How to declutter cables – Guide
We all have cables around the house that we don’t use! But how do you know which ones to keep and which ones to throw away? Here it is how to clean up the mess of wires and connectors. You are not alone if you have a drawer or box full of equipment cables that you no longer use. Nearly a third of Britons admit to having an unnecessary supply of flexible cables and connections they don’t know what to do with. And as technology evolves and gadgets are replaced, once common ports and plugs become obsolete, so that’s not going away anytime soon. However, it is not always easy to simplify cable collection. What if you accidentally throw something away and realize you need it a few weeks or months later? If any of this resonates with you, it’s time to take stock. Use our advice to find out which wires you should keep and which you can safely dispose of. Remember that anything that has a plug can be recycled. Adapters and cables are accepted for curbside recycling by some advice, and even if yours isn’t, local recycling centers will usually accept them along with small electronics. Recycle Your Electricals can help you locate a local lead and cable recycling facility.
Power Cables and Adapters
Old mobile chargers routinely survive the phones they come with and cannot always be used when you upgrade to a new device. Even if the connector on an old cable fits into your new one phone, you should avoid mixing and matching as the cable can supply the wrong voltage. When a gadget reaches the end of its useful life, it’s far better to dispose of it and its charger through an electrical recycling scheme. There are exceptions. If you have multiple iPhones or iPads released since 2012, secure your Lightning cables. Before 2012, iPods and early iPhones used cables with a wider connector (called a 30-pin dock connector), for which no new products are being made. So, unless you still use them, they can be recycled. These days, non-Apple smartphones and tablets often come with a USB-C cable, which has an 8.5 x 2.5 mm rice grain connector or one of these connectors on each end. Keep them, as they are becoming common in laptops, too, for charging and connecting devices such as keyboards and mice. There is a movement across Europe (supported by European Commission legislation) to establish USB-C as the standard charging cable for smartphones, tablets, cameras, headphones, portable speakers and portable game consoles, and that will likely affect devices for sale in the UK as well.
computer cables
Many gadgets, such as printers, e-readers, and hard drives, connect to a computer using a USB version, so it’s worth clinging to a handful of USE cables that reset USB-C. To avoid piling up more cables when upgrading your keyboard, mouse, or speakers, consider cable-free Bluetooth devices. When shopping for a printer, look for one that connects to your wireless network to further reduce cable clutter. However, don’t get rid of all the Ethernet network cables: if you have a problem with your Wi-Fi.
media cables
Televisions, DVD players, set-top boxes, streaming devices and new computers will all have standard HDMI sockets – usually full-size standard HDMI, with the same plug on both ends, so you can easily mix and match devices. Hold on as long as you can – and in particular any high speeds marked, as they can be used with ‘4K’ (or better) high definition TVs. A number of older cables, including VGA, Scart, S-Video and composite video, can be recycled unless they are still connected and in use, as they are less common in newer products. Traditional 3.5mm audio cables are useful for connecting some older car radios, but with most new ones. phones without headphone jacks, it’s not worth holding them “just in case”. Nor are they tied-up plug-in headphones tucked into the back of a drawer like future phones are almost certain of feature Bluetooth or other wireless technologies.
Final note
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