Digital Spring Cleaning: Declutter Your Cords
The first step is to tackle your weird wire bundle.
While we’re all settled in, there’s never been a better time to do a little bit of digital spring cleaning. As we increasingly live our lives through our devices and online, keeping yourself electronically organized can relieve some headaches and make things easier (especially if you’re in a field where you have to manage a lot of different information). In this series, we’re going to go over some basic tips to make things run a little more smoothly online.
The first step is going to seem awfully analog, but it’s to take a break away from your screen and sort out that one drawer full of cords and wires that you’ve built up over the years. We’ve all got one that slowly gets filled with a rat’s nest of mysterious cords and dongles that slowly begin to accrete once you settle into a place. As a Boston wedding photographer, I actually have a few bins between old gear and personal effects.
So here are the steps that I’m taking to de-clutter the physical end of my digital space.
Inventory Your Devices:
Those cords and accessories came from somewhere, so it can help to have all your devices on hand so you can see which plug, cord and attachment is associated with which device. It might also be a good time to consider whether or not you need four spare iPods and a Zune hanging around.
Sort Your Cables:
Over the years as our electronics have changed, so have the standards for cables (though not all at the same time). This profusion of types is a big part of the confusing mess you’ve got in your junk drawer.
Take the time to sort out your cables by the type of connector, these are easy enough to match visually with one another or by which ones will fit with a given device (if you’re interested in what each cable is called, visit https://www.cablestogo.com/learning/connector-guides for a taxonomy). Right now you don’t have to care about length, color, or construction, just the types of connectors on either end.
Deciding What to Keep:
Once you’ve paired each device with its respective cables and have gotten everything into some semblance of order, it’s time to decide what needs to go. So what’s a good rubric?
At a minimum, you should keep at least one cord for each frequently used device (and you can even label them with bread tags if you’re feeling crafty). For backup devices or items that you don’t regularly require a plug for, this isn’t necessary as long as you have something compatible in your collection (for example, if you keep a backup phone, it doesn’t always need to be charged).
For very frequently used devices, like your phone. Consider how you use the device and if it makes sense to have multiple cords (for my phone, I have a cord in my car, a cord in my office and a long cord on the nightstand so I can goof off on Twitter in bed).
You might also want to keep around a few courtesy cords (micro-USB, usb-C, and lightning) for guests that may want to charge their phones.
So if a cord doesn’t match a device, and you already have plenty of alternatives around, then why are you hanging onto it?
Strategy for the Timid:
If you aren’t quite ready to throw out a particular cord, fearing that you’ll need it in a week when a device shows up on your doorstop, consider putting all of the mystery cables that you’re not getting rid of right away into a box. That way if their match does turn up, you still have it, but next year rolls around and it’s still lonely, you can consign it to the electronics recycling.
Hopefully this will help you free up some space for the next generation of cords, because our fight against stuff is never ending. What are your strategies for taming your cords? Do you have any areas of digital life you’d like help cleaning up? Let me know in the comments.
Ryan Richardson is a wedding and portrait photographer serving Boston, Rhode Island, Cape Cod and all of New England.