It’s time to tackle possibly one of the most annoying clutter items in your life. It’s annoying because this item permeates every area of your home and stuff. From your purse, car, and tables find out how to declutter your cords and chargers.
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Why am I including this in its own separate category? Because in this day and age we are so inundated with electronic devices and the subsequent cords and chargers that go along with them that it’s crazy. Even when we get rid of the devices themselves, the cords get shuffled to a drawer or box. Heck, we even have multiple cords for the same device. That leads to a chaotic build up of cords that we don’t use and likely can’t use because they aren’t compatible with out devices anymore.
This is the perfect reason to get hubs to finally toss that box of miscellaneous cords in the basement, too. Trust me, he doesn’t know what half of those cords go to anymore and he’s never going to build that computer, fix the gaming system, or whatever else he swears is going to happen. Let him know the jig is up and that this is a part of the decluttering commitment your family made.
Find All of Your Cords and Chargers
Much like books, these are hiding all over your house. Make sure that you check everywhere for them, even places that seem unlikely such as the bathroom. Don’t believe me? Check out all of the crazy items I found when we cleaned and organized the bathroom catchall. If you do better with lists like I do, here is one to help you leave no stone un-turned.
- Bathroom Drawers and Cabinets
- Nightstand
- Dresser
- Kids Room
- Living Room
- Entertainment Center
- Kitchen Counter
- Junk Drawer
- Desks
- Car
- Purse
- Dining Table
- Office
- Diaper Bag
- Connected to Computers
- Remote Caddy
- All Outlets
- Laundry Room
- Game Systems
- Family Room
- Craft Room
- Camera Cases/Bags
Sort Your Cords and Chargers
Once you have gathered all of your cords it is time to sort them. Organize them into piles by type. Once you have them organized, immediately get rid of the ones that don’t fit any of the devices you currently own. Old Apple chargers, specialty cords for kids toys you no longer own, etcetera are easy to toss without much thought. Don’t forget about cords that go to games systems and computers no longer used or owned.
After you’ve eliminated the cords that don’t have devices anymore, go through them again and get rid of any that are broken. Any cords with exposed wires, kinks in the cords, or other breaks should be tossed.
Save your wall adapters for the next step. It’s hard to determine which ones to keep without testing them to know for sure that they work.
Test Your Cords and Chargers
The last step in decluttering is to test the remaining cords and chargers. Any that don’t work get rid of. Be sure to test every one before moving on.
Once you know that all of the remaining cords and chargers work, it’s time to pare them down to only what you need. I recommend keeping one wall adapter per family member. As for the cords, keep only what you need. I like to have a charger for my car and one for in the house, but outside of that don’t hold on to a bunch of back-ups.
Once you know how to declutter your cords and chargers, don’t go back to tossing them in boxes and drawers. When you get a new phone or tablet, get rid of the old chargers along with the old device. If your kids get a new game system, make sure any cords that go along with the old one (including the chargers for the controllers) are gotten rid of with the old system. Lastly, don’t let your husband start a new mystery box of cords and electronics “just in case”. The space you free up and the piece of mind you gain is well worth simply buying a replacement if you ever need it.
See where I’m linking up!
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