Friday, October 10, 2008

Power Cords

I remember my first portable electric device - a Sony Walkman.

It was great for playing my favorite Amy Grant tape, Heart in Motion. It even had a digital AM/FM radio component, which was pretty sweet, back in 1993.

And it ran on batteries. So did my first camera.

A few years later I started college with a laptop (which I promptly named Julie) and cell phone. This was the beginning my experience with multiple power cords. But two wasn't so bad. Eventually I switched to a cheap digital camera, and along with that change brought another power cord into my life, along with a different cord that connects the camera to the computer.

Since then I've accumulated an iPod, another cell phone (this one for work stuff), and an eReader. Oh, and a husband, who has his own set of electronic devices. And for my last birthday I received a bluetooth from my parents, who were concerned with me driving across the country while talking on my cell phone. Now I can talk hands-free, which is great.

But holy cow power cords. They've really exploded out of control these days, and we end up with areas of our house that look like this:




And this:



And this:



Can anyone relate?

For the record, I do realize I'm a little spoiled when it comes to this stuff. But I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in owning a variety of great little gadgets.

Does anyone have a good solution for keeping them organized? They all have different little connections, and I have a hard time figuring out which is which. I also tend to lose them... I'm on camera cord #3. Thankfully there are random folks in China that will sell me cheap replacements on Ebay!

Suggestions?



7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, I can totally relate. Both to the power cord issue and to the Amy Grant tape in the walkman. :)

I kinda want something like this: http://www.amazon.com/JEWELRY-CHARGER-CHARGING-STATION-CHERRY/dp/B0018C0UYU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1223651638&sr=1-1

To keep our cell phones and our iPods in. But I can't justify the cost when just plugging them in works too. :) But I hate having to pick up the Playstation cords when I want to vacuum! :)

Anonymous said...

You know your grandma would have a suggestion, don't you? I put individual power cords in small zip lock baggies (the kind you can write on), put the name of the gadget it fits on it, and store them all in a shoe box. It's easy to just grab the right cord when you need one. (as long as you remember to put it back in the baggie after you use it!)

Unknown said...

Hey Witte! Check this idea from DIY about using a photo box with a power strip inside to put all your chargers in one place. http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/diy_kits/article/0,2019,DIY_13787_5794952,00.html

Hope you and Josh are doing great!!

the buurstra's said...

your grandma stole my idea. :) it may seem a little tedious but might keep things from getting misplaced.

those colored velcro loop tie things, don't have the official name, are handy as well. you can wrap up the camera cord, for example, and put it in a red photo box. then store the camera in there as well. that way seems easier too bc i get all those dang cords confused too...they can't make the camera cord purple or something? bland grey? really?

i have to ask-the laptop was named "julie". please tell me bc it holds or can impart such infitite amounts of wisdom...right?! ;)

Jedda said...

We have a similar problem at my house and my kiddies love to drag them around the house! I tried putting a twist tie around them so that there was less cord to play with-BAD IDEA. We just did a tour of the fire station and they said that tons of fires start every year because people wind up cords and plug them in...so at least don't go that route :)
Jedda

Short Stop said...

We have them all over our house; and, I seem to trip on one at least once a day.

Love your gram's suggestion for the ones always on our kitchen counter!

Jenni S. said...

The other thing you could do is take a small bit of masking tape and write on it what the poswer cord is for and then wrap it around the cord to make a little tag. Dave does this for all the surround sound stereo stuff so that if he has to unplug it, he knows exactly what each cord does.