In a EA tour video, I was impressed by the tidiness of the mic cabinet:

But that got me wondering... are various USB cables, chargers, adapters, half-used AAA batteries, paperclips, bottle openers, etc... also so neatly knolled, or are they in a rat's nest of a kitchen drawer like I have?

How do y'all deal with or wish you dealt with this common affliction? What's the tidiest setups you've seen? Any neat tips and tricks for neatness?

There is a brand of gelato they sell at the grocery store that comes in clear plastic pints with screw on lids. They're the perfect size for storing objects in the 0 to 4 inches range. You can fit several in a drawer and categorize however. If I didn't share a home with three wildlings my junk drawer could be the library of Congress in miniature.

At work I have one of those plastic deals with tiny pull drawers. It's a system I inherited with labels for thumb tacks, or paper clips on different drawers. That's really the name of the game: having labeled places to put things. From there it's just a trick of finding the right shape container to put something in to keep it from getting squirrelly.

My mic collection is probably a quarter of EA's yet it's more poorly stored. This is both the curse and luxury of the hobbyist as compared to the professional.

Probably around 12-20 XLRs, RCA, special cords, power cords... microphones, Distortion pedals, one-off converter cables... ALL in a giant pile of shit inside a tupperware bin that's half-melted with holes in it from accidentally being too close to my electric heater one day.

Though in all seriousness, I keep decent track of my microphones in their leather pouches, and guitar FX pedals in the original boxes. I need more velcro straps to wrangle the XLRS. I have some good orange ones that have "NANYI" written on them. Need about 20 more of those.

I have a few roughly 10x12x4 plastic storage bins that I use for the following
RCA cables
USB cables
HDMI and video cables'
Guitar patch cables
Speaker cables
Misc recording related cables

They all stack, and it helps a lot to reduce cable clutter, which is my #1 battle.

I have a wall mounted cabinet with glass doors for stompboxes

For mics, I just put them in their pouches or cases and have them on a shelf in the closet. It would be nice to have an electrical style filing cabinet for them, but I'd need a big closet overhaul for that.


Am digging this gear nerd Marie Kondo thread!

My typical organizational scheme is know as "the pile" method. Everything goes in a pile. When I need to find something, I know exactly where it is. It's in the pile.
All hail the pile.

losthighway wrote: That's really the name of the game: having labeled places to put things. From there it's just a trick of finding the right shape container to put something in to keep it from getting squirrelly.

This is the way.

Old suitcases or toolboxes that are rectilinear and stackable.
Ziploc bags to keep paired items together (like a small unit + it's power supply or adapter cable.)
Velcro straps
Twist-ties
Zipper pouch (like a pencil case or cosmetics pouch)

Even a small piece of peg board on the wall can hold quite a few cables and also make them easy to see/find and not tangled together.
(See also: coat hooks, hat racks, etc)

I bought tea today that came in a nice stackable metal tin with a flat top. It'll be a keeper once the tea is gone.
At home I have a small crate just for various smaller empty vessels waiting to be assigned a purpose.

twelvepoint wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 7:25 amAm digging this gear nerd Marie Kondo thread!

You do know that Marie Kondo "gave up" on tidying somewhat after having three children, right?

Some form of . . . we all think we're hot stuff until "life comes at us fast."


That said, I really like her, even if I haven't watched a lot of her talks, and I do think some form of cleanliness/tidiness/getting rid of useless shit is wise, and good policy. Seems I'm always sorting through things here and trying to maintain a better working environment.

Anyway . . . For recording/music playing, I keep different types of cords in tupperware bins, preferably with locking tops. Smaller adapters and tubes and stuff, will go in smaller cigar boxes. Above all, this is most useful for minimizing the time it takes to locate things before a session. Haven't got a mic locker, but I know where to find all of them.

Running a more proper studio, that would take on strangers as clients, and have a more vast inventory, something more quasi-professional might be in order.

losthighway wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2023 8:38 pm There is a brand of gelato they sell at the grocery store that comes in clear plastic pints with screw on lids

I've read Talentis are a longtime favorite of the arts & crafts / makeup crowd:



I've been swiping these empty cardboard trays from the grocery and while they're useful for keeping free-floating desktop crap from floating around, it's still disorganized crap.

I ask my wife where she put it when she used it last. 100% success rate.