Chaos under your desk and nasty pets that love to climb over your cables? MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann was annoyed by this and had to come up with something. He bought cable boxes. And they work surprisingly well.
If you want to connect your gaming PC, monitor, lamps, and other devices, you eventually have a bunch of cables lying and hanging under your desk. Our cats love that and regularly climb through the cables. I panicked every time because I feared one of the animals would eventually turn off the power strip.
What was my solution? Annoyed, I ordered a so-called cable box. That’s the part where the cat is sitting in the title image. These are normally large boxes where you can put the power strip inside and store the cables of most devices as well.
By now, I’m so enthusiastic about the part that I’ve packed all the cables in the living room into such boxes. Privately, I bought boxes from HAMA (1-set, 20 Euros) and from DARKOH ELEMENTS (2-set, 40 Euros):
![DARKOH ELEMENTS® Kabelbox Schwarz [2er-Set | Groß & Medium] aus ABS-Kunststoff mit Bambusdeckel & Gummifüßen - Kabel Box Set inkl. Kabelhalter, Kabelbinder & Kabelschlauch zum Kabel Verstecken](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41Wr1lp00FL._SL160_.jpg)
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Another tip is a practical seat cushion that I also can’t do without anymore and accompanies me every day in the home office:
Three advantages: Less chaos, less dust, less fighting with pets
What do these boxes bring? The models are normally absolutely inconspicuous in everyday life. A white box hardly stands out next to a white cabinet.
All cables coming out of the back of the cable box are additionally in a cable channel from IKEA. The remaining free cables hang down from my desk and then run into the box. I can’t really secure them because they need some leeway due to the height-adjustable desk.
I find the result pretty genius and significantly nicer. You can see how it looks with and without the cable box in the following image gallery:
Another advantage is that the cables and the power strip inside the box no longer collect a lot of dust. There’s also a third advantage: the cat no longer sits between the cables, but on the cable box. There, it can’t break much.
In fact, I liked the organization so much that I also ordered such a cable box for the bedroom and living room. This way, almost all cables have now disappeared into such boxes.
What does it cost and what is available?
- The prices start at around 15 Euros for simple plastic boxes and go up to about 40 Euros for 2-set.
- The boxes differ partly in design, look different, and some products come with bamboo lids.
- Many models also come in different sizes, depending on how big your power strip is. In boxes with a length of 40 cm, you can fit power strips with 6 sockets, sometimes even 8 sockets.
- Some models also offer additional holes for cables or extra air supply. Most boxes, by the way, are not waterproof and not suitable for outdoor use.
Before purchasing, it took me about 15 minutes to measure my power strips and any cables. This effort is definitely worth it and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to acquire something like this.
Do the cables and the strip get warm? I couldn’t measure significant heat development. The box stays cold, and most cables also run in a cable channel. I also don’t “stuff” any cables into the box.
Through the power strip, a maximum of 1,000 watts is used when my desktop PC is running, as I have a lot of small stuff connected to the strip. So, a lamp, USB charger for the phone, and a USB hub with power supply.
Another tip for the desk is a lamp that I purchased some time ago. This has proven to be a really good tip for my everyday life and accompanies me daily when I sit at the desk:
My most important purchase for the home office 2021 cost me only 30 Euros
