Here I am sharing my quick and simple craft solution for unsightly desk cables. A moss pole cable tidy.
Like many people, I have a little office corner where I work at home. Due to its modest size, I have my printer and some other electrical bits on the shelf above. Consequently, I have cables running loose up the wall, and although it all works fine, it looks a bit of a mess.
Here is a photo of my desk set up (and yes I did remove a pile of paper before I took the picture!).
For ages, I have been pondering on what I could use for a cable tidy. I’ve even gone as far as looking at them online. In the end, it was How to Make a Paper Plant with Marbled Leaves that planted the seed for this project.
Although I’ve used my DIY moss pole as a cable tidy there is no reason why you couldn’t use it as a moss pole to grow real plants up. If that’s what you want to do, I’d recommend that you glue the moss fabric to the tube for stability and keep anything you are watering well away from any cables.
What you need to make a moss pole cable tidy
- Rigid plastic tubing (mine was 1 1/2 inch diameter)
- Moss sheet (Amazon Affiliate Link)
- Wire or string
- Cardboard kitchen roll tube and tape
Note: My plastic tube wasn’t quite as long as I needed, so I attached a cardboard tube to lengthen it. This worked out well as I could use the cardboard tube to splay out the bottom of my moss pole to allow the wires to run out horizontally to my computer and other accessories. Depending on what cables you need to hide and the length of your tube, you might not need to do this.
How to make a moss pole cable tidy
This moss pole cable tidy is super quick to make. Both making and fitting it only took about ten minutes.
Start by measuring the length of tube you need and if necessary cut it to length.
If using a cardboard end, cut slits into it so it will expand out.
And attach the cardboard to the plastic tube using strong tape.
Cut a length of moss sheet to fit around the tube. I didn’t bother glueing the moss down since this moss pole is a cable tidy but I would if I was going to use it to support live plants.
Finally, wrap wire or string around the moss pole in a criss-cross pattern to secure the moss and to provide a bit of decoration. You can see I used an elastic band to hold everything in place while I added the wire.
If you want to splay out the end cut slits in the moss to correspond with those in the cardboard tube.
And here is my finished moss pole cable tidy.
I have decorated it with my paper plant with marbled leaves. I am delighted with my solution for hiding those unsightly wires.
It brightens up what was previously a very dull corner.
If you have enjoyed this recycling tutorial, why not check out some of our other quirky projects using recycled materials. You can find a list of our favourites below.
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Marbling Bottles with Nail Polish.
This simple tutorial explains how to marble glass bottles using nail polish. It’s a great way to use up all those polishes you never wear, with stunning results!
