The best cable management solutions for your desk

Jeff Weisbein -

Now here are the two most dreaded words for a home office: cable management. I'm right there with you, seeing cables drive me crazy but attempting to organize them? It's maddening. In the past, my solution was merely to hide the cable mess with a piece of cardboard. I know, I know – don't judge. But seriously, cable management is really rough – for a few reasons:

  1. We have so many devices these days and every device has its own cable.
  2. A big issue for me has been that I frequently added/remove products from my setup. This means that my cable management has to be flexible.
  3. Some cables are long, some are short, there's no real universal cable length.

After Mandy and I moved to Florida we swore we would ditch the cardboard and do some proper cable management. In our quest for better home office cable management we took a look at what The Container Store had to offer. Ultimately we spent around $75 on cable management products – which, to be honest, is actually a better price tag than I was expecting.

Bottom line is, you too, can make these improvements to your desk's cable situation for not much money.

Here's what we got

Bluelounge CableBox
Say so long to untidy power strips and excess cords! They’re kept neat and tidy within our CableBox. It houses your power strip (not included) and contains excess lengths of cable. Inside there’s plenty of room inside for a power adaptor or block charger. The cords and cables slip neatly through…
The Container StoreIlovetcs
Wrap-It Self-Gripping Black Storage Straps
These cable ties make it easy to organize cords and wires around a desk, entertainment center or kitchen counter. Their self-gripping design features a larger eyelet for easy looping. Reinforced for added durability, each strap is designed to stay attached even when not in use.
The Container StoreAsked by: Tangled
Hanging Cable Loft Cord Organizer
Organize all your cables, cords, power strips and more with our Hanging Cable Loft Cord Organizer! Its sturdy metal design features five grooves and six cable wrap points to organize multiple cords without jumbling them all together! A silicone strip keeps the organizer in place, yet removes cleanly…
The Container Storerrsanchez
3M Command Cord Bundlers
Organize a work station, countertop or media entertainment center with our 3M Command Cord Bundlers. Each bundler installs tool-free and stores the full cord length within its secure loop, so cables stay clear of surfaces. Best of all, it’s made with 3M Command Adhesive, a removable adhesive that co…
The Container Store
Wrap-It Oval Cable Labels
Never grab the wrong cord again. Label, organize and color-code cords with durable tags that let you instantly identify computer cables, TV cords, wires and more. Their adjustable design won’t damage equipment. Hook and loop closures mean there’s never a sticky adhesive residue. Each label surface c…
The Container Store

Bluelounge Cablebox

The Bluelounge Cablebox is a great product. It's big enough to fit even a large surge protector, yet sleek enough looking that you don't mind seeing it under your desk. I also love that there's still room to fit in miscellaneous cables in addition to the surge protector.

Self-gripping storage straps

The self-gripping storage straps and the hanging cable loft cord organizer work really well. I love the self-gripping straps because they are easy to do and undo, which is helpful if you need to remove old cables or run new cables beneath your desk (which I frequently need to do).

Loft cord organizers

We bought two of the loft cord organizers because my desk has two cable hole cutouts – we found it extremely useful to place each loft cable organizer by the cable hole cutouts to not only hold cables up (to keep them from hanging freely) but also as a way to keep power bricks and other eye sores out of view.

Command cord bundlers

These 3M command cord bundlers are really wonderful to stick on the bottom of your desk and run cables through. They keep the cables close to the top of the underside of the desk while also being easy to adjust.

Oval cable labels

These little oval cable labels are great. No more guessing which power cord you're about to unplug. No more sliding your finger from the beginning of the cable to the end to find the right one. Simply apply the labels to each cord and your life just got hella simpler.

Under my desk: hey, it's not perfect, but it's pretty damn good.

As you can see, these products can really help you tame that mess of cables while still keeping them accessible for whenever you need to get at them. It's a best of both worlds approach because face it: we're all buying new tech all the time and that means more cables. With this approach to cable management you can easily add/remove cables without giving yourself an aneurysm.

Anyway, hopefully this helps with your web of cables under your desk. If you have any questions, comments, or things you think I should consider adding to the list let me know in the comments! Additionally, be sure to check out our guide on how to build the ultimate work from home setup – lots of good stuff in there!