Cords and Cables - and Labels

You're looking at a mass of cables under your desk, and you want to unplug the printer. But which one is the printer? Organizers tend to love labels - and there are many ways to label your cords and cables to avoid such problems.

Dotz has a number of products to help, including the cord identifiers shown above. There are three sets:
- computer/office (computer, scanner, printer, lamp, etc.)
- entertainment (video game, left speaker, right speaker, etc.)
- home essentials (coffee maker, toaster, clock radio, etc.)

You can find them many places; the picture above comes from Cyberguys. [via popgadget, Better Living Through Design, and others]




ID Pilot Labels are designed to go onto the plug; again, there are a number of different sets. [via Lifehacker]




Kableflags are another option - with three sets of labels plus a DIY blank label set. [via Dynamic Living and Gold Violin, both of which sell some of the flags; picture from The Container Store, which also sells them.]




Moose Tags are a similar product - but there's only the blank, do-it-yourself option.




With the Unitag, you can write directly on the surface with a marking pen, or use a label you print from a label maker.




Hosa's Label-a-Cable Kit is designed for the music world, including stage and studio cabling. [photo from AmericanMusical.com, which sells the product]




And Crutchfield also has audio/visual CableLabels.

Of course, you can label your cords without buying any special products. Maximum PC recommends that you "use colored tape to label cables by type (USB, power, etc.), then write their purposes on the tape itself." You could also label your cords with bread clips.

Other posts in the cable management series:
Decluttering the Cables: 8 Resources for Identifying What You Have
Controlling the Cables with Cable Ties
4 Ways to Control the LONG Cables and Cords
Controlling the Cables: 3 Novel Solutions