read about that here.

But beyond that, hidden deep in the basement, under the stairs, in the dark, the rest of the items lurk, ready to jump up and bite my ankles when I was looking for something else, like playing cards.  There had to be a better way.  And it had to suit the entire family since we have 2 adults, a couple adult children, and 2 kiddos, all who will go searching out plugs and wires and accessories in my storage closet.

I started out with a door-back pocket hanger thingy.  With it screwed right to the wall, it was easy to see and sort all kinds of smaller items.  With labels on the pockets, items can be used and quickly returned without being misplaced again.


I have all kinds of stuff in here including an old work cellphone, a calculator, computer mice, home phones, webcam, PC speakers, cellphone headsets...


I included the plugs in the pockets with the items.  But I still have a ton of cables and stuff left.   Some of the wires had twist ties or rubber bands on them trying to keep them neat, but many of them were also just folded and tossed, all jumbled up together.  The hardest part of this job was untangling everything.  Once untangled and sorted by type, I packaged these items in quart size zip lock baggies that I labeled with a Sharpie.  There should be no more "Mooooooommmmmm" heard from under the stairs as someone is wondering if they selected the correct wires or not.  I then divided the bags into 3 drawers and stacked them up.




Everything that is left, larger items that dont fit those two storage options as well as product boxes we saved (few and far between...my opinion is to toss the box especially if the item is of daily use), was put on the shelf unit directly next to the hangy pocket thing.


You can see, while I battle to declutter, there are some wars I do not win... and we still have a HUGE video camera that was outdated in the mid 90s.  Why?  Because there is no other way to view some of the videos we have left, and it cost so much initially, my husband refuses to let go of it. 

I also have a variety of wired and wireless keyboards... because you never know when someone, who isnt supposed to have liquids in their room, is going to spill and ruin their keyboard in the middle of a report for school. 

Ah yes, and monitors for all those dead PCs we saw upstairs. 
Yes, I have it all.  And for a variety of reasons, one being my husband, another being laws that specify how these items are to be trashed or recycled, where and when.

So what have you got hidden in your Electronics Graveyard?   


Photobucket

5 Comments Welcome!:

Handy Man, Crafty Woman said...

Nice job organizing. Oh, we have electronics we should get rid of, too. blechhh! I'm looking into some recycling optinos. thanks for linking up to our Wicked Awesome Wed. party.

IHeart Organizing said...

Shoe organizers are just the best, they work great for just about anything and you totally prove that! Thanks so much for linking up and sharing this week!

xoxo,
Jen

Anonymous said...

This is exactly the same way I store all of our electronics too!! LOVE IT!

Drema said...

Thanks for the tips. Just took electronics to our recycling center. Best Buy recycles certain things, too. As far as keeping the video player to play tapes, can't your local WalMart or Sam's Club or a photography store change your videos to CD's for easier viewing? Something that helps me get rid of stuff is to figure out how much my house is worth, divide it by how many square feet of space and look at how much junk is taking up valuable $'s in real estate. Letting junk stay rent free that has no value to my current life except to stress me out and waste time. That helps kick me into gear on top of thinking how much energy is sucked out of me just by having this stuff around. Happy purging everyone! We can do it!

Anne said...

Thanks, Drema. My thoughts exactly. Unfortunately I am overruled by my husband on a lot of these issues and am left to find ways to concentrate and organize them to best conserve the space.

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