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Aaron Parecki

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  • Aaron Parecki
    okay real talk. I have about two point five million USB cables of various types and sizes. I don't want to get rid of them because they're all different and serve different purposes. What's the best way to store these some way that I can find them??
    Portland, Oregon • 72°F
    Sat, Sep 19, 2020 2:58pm -07:00 #usb
    4 likes 34 replies
    • abb-8
    • rowan
    • Todd McKinnon
    • Justin Richer
    • Katherine M. Moss indieweb.social/@cambridgeport90

      @aaronpk Have you managed to hang them all onto the closet door, yet?

      Sun, Oct 4, 2020 7:22pm +00:00
    • ndw micro.blog/ndw

      @aaronpk I collect cables with the same ends and store them coiled up in zip top bags in a drawer. If the connections aren't obvious, I label the bags. It has saved me about a zillion frustrating hours digging through a tangled ball of cables since I started.

      Tue, Sep 22, 2020 4:22pm +00:00
    • michaelborland micro.blog/michaelborland

      @aaronpk I have it hung behind the door to my office. Makes it really easy to organize and find everything. Good luck! ๐Ÿ‘

      Tue, Sep 22, 2020 2:14pm +00:00
    • michaelborland micro.blog/michaelborland

      @aaronpk look at a over the door shoe organizer with clear pockets. That made a world of difference for storing my cables, adapters, etc.

      Tue, Sep 22, 2020 12:41pm +00:00
    • rorysaur micro.blog/rorysaur

      @aaronpk and- not that Iโ€™m recommending this but I would LOVE to see someone create some sort of obsessively organized cable wall ๐Ÿ˜

      Mon, Sep 21, 2020 12:10am +00:00
    • rorysaur micro.blog/rorysaur

      @aaronpk whatโ€™s worked for me is color-coded snap-on label thingies (lmk if you have no idea what I mean) and then tying up each cable in a coil shape so they donโ€™t get tangled, and throwing them in a big box

      Mon, Sep 21, 2020 12:09am +00:00
    • jordanmerrick micro.blog/jordanmerrick

      @aaronpk I also only keep up to four of each cable spare. I accumulate them quickly so excess cables are donated to goodwill or dropped off somewhere that can recycle them.

      Sun, Sep 20, 2020 3:04pm +00:00
    • jordanmerrick micro.blog/jordanmerrick

      @aaronpk I separate cables into labeled ziplock bags and store them all in a big plastic box. I tried keeping them in separate small boxes but it was just way to many boxes.

      Sun, Sep 20, 2020 3:03pm +00:00
    • Tomasz Wegrzanowski twitter.com/t_a_w
      I have cables in cardboard box, every time I need one and I suspect it's there, I reorder from Amazon anyway because it takes too long to find a cable in pile of cables ๐Ÿ˜…
      Sun, Sep 20, 2020 2:41am +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Rob Wilcox twitter.com/robwpdx
      Test lead rack. Pomona is one maker.
      Sun, Sep 20, 2020 2:08am +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Guustaaf twitter.com/guustaaf
      ikea.com/us/en/p/samla-โ€ฆ
      Sun, Sep 20, 2020 12:58am +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Aaron Parecki twitter.com/aaronpk
      I like the graphics!
      Sun, Sep 20, 2020 12:57am +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Not Fake Adam Kalsey twitter.com/akalsey
      Hang them all from the ceiling, 2 inches apart, sorted by length. Doubles as unique decor.
      Sun, Sep 20, 2020 12:31am +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • jk twitter.com/karabaic
      I do have a drawer full. Over time, all my SCSI cables got replaced with usb.
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 11:45pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Jesse Vincent twitter.com/obra
      I have one clear Sterilite box per cable type. Boxes are labeled and stacked. Any cable not in active use is coiled in a box. If I only have one of something, I might group it with other loners in a category box.
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 11:29pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Isaac Rabinovitch twitter.com/isaac32767
      ffs, nobody needs more than a thousand cables
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 11:21pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Jeffrey J. Carpenter twitter.com/droopydog500
      In my old house, I had a mountain of cables which was a total disaster. ๐Ÿ˜‚
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:40pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Lillian Karabaic ๐Ÿฅ„๐Ÿณ๏ธ‍๐ŸŒˆ BLM twitter.com/anomalily
      @aaronpk does a lot of livestreaming and talks and often needs dongles to match the hosting (outdated) systems. But also there's no attic for boxes so how to store!
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:40pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Jeffrey J. Carpenter twitter.com/droopydog500
      I have this in my office now because I was adding devices to my ATEM. ๐Ÿ˜‚ The rest are in the basement
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:39pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Andrew Stauffer twitter.com/stauaj
      Welcome to old manhood.
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:38pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Andi Galpern twitter.com/andigalpern
      You can catalog them in an excel spreadsheet, group them into categories, and then use colored velcro wrappers to sort them by type. Then put them in a multi-drawer storage cabinet.
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:38pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Jeffrey J. Carpenter twitter.com/droopydog500
      I sorted all my cables by type (what connector is on either side) and have them in plastic containers. I printed labels with pictures of the connector on each side of the cable and put on containers. 16448812 (QT) Storage Box... amazon.com/dp/B084SDQKP5
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:36pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • fgtech micro.blog/fgtech

      @aaronpk Hah! Well, I would but that one is filled with rechargeable batteries.

      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:28pm +00:00
    • fgtech micro.blog/fgtech

      @fgtech Of course I meant โ€œtineโ€ there. That word is way more useful than โ€œtime.โ€ The iOS keyboard AI is a never ending mystery.

      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:27pm +00:00
    • Aaron Parecki twitter.com/aaronpk
      I think you may underestimate how many types of cables I have... USB A, micro USB, USB-C with data, C with thunderbolt 3, lightning, lightning to micro, long, short... etc
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:25pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Emily Chapman ๐Ÿ  twitter.com/eachapm
      I have heard high praises for the 3M cable clips, and then into a box or drawer or hang them on peg board.
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:24pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • fgtech micro.blog/fgtech

      @aaronpk All of mine are crammed into a drawer. I canโ€™t fit any more so it must be tine for me to convert everything to USB-C, right?

      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:24pm +00:00
    • jk twitter.com/karabaic
      Rubber banded by type in one drawer
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:23pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Johannes Ernst twitter.com/Johannes_Ernst
      Labeled zip lock bags in a box. Works well for me.
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:20pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Dmitri Shuralyov twitter.com/dmitshur
      The part that makes this work is that whenever a cable is unused, I put it back in its box. So unused cables are never left laying around elsewhere. And so the box needs to be big enough to fit all your cables (of similar class).
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:17pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • incanus micro.blog/incanus

      @aaronpk First, it'd be useful to know connector type. Second sort would be whether they are merely charge or also data. And for storage, you might try some Velcro wraps, maybe by color? And then in a low-profile tote that you can slide under... something. Works for me.

      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:16pm +00:00
    • Ray [REDACTED] twitter.com/RayRedacted
      from now on you will never buy any cable that isn't UCB-3 / Firewire 4 on at least one end.
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:16pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Ray [REDACTED] twitter.com/RayRedacted
      Tier 1 is the absolute highest quality cables- 2 lightning, 2 micro, 2 mini, 4 extra HDMi/HDMI in a tiny kit. Tier 2 is all the rest of those USB cables. Put this in a tupperware in your closet on the top shelf. Color coded. Tier 3 is a big cardboard box in the attic.
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:14pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
    • Dmitri Shuralyov twitter.com/dmitshur
      I solved this problem very efficiently for myself by getting a number of medium-sized transparent plastic containers, and by putting cables of similar classs/purpose all next to each other. So I know if I ever need an HDMI cable, that one box is the only place to check.
      Sat, Sep 19, 2020 10:13pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
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Hi, I'm Aaron Parecki, Director of Identity Standards at Okta, and co-founder of IndieWebCamp. I maintain oauth.net, write and consult about OAuth, and participate in the OAuth Working Group at the IETF. I also help people learn about video production and livestreaming. (detailed bio)

I've been tracking my location since 2008 and I wrote 100 songs in 100 days. I've spoken at conferences around the world about owning your data, OAuth, quantified self, and explained why R is a vowel. Read more.

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