How A Tennis Ball Can Keep Your Desk Cords Organized

Tennis balls aren't just for playing tennis: You can use tennis balls to simplify cleaning your floors, cover the legs of tables and chairs, and help reduce static electricity when tumble-drying clothes. The flexibility and ease with which you can cut tennis balls also make them ideal for various purposes. One hack worth trying involves using them to cut down on the tangle of cords around your desk or television. Just cut slits in opposite sides of the tennis ball, run the loose cables through the holes, and they'll all be kept tightly secured.

Because the rubber and felt don't loosen when you cut through them, the ball is able to keep pressure on the cords, holding them in place without having them tangle. The cables can still slide back and forth through the interior of the tennis ball, letting you gain more length whenever you need it, and you can even hide the tennis ball behind the desk.

You also can use this hack to create a system for managing laptop, tablet, or smartphone cables. Leave the tennis ball on the edge of your desk with the cable connector poking through the cut in the material. With them being visible and close to hand, you can quickly grab the exact connector you need.

You can select a new or used tennis ball to perform this cable organizing hack. As long as the material is still holding its shape and the dog hasn't torn a hole in it, it should work nicely.

Hold the tennis ball firmly against a countertop or table, and use a utility knife to poke a hole in the material. Gently apply the pressure on the blade until you puncture the material, taking care not to slice your hand. Once you make the initial hole, slowly slide the blade in and rock it back and forth to create the slit at your preferred length — typically 1 to 1.5 inches should be sufficient. Rotate the tennis ball to the opposite side and repeat the process, making a slit the same length as your first. Try to place the two cuts straight across from each other, making it easier to move the cords back and forth through the interior of the tennis ball.

Now slide your cables and cords through the two slits. Squeeze the tennis ball to widen the slit and slide them through one at a time. You should be able to fit anywhere from a few to several cords inside one tennis ball, allowing you to easily wrangle them while limiting tangles.