Reduce Electrical Cord Clutter
Products and ideas to keep all of those
electrical cords and cables from getting hold of your pet and vice versa
MetPet.com Staff Writer
Do you have a spaghetti-like messes of black, white, grey and beige cables
and cords snaking under your feet, around your desk, across your
countertops, behind your TV and even in your car? It is a mess for most
households but, for those with pets, it can be a life-threatening hazard.
Cats and puppies love to go exploring in dark areas.
They can become tangled in the cords and may end up chewing on them.
At the very least, the cords become a mess of pet hair and grime and are notoriously
difficult to keep clean.
We have been scouting out products and ideas that reduce cord clutter and
enhance safety. Here are some findings. We will update this article as new products and
new ideas become available. Whichever product or method you decide to
use, please remember that underneath their flexible plastic or rubberized coating, electrical cords are a
bunch of wires. Make sure not to kink or bend them excessively.
Cord and Cable Collectors
These ties gather up cords and cables into neat bundles. Wrap the
bundles snugly and then cut or hide the tail ends if there are any so as not to leave a
'chewable' piece.
You can also use ribbon scraps and hairbands making sure that the ends are
tucked neatly or cut very short. Try grosgrain ribbon as satin ribbons
are usually too soft and tend to look messy. In order to keep track of
which cable and cord go with which component, color code both ends of each
piece.
Plastic Cable Ties
  These little gizmos are inexpensive and come in a variety of
styles, colors, lengths and materials. The most basic ones are
single-use and have to be cut to open. If you're going to move things
around look for the multi-use ones which can be opened, repositioned and
closed many times.
Velcro One-Wrap
 These very basic hook and loop fasteners come in a variety of colors.
Place one around some cords, thread the tail through the eyelet and pull
snugly. They won't hide the cords and cables but they will make them
look like one big neat one.
Velcro With Pin Tabs
These close with Velcro as well but they just wrap instead of
 threading
through an eyelet. These also have a fabric end that can be tacked to
the wall with push pins.
All of these products come from a variety of manufacturers in a variety
of different colors and sizes. Hardware stores are the most likely to
have a big selection although some drugstores often carry basic cable ties.
Cable Hiders
 These range from the plastic hose-like flexible covers to vinyl
contraptions sturdy enough to step on. Some of these covers take more
than one cord and some come with adhesive backing that can be tacked onto
carpets or hard surface floors for extra security.
The
cable cord cover with zipper
 contraption makes it easy to hide all of
those computer cables. You do not have to thread individual cords
through a tube so
you are done in a minute or two instead of twenty. The
For really heavy-duty use, look for stores that sell to factories and
other types of industrial applications.
Cable Winders and Collectors
Wind and/or hide
These products wind up excess cords from small appliances and keep them tidy
in a variety of ways. Some just wind while others wind and hide.
Cables look neat and tidy with only the two ends sticking out and they
come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors.
These are particularly helpful for those who have cats who travel along
kitchen countertops.
For those pesky little wires for iPods and other small electronics, try
the interesting little Cable Yo-Yo.
This neat little contraption will keep Rover from becoming tangled in the
earphones in the car.
  For the garage and workshop, this handy contraption even comes with a crank
to take up the heavy-duty (and heavy) extension cords for your power tools.
This helps prevent the tangling and kinking and knotting that comes from
trying to gather up cords by hand. Plus this increases their useful
life.
If you are handy with a drill, you can make your own garage cord keeper
using a 5 gallon plastic bucket with or without a lid. Drill a hole
large enough to thread your cord through on the side of the bucket right at
the base. Thread the plug of your cord through the hole and plug it
into the socket. Then wind the rest of the cord around the inside of
the bucket.
If you like, make a large hole in the top of the lid to pull the other
end of the cord through. Otherwise, simply use it without the lid.
Hide the speaker and home theater
wires
Spackle and paint or pretend it's molding
If you have yards of thick cable running between the various components of
your stereo or home theater system, consider changing to flat speaker wire that can be tacked to a
wall. Some types of wire can even be covered in plaster and painted so
as to 'disappear' entirely.
This saves you hours of drilling holes in drywall and 'fishing' the wire
through with a coat hanger. Even if you don't spackle and
 paint
over it, neutral-colored wire looks nice just running on top of the
baseboards.
You can also buy kits which hide wire inside wall 'molding' which can then
be painted to match your decor. 
Related Information:
Electrical Burns On
Pets
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