Tiny Tip – Re-usable Cable Ties

The problem to be solved was a bewildering array of cables in a very large box.

Step one separate boxes for each basic type: network cables, power cables, audio cables, and USB cables.

The next problem to be solved was a bewildering array of USB cables in a large box.

If we count USB-A, USB-A for USB 3, USB-B, USB-B for USB 3, USB Mini-B, USB Micro-B, the other USB Micro-B, USB-C, and Lightning, there are 50 or more possible cable types, and probably only one that will do the task you need it for right now.

I would search through the box looking for one end of a cable of the correct type, then have to find the other end, only to realise it was not the cable I needed. If I could just see both ends of each cable at the same time, easily, the task would be simpler.

I tried rubber bands. I tried putting each cable in a clear plastic bag. Neither were great solutions. Then I hit upon the perfect solution — cable ties!

Now, it would be a pretty poor solution to use regular plastic cable ties as they’d have to be cut off and thrown out any time I wanted to use one of the cables, and a new one used when putting one in the box. So I searched for re-usable cable ties.

The ones I originally chose were all black and I recently needed to get some more. This time, I went for colours. I bought the ENVEL Reusable Fastening Cable Ties, 60 Pieces Adjustable Self Adhesive Cord Cable Straps for Headphones Phones Electronics PC Wire Cable Tidy Management, Cord Organizer Straps 6 Colors from Amazon. (Note: The original product seems no longer to be listed on Amazon, however those linked appear identical.)

It is essentially a Velcro-like strap, about 12 mm wide and functionally 150 mm long. It’s not real Velcro. There is a soft, fuzzy side which grips onto the textured plastic side. They can comfortably wrap around a 50 mm diameter.

With most cables, I wrap them into a “flat loop” and then cinch the middle with the cable tie so the cable becomes somewhat like a bow. For more delicate cables, I do a circular loop and apply a cable tie near the plugs, and possibly one on the opposite side, depending on how the cable behaves.

By ensuring the two plugs are next to each other when tying, it makes finding the right cable a much easier task. Or, indeed, finding that despite having 30 cables, none of them is the right sort.