DIY “cable salad” containment

The Germans are unparalleled in crafting the most fitting words for just about any situation–Weltschmerz, Schadenfreude–but now they’ve outdone themselves with Kabelsalat (literally “cable salad”) for the jumble of USB and HDMI and power cables we all deal with in our work spaces. I’ve been annoyed for ages by this, so I decided to try a DIY hack…

All that was needed was an empty $2 plastic storage container (which was collecting dust on a bookshelf anyway) along with 4 Phillips-head screws drilled into the wall under the desk. Sturdy enough to hold a 6-outlet power strip as well as a USB hub.