I absolutely hate dealing with cables. Every time I take my computer off my desk to install a component or check a connection inside the case, it usually takes me about a half-hour to get everything set back up. There’s just something that drives me insane if all my wires and cables are not just how I like them. The best way to describe the area behind my desk would be that of a delicate ecosystem. Move one wire, and, well, we’ve got a problem.

So, for all you cable freaks out there, I’ve come up with some tips on how to keep all of your connections organized and neat.

1. Use tie wraps. When setting up a new system, or when redoing your own, these can be a huge help. If you have a group of wires going from one general area to another, group them up with tie wraps. Not only does this clean things up a bit, but it also makes it easier to visualize the path of your connections. The only downside to using tie wraps is that whenever you need to move a wire or unplug something, you have to cut the wraps with scissors, move your wire, and then put a new one on. If this is a big deal for you, velcro wraps are also available.

2. Get more cable than you need. If you have some extra cable hanging around, it is much easier to route it where it needs to go. It looks much cleaner to have longer wires running neatly along the baseboard, as opposed to shorter wires going every which way trying to find their way to a component. And if you still have too much cable, it’s very easy to group the excess up with a cable tie.

3. Wrap power cables around transformers. Transformers: not the movie, the black boxes in the middle of some power cables. These are necessary to decrease the voltage flowing into a piece of equipment, however they can become very annoying when it comes to organizing cables. The best way I’ve found to handle these is simply to wrap the wire around the transformer. Doing this looks (halfway) neat, and also allows you to control the length of your power cable.

4. Use cord concealers. If you have any wires running loosely across the floor, grab a cord concealer and slip it on top of your cord. It looks a lot nicer than a loose cable, and also prevents people from slipping on the cord. These are often seen in commercial environments, but can also serve a purpose in your home/home office.

5. Go wireless (if you can). While I realize that the list of connections that can be made wirelessly is small, every little bit helps. Even something as simple as a wireless keyboard and mouse (if you don’t already have one) can help ease the clutter. Check all the devices that you have, and see which ones you could ditch the cord on. Sure, you may not be able to wirelessly connect your monitor, but you could connect your printer via Bluetooth and lose the USB.

Nothing is ever going to be perfect, and even the geekiest of us may have messy wires here and there, myself included. But if you take about 10-15 minutes out of your day and reorganize your cords, you just can’t beat the feeling of neat cables!