The photos, and this post itself, is an oldie – but given that the number of ‘screens’ in this house has only increased, it seemed a good time to revisit our original iPad charging station solution.
Not to make redundant the USB outlets I installed last week, but instead to show you an easier and cheaper way to corral cords and electronics, I give you my brilliant (and cheap) iPad charging station…
from a magazine holder!
This wood magazine rack was $7 at HomeSense and had the required slots (4) to house all the iPads in our house.
You could use this for iPhones as well, it’s just that it would be a bit of a waste of space for just a few tiny phones. This iPad charging station looks better filled with a little-bit-of-everything-Apple.
Since this post originally went live, Apple has introduced their lightning cords – so while I say to drill a hole large enough for a USB to fit through, you really only need to drill holes large enough for the little lightning cord to slide through. If you have an earlier version of the iPad/iPhone/iPod, then you’ll want your hole to be USB sized.
Tip your magazine rack onto its back and drill your holes through the bottom (which is now the back). This is so that you can easily slide your electronics in and out of your iPad charging station.
Don’t worry that the holes aren’t ‘pretty’; you won’t see them when your electronics are charging.
The goal of this repurpose was to keep all the ugly wires out of sight and to keep our electronics neatly organized so that we have a central ‘hub’.
Time for school/soccer/cheer/bed? Put your iPad away in it’s charging station.
Having written that, all that I’ve done behind our little rack is to attach, or place, a power bar with all the USB cords plugged in.
Not technical or labour-intensive – just hidden.
If you want an easy project for today, and a way to keep your electronics organized and cords hidden – sneak out to your nearest housewares store and get your magazine rack/s. Trust me, it’s so worth it!
Gosh, it’s tough being this brilliant AND good-looking!
Have a great one!
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