The Cable Hoarder’s Survival Kit: Are You Also Guilty?

Raise your hand if you, too, have THE box. You know the one—overflowing with every cable known to humankind. USB (A, B, C, mini, micro), FireWire (400 and 800, because why not?), HDMI (standard, mini, micro), Ethernet (probably Cat5, Cat5e, and Cat6, because you never know), RCA, S-Video, VGA, DVI, Thunderbolt (1, 2, 3, and whatever Apple is calling it now), old-school printer cables, random power adapters from long-forgotten devices, and, of course, that one mystery cable. The one that looks important but has absolutely no identifiable purpose.
Why do we keep them? Because one day—maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow—but one day, we might need to connect a device we haven’t touched in over a decade. And on that day, my friends, we will be ready.

The Psychology of Cable Hoarding

Let’s be honest—getting rid of cables feels dangerous. What if you finally declutter, only to find yourself desperately needing that exact FireWire 800 cable six months later? What if you stumble upon an old hard drive and gasp it requires an adapter you threw away? The regret would be unbearable. So, we keep them. Just in case.
This is doomsday prepping, but for tech. A survival kit for the modern digital archaeologist. 😂

The Evolution of The Box

At first, it starts small—maybe a single drawer. But then, technology evolves, connections change, and suddenly, you’ve got a sprawling mess of wires, chargers, and adapters that no longer serve any real function.
Somewhere in The Box, there’s probably:

• A 30-pin iPod charger from 2006

• An Ethernet cable that’s at least 50 feet long (because who doesn’t love hardwiring their connection when Wi-Fi inevitably fails?)

• A power brick from a device you swore you were going to fix someday

• A headphone adapter for a phone you haven’t owned in years

• A random coaxial cable—because why not?

And yet, despite this chaos, The Box remains an unshakable constant in our lives.
Should You Declutter? …Probably Not

Organizational experts might tell you to Marie Kondo your cables, but let’s be real: these little tech relics do spark joy. Or at least, they spark a comforting sense of preparedness.

That said, if your collection has reached “I can start my own RadioShack” levels, maybe it’s time to:

• Wrap cables neatly with Velcro ties (future-you will thank you).

• Label the obscure ones (because guessing games aren’t fun in a tech emergency).

• Keep only one of each common type (do you really need six micro-USB cables?).

• Donate the excess—some electronics recyclers or makerspaces would love your spares.

Final Thoughts

We may never truly escape The Box, but maybe that’s okay. Because on that fateful day, when a long-lost gadget demands an ancient connector, we’ll be ready.
Tech hoarders, unite. Stay strong. And may your cables always be untangled.