As I have reported before (see “How to Organize Those Cluttered Cords“), there’s a rat’s nest under my worktable made up of rubberized and plasticized spaghetti, otherwise known as cables and cords.

I just learned about a cable management system that for less than $20 may make visitors think I actually have it together. And if you think about it, that’s a whole lot cheaper than actually getting it together through therapy.

The system is called the Monster Cable•it Cable Management Kit. (Yes, that’s a bullet between “Cable” and “it”. Don’t you love those product names that make it impossible to find what you really want in search engines?) I’m showing it in a photo as it comes out of the package. The way it works is this:

1. You gather up your cables. (This could take me half a day, because it would require unsnarling them first, but let’s assume you’re tidier than I am…)

2. You open the “Monster Zipper” and insert your cables then close it again. The zipper is that lump on the end of the hose.

3. You slide the sleeve (the hose) into the zipper and pull the zipper backwards. When you’ve run out of hose, you remove the zipper.

Don’t get the idea that these photos show my desk. It’s much too neat to be my desk. (It must belong to my evil alter-ego Dan who always wears an apron when he’s in the kitchen.)

If the hose is too long, you figure out how long it should be and cut it with scissors. Since the company sells these in lengths from eight feet to 50 feet, length is a consideration. They also sell various hole sizes — small (for three to five cables), medium (for five to eight cables) and large (for eight to 12 cables).

The version sold through the sources on PriceGrabber are eight feet long and medium, which would be just about right for my cable maelstrom.

Also, if there’s one cable you need zigging where the rest need zagging, the hose part lets you yank out as much of that cable as necessary, kind of like some freaky magic trick where you can’t figure out how it works.

Could it really be this easy to look so good?

Posted on April 10th, 2008 by dian