Friday, July 26, 2019

12 Charging Cabinet Organization Check-In

One thing you all ask for more of is just a simple update or check-in on past organizing projects, and how they have maintained or held up. I have been thinking a lot about how we tend to blog about our projects instantly as we do them, whether it be DIY or organization, and we may really love something right after it is complete, but find ourselves changing things down the road for various reasons. Knowing that, I would like to be better about either waiting to post about something until we have lived with it for a short while and worked out any kinks, or just be sure to be better about following up on things as they evolve or change over time.

When I posted about my all-time favorite organizing tips, I received a lot of emails about our docking/charging station. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to do another post for anyone newer around here, or for those wondering how it has worked for us over the years.



We have a cabinet located in a sideboard in our dining area that we dedicate to all things technology and school. I am a really big fan of creating zones in our home dedicated to specific tasks, and because we go through schedules and homework and do school-related projects at our dining table, this cabinet has been so very valuable and handy to us over the years.




This is one of those projects where I can honestly say, that other than some supplies, not much has changed in what we keep here or how we utilize the original systems in place. That makes this a true thumbs up of a project that has remained extremely useful as our boys have gone through elementary, middle, and now high school.

Before diving into the specifics of the cabinet, a key partner to the setup is the drawer located just above, which I stock with fresh supplies at the beginning of each school year.


This drawer typically contains erasers, paperclips, Post-its, stapler, scissors, pens, rubber bands, color pencils, page flags, a ruler, hole punch, pencils, sharpener, glue, and tape.

These are items that seem to be required to accomplish the majority of their homework and projects.

Now, back to the cabinet...

We built a paper sorting inbox for the kids to manage any necessary school paperwork: newsletters, calendars, details about extracurriculars and athletics, lunch menus, etc... (find the paper sorter DIY tutorial here.) Once a week I just go through each slot and recycle anything that is no longer relevant. Because it is currently summer break, we only have a few college (!) related materials that we need to keep track of.


I received a lot of source questions specifically about the tiered charging station. I love this thing, and would you be surprised to know I just purchased an office file organizer? Yep! Which means you really can use it to file paperwork and charge your electronics if you wish! All in one very handy spot!


There is an outlet in this cabinet that allowed us to feed cords into the sorting tray and run them into each divided compartment through an opening in the back (we used a USB strip to cut down on bulky bricks). The tray is wide enough we can fit 2-3 phones in a single slot.


Most importantly, we try to keep bedrooms tech-free at bedtime, so this setup allows the boys to charge their devices in a single spot overnight. The tray is able to accommodate Chromebooks, Bluetooth accessories (keyboard/headphones/battery cells), tablets, and phones. We found that some of the universal cords also work to charge a variety of other small household electronics/devices out of sight as well, which is just a happy bonus.

(I used my label maker to label each tier of the organizer, you can find all of those details in this post here.)



Because we quickly realized that there are times the kids still need a charge during the day or while they are traveling, we store some spare bricks and cords in the cabinet as well.

Quick Tip: I have used a lot of ties and cord wranglers over the years, and have learned that rubber bands and/or hair ties easily and inexpensively do the trick just as well as anything.



Lastly, we have accrued quite a few random colored pencils and markers over the years, so they all get tossed in some lidded bins that can easily be transported to desks or the table as needed.




And that is it, not complicated but really useful. I think the tiered paper organizer works so well due to its overall size and narrow slots, which is something to keep in mind if you are looking for alternative trays/organizers to do a similar task. And if you don't have Chromebooks but are searching for a similar charging option, this docking station appears to be something that can hold quite a few tablets/devices as well. Either way, it's always great when you can "take charge" of the technology situation!

12 comments:

  1. This is genius! Thank you for this recommendation! I am wondering from your readers if anyone can recommend a similar filing tray that would be large enough to accommodate several laptops? The laptops and chargers are the bane of my tidying! They're everywhere! It looks like this particular one, while useful for a Chromebook, will not hold the longer laptops. Thanks for this inspiration -- I now feel like there is hope in handling all the laptops in this house!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Kelly! I think laptops are next for us too. I will see what I can find and share anything I come up with. 😘

      Delete
    2. hi, I've seen teachers in classrooms organize the room's laptops on a bookshelf or inside a cabinet with a powerstrip on the top end and a bamboo wooden dish rack to hold the laptops on their sides while plugged in or out of use. Here's what I mean by bamboo dish rack. You can always put this in a cabinet so it's behind closed doors.
      https://www.amazon.com/Cutting-Drainer-Storage-Organizer-Cabinet%EF%BC%88Keep/dp/B06XXLYHNV

      Delete
    3. Yes! Such a great and inexpensive idea! Love it and am so glad you shared!! I will see if I can find a horizontal option also, it has been more challenging to source legal sized file organizers to try and mimic my idea shared in the post. ☺️

      Delete
  2. Oh I love this- thank you for sharing! Also college?! Time flies!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love this so much! I'm now motivated to reorganize my office (which was once beautiful, and has now become the place where I put everything I don't want to find a place for).

    So excited to see all your posts again! I'm currently trying to find a new backsplash for my kitchen, and I'm selfishly hoping you'll offer us a peak at your backsplash soon! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much!

      I’ll sneak you the details on the tile, I went with Fireclay handmade tiles, a 4” hexagon in their Navy Blue colorway: https://www.fireclaytile.com/tile/colors/detail/navy-blue/tile-hexagon-4 I couldn’t be happier with it. 🤩 Hope to get a post out with all the details in the near future.

      Delete
  4. Can you share a link for, or even a pic of the usb strip you use and how it attaches to the file organizer?

    Thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Angela,

      We use one similar to this: https://amzn.to/2JXLoPN. That way we only have one plug in the wall outlet and then single cords running from the usb strip through the opening on the back of the organizer.

      Delete
  5. Does the acrylic file organizer have holes to put cords through for charging? I don’t see any cords in your pictures.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ashley,

      Yes! There is an opening on the back of the tray that allows cords to be fed through to each tier.

      If you look closely at this image, you can see the opening down the center with all of the cords: https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m6B2C3TCoMw/XTt751itioI/AAAAAAABOcI/IwCQ8wML7sA7py-QaQfW8eHr9CEenJ9BACEwYBhgL/s1600/iHeart_Organizing_Charging_Cabinet_Kitchen_School_Zone.3.png

      Jen

      Delete

Thank you so much for taking a moment to join in on the conversation! I read and appreciate each and every comment, however, I will remove any comment that I believe to be inappropriate, malicious, or spam-like. I would love for this comment section to be used as a place to engage in purposeful dialogue, I only ask that everyone remains constructive and considerate.

All comments will be moderated and may take a moment to appear.