Hide Your Desk's Tangled Cord Clutter With This Brilliant IKEA VARIERA Hack

Like many people, you may have transitioned how you work in the past few years, ditching the commute in favor of setting up or making over your home office. If you've made it past the dining room table phase and have graduated to a dedicated desk, chances are you've accumulated a ton of cords. Your computer(s), printer, clock, lamp, and any other accessories are probably creating a hot mess of untamed cables under your desk. Fortunately, IKEA makes a plastic bag dispenser called VARIERA that you can easily repurpose into the perfect cord collector.

A zillion cords popping out all around and under your desk are unsightly, and clutter isn't great for anyone's ability to focus. There's also a bit of a tripping hazard if those cords interfere with any foot traffic in your room. And occasionally, a cat or dog gets the absolutely terrible idea to chew on loose cables. This hack might be the ideal low-cost solution if you don't want to give them that chance.

Buy the VARIERA at IKEA ($2.99), gather all your cords, and place them into the open end. You can then pull the adapters out through its large holes and plug them in. Of course, we recommend they all go straight into a power strip, not the wall. To make this hack even tidier, gather a few additional supplies.

Consider using these VELCRO Brand ONE-WRAP Cable Ties from Amazon ($9.90) to keep the cables organized within the container. You can undo velcro quickly, which makes them easier to use than plastic zip ties. Although you can store it on the ground, you might bolt the VARIERA to the bottom of your desk if you have access to a power drill. But before you secure it, make sure positioning it there will still allow you to plug everything in. And if you can sew, you might take the measurements of the plastic container into account and whip up a breathable cotton cover to hide it even further!