Ever stumbled across something so perfect that you can’t remember living without it? For me, it’s these frighteningly satisfying, OCD-fueling cable ties, and I’m a bit panicky because I’m running out.
I got hooked on cable management when building my first PC, which came with a baggie of those little plastic cable ties that need to be trimmed with scissors. I got a kick out of bundling my PC cables with those super-thin plastic ties, but something about them was a tad off—the plastic was too stiff, larger bundles were tough to tie together, and once secured, the plastic ties could only be snipped off, not readjusted.
Beautiful (at least I think so).
Ben Patterson/Foundry
Then I switched to fabric cable ties, but the first ones I chose were misfires. The strips were long enough to encompass larger bundles of cables, and the loop-and-hook fasteners allowed for adjustments and reuse. But you had to hold the end of the strip in place as you pulled it taught, making it easy for the fabric to slip before the fasteners could hold. Very frustrating.
Finally, I discovered these guys. These Velcro-style cable ties are just right—they’re long enough, they have sturdy hook-and-loop fasteners, and best of all, they’ve got a slot in the tail for threading the front end though. Just wrap, pull, and press, and your cables will be tied tight as ticks, and ready for readjustment if need be.
In the kitchen, in the dining room, everywhere!
Ben Patterson/Foundry
I use them everywhere now, and there’s practically no length of cable in our apartment that isn’t secured with a cable tie. They’re under our computer desks, wrapped in different configurations around monitor cables, speaker cables, ethernet cables, USB cables, power cables, all bundled and looped together. They’re in the living room, keeping all our A/V cables tied together and off the floor. In the dining room, they keep our smart speaker power cables tucked out of sight. And in our bedroom, the cable ties are taming our tangle of chargers.
Am I getting a tad obsessive about my cable ties? Perhaps, and that might explain my growing anxiety over my rapidly dwindling supply.
Fortunately, they’re cheap; the brand I’m getting (Nettbe) offers a pack of 60 for $7, or you can get some official Velcro ties if you don’t mind paying nearly double.