QuickTip: Color-coded Cable Ties

I've been traveling quite a bit for work, recently, and on the longer trips I’ve been carrying a ton of electronic equipment. Some of the “usual suspects” that I slip into my carry-on include my Windows Mobile device, my MP3 player, my PC, international power converters for layovers in foreign airports, DC adaptors for the plane and much more.

Unfortunately, each of these gadgets comes with a number of power and sync cables, so I created a new system to organize the clutter using Velcro color-coded cable ties. Each device that I carry gets its own color tie. For example, in the figure below, you can see that I’ve used the blue cable ties for my AT&T Tilt Windows Mobile device. And you might also notice that the cable with the green tie at the bottom of the picture doesn’t go to my PDA, but instead it’s my Zune MP3 player cable.

Figure 1: Using color-coded ties offers easy visual distinction between cables that, otherwise, might look similar.

This easy identification system also has the secondary benefit of keeping my cables organized and tangle-free. I When I reach into my bag (which, by the way is a Roadwired Pod) I never have to worry about pulling out a jumbled up mess of cables. Color-coded cable ties are available at most electronics stores or you can purchase them online from a store like Amazon.com for a very reasonable $2.49.