Do a quick Google search attempting to find ways to reduce computer clutter, and you’re told to remove files from your desktop. No! We want to reduce the digital technology hardware that’s taking over our homes. It’s a growing problem, but here are some solid solutions.
Wireless computing! Ha!
If stepping over cables to get from the living room to the kitchen has become an feat similar to a jewel thief trying to avoid the laser beam sensors that protect the British Crown Jewels, you need to consider these tips.
First, inspect to see which cables are actually being used. If you can’t track down where a cable leads, unplug it, and wait for someone to complain. It might take months for anyone to notice. You may also be surprised how many “legacy” cords are hanging around that are no longer being utilized. While you’re at it, use Velcro ties to bundle wires, and see that each wire is labeled. This will save a lot of headaches down the road.
With that out of the way, check your work or play stations. Are cables bunched up on the floor? An under-the-desk mounted basket can store all of those cables off the floor where they will be out of sight and not pose a tripping hazard. Adam Pash walks you through the process using some excellent photos.
If power cables are strung across the floor, mounting multi-outlet power surge strips under desks and behind furniture will get them out of the way and out of sight.
The subhead for this section is a sarcastic crack at the promise of “wireless computing,” which has become almost as big of an unfulfilled promise as the “paperless office.” Even so, there are a few things you can do to reduce the number of wires in your work area. Read on.
Wireless printing and gaming! Yeah!
Today’s wireless printers are very inexpensive. The first and most obvious benefit of a wireless printer is that you can eliminate a couple of wires and still maintain printer access from all your wireless-enabled computers or devices.
Even more beneficial is the fact that when your printer is wireless, you can place it virtually anywhere. For instance, it can be tucked away in a closet so that you only have to see it when you need to grab a printout from its tray.
Do you have a family room that looks like a game console delivery truck crashed into it? While we’re on the topic of going wireless, if your kids—or you—have been using the stock wired controllers, it is definitely time to step up to wireless controllers. Make sure you have drawers with enough free space to store them when they aren’t being used.
It’s all about control
Now that we’ve mentioned control, we may as well discuss a related subject: how to control the various components of your entertainment system. Many of us have a wide variety of receivers and players hooked up to our flat screen TVs. By their very nature, flat screens—especially when wall mounted—don’t contribute to our technology clutter, but all the attached components do!
However, all is not lost. If you are able, conceal those components in a cabinet. Products like the Sewell InjectIR allows TV accessories to be hidden behind doors and still be controlled. A sensor mounted on or near your TV will send your remote control signals down through the HDMI cable and rebroadcast them to your hidden components.
Let’s cover one more tip before we close. Even your desk lamps can be made wireless. Strip out the existing guts, and fit the stand and decorative parts of the lamp with LED reel lights that run on battery power. Here are step-by-step instructions to get you through the process. It’s really quite cool and works great as long as you don’t spend hour-after-hour at your desk with the lamp turned on.
Attached Images:
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
Chris Turberville-Tully works with ESA, a company providing hotel-alternatives in Swindon. They offer serviced apartments. Swindon, in the county of Wiltshire is a base for companies like Honda and Patheon.
