How to tame a pile of tangled cables for $5

Yes, many of us have a box of audio, video, and data cable spaghetti, maybe at home, maybe at the office, maybe both. Go ahead and admit it; you're not the only one.

We don't really want to throw away all of those cables because they might come in handy--who wants to spend $7 at Radio Shack one day in the future for a cable that was sitting around for years until we needed it? And yet, the cable mess keeps looking more and more impenetrable and it seems to grow like a dust bunny.

Don't waste your money on a five-pack of colored velcro cable ties for $4. You can pick up a FIFTY-pack of velcro cable ties at OfficeMax or Lowe's for $5 (OfficeMax Item #: 20822371).

Once the cables have been velcro-ed, you can just take out the cable you need, and leave the velcro tie attached while you use it; when you are finished, wrap it neatly, press the velcro, and you'll be able to pull it out of the pile without fighting tangles next time.

...and maybe, just maybe, that spaghetti will start to make sense (or at least look more like linguine).