Home Office Cable Conundrum: A Smile and 3 Solutions

Under my home office desk I have a power strip/surge protector. I imagine you do to. It connects me and my multitude of electronic office gizmos to a wall outlet. What amazes me is how inadequate it is for the task. Not a shortage of outlets, but a lack of space to accommodate the bulky AC adapters at the end of so many of our power cords.

cartoon of man sitting on giant electrical power strip with a bag on either side blocking adjacent outlets

Christoph Niemann’s humorous take on how our bulky plugs hog outlets on a standard power strip.

Artist Christoph Niemann has a humorous take on the home office cable conundrum. Inspired by him I searched for possible solutions to the mismatch of standard power strips and big power adapter plugs.

Here are 3 solutions to choose from:

Kensington Power Carousel and Surge Protector  – The name says it all. It is round with room for six bulky plugs. In addition, each outlet is color coded and the carousel comes with color coded tags.

Philips Squid Surge Protector – This looks like its name. The short cords allow room for big plugs to cluster on your floor, desk top or cable rangler.

Ideative Expandable Surge Protector – A very elegant solution. The angled outlets allow room for several chunky power adapters to line up in a row.

 

Read about other ways to manage the cords and cables in your home office:

Untangle Yourself with Great New Gadgets”

“Label Your Cables: Simple Tips”

“2 Ways to Hide Cables”

Please note – while all of these devices can be found on Amazon. The only connection I have with Amazon is my book :-)  The Smarter Home Office: 8 Simple Steps to Increase Your Income, Inspiration and Comfort.

Do you have a handy gadget or technique for getting bulky plugs and power strips to play nicely together? Share it in the comments below.