5 Creative Ways to Combat Gadget Clutter

Does your garage get cable and is the laundry room set up for wireless Internet? Do you text your youngster upstairs and browse the 'Net while cooking? If so, you have ample chargers, electronic devices, plug-ins and attachments. How do you corral them?

Invest in a Dock

Buy a docking station for each member of the family who is wired. Common models feature three charging stations in a top compartment as well as a couple of drawers for attachments. Feed the charger cords through the back or bottom, where they can be hidden behind a piece of furniture. In this way, mp3 players, cell phones and other gadgets get charged when not in use, while their accessories do not get lost in sock drawers or the kitchen catch-all drawer.

Designate a Cabinet

You have a designated cabinet for your pots and pans, dishes and glasses; why should your electronic devices not get a similar treatment? As you gradually amass more gadgets, having a dedicated cabinet keeps all the items together and makes it easy for each family member to access whatever she or he needs. Opt for a cabinet in a climate-controlled room -- preferably not in the occasionally moisture-impacted kitchen -- and arrange the shelves to accommodate the various sizes of the gadgets.

Clear Storage Boxes for Instruction Manuals

If you can keep a clear storage box -- maybe in shoebox size for smaller items -- for each electronic gizmo, go ahead and store warranty information and instructions with the items. Do not forget to also keep the accessories handy in the same box. This makes it a snap to take a camera on the road and have access to all of the attachments that ensure great picture-taking!

Toss it!

Do you have remote controls to items you no longer own? Do you know what the charger in your silverware drawer is designed to power? If you have odds and ends like this in your home, bag them all up and put them into a closed box in the garage. If you have no reason to search in the box for a missing remote, charger or attachment in the next three to six months, then it is safe to take all these items to an electronic waste recycling station.

Limit tinkering

Does your youngster believe he can "fix" the broken clock radio? Does your garage feature a number of electronic projects that are just waiting for someone to take them on? Limit the number of unfinished projects to one or two. This decreases electronic clutter and does away with the bits and pieces of items that somehow seem to be underfoot in the oddest places.