Final yr, I had a small reworking challenge that obtained a little bit out of hand. It will definitely led to me reworking my complete kitchen. That’s a narrative for an additional day and one other weblog publish. Nevertheless, I’m actually grateful for among the adjustments that got here from this transform, particularly our new DIY charging drawer.
I added much more drawers within the backside cupboards as a result of they’re a lot extra sensible and usable. And by doing so, freed up a whole lot of house. For the primary time, I used to be left with drawers I didn’t have a function for. I remembered one thing I’d seen years in the past on Pinterest about making a charging drawer or docking drawer.
This has now turn out to be one in every of our most-used drawers (most likely proper after the silverware and spice drawers). I really like that it’s led to more healthy tech habits too.
On this publish, I’ll stroll you thru how I created a charging drawer with a drawer I already had. I’ll additionally clarify why it’s so essential to maintain our units out of the bed room. Plus I’ll share how this small change has made a huge impact on our household’s tech habits.
Why It’s Necessary to Preserve Gadgets Out of the Bed room
First, let’s discuss why having a charging drawer within the kitchen—or one other frequent space—is a game-changer. Particularly with regards to your sleep hygiene and total well being. Many people are responsible of bringing our telephones into the bed room, whether or not it’s to examine social media, reply emails, or (let’s be trustworthy) scroll by means of limitless reels. However there are some essential the explanation why this may not be the healthiest selection.
The Impression of Blue Gentle on Sleep
One of the crucial apparent causes to keep away from having units close to your mattress is the impact of blue gentle on sleep. The screens of telephones, tablets, and different digital units emit blue gentle. This could intervene with melatonin manufacturing, the hormone that regulates our sleep-wake cycle. Research have proven publicity to blue gentle earlier than mattress can delay sleep onset, scale back sleep high quality, and make it tougher to fall right into a deep, restorative sleep.
By conserving your units out of the bed room, you possibly can assist your physique wind down naturally, with out the interference of synthetic gentle. In case you’ve ever discovered your self scrolling mindlessly in your telephone earlier than mattress after which having hassle falling asleep, you’ve skilled this firsthand. The answer? Preserve your telephones, tablets, and different units in a devoted charging house outdoors the bed room. Just like the charging drawer I’ve created.
In case you aren’t prepared to try this, there are issues we will do. Examples embrace placing a purple gentle filter on the telephone, carrying blue-light blocking glasses. You can too change to one thing just like the Daylight Computer (I really like this for journaling and writing at evening).
Scale back Late-Night time Distractions
One other problem with having units close to your mattress is the fixed temptation to examine them. Whether or not it’s an pressing work e-mail, a textual content from a good friend, or the newest information replace. This fixed connectivity can result in late-night distractions, leaving you feeling wired and anxious as a substitute of relaxed and prepared for relaxation.
With a charging drawer, you possibly can create a wholesome boundary between your bed room and the skin world. By setting a agency rule that units should be charged within the kitchen or one other designated house, you’ll be much less more likely to examine them throughout the evening. This easy behavior can enhance your sleep high quality and show you how to be extra current with your loved ones throughout the day.
Improved Focus and Connection
When your units are tucked away in a drawer, it’s simpler to concentrate on the current second. For households, this implies extra high quality time spent collectively with out the distractions of texting, gaming, or scrolling. By having a chosen space for charging units, we encourage everybody to be extra intentional about when and the way they use know-how.
Now, let’s discuss how I created this charging drawer and why it’s been such a game-changer in our dwelling.
How I Created My DIY Charging Drawer
Making a charging drawer in my kitchen was a comparatively easy challenge, and it didn’t require a whole lot of fancy instruments or abilities. I began with a drawer I already had in my kitchen, and with a couple of small changes, turned it right into a practical and arranged house for charging units. Right here’s how I did it!
Step 1: Discover the Proper Drawer
I had a drawer in my kitchen that was underused and a little bit disorganized, so I made a decision to repurpose it for this challenge. Ideally, the drawer needs to be in an area that’s simply accessible to the entire household however not in a heavy-traffic space the place it could possibly be a distraction. Our kitchen labored completely as a result of it’s near our household’s every day actions, however it’s not the place the place we go to unwind at evening.
You don’t want to purchase a brand new drawer—simply discover one which you have already got in your kitchen, workplace, or lounge that’s not serving a lot of a function. If the drawer is simply too small or shallow, you may wish to contemplate swapping it for a deeper one that may accommodate a number of units.
Step 2: Set up a Energy Strip Contained in the Drawer
That is the place the magic occurs! The important thing to creating a charging drawer work is including an influence strip or surge protector contained in the drawer. This lets you plug in all of your units in a single place, conserving all the things organized and out of sight.
I selected an influence strip that match completely contained in the drawer, with sufficient retailers to cost a number of units without delay. It’s essential to pick an influence strip that has a protracted sufficient wire to achieve your nearest outlet. You additionally need one with surge safety to make sure the protection of your units. Ensure the facility strip is positioned in a approach that enables airflow to stop overheating. To perform this, I re-wired a plug that was once exterior going through on the facet of a cupboard to be inside going through. This left the cupboard under largely open. It now shops rubbish luggage and enormous containers for the kitchen.
You can too add charging cords which can be lengthy sufficient to comfortably attain from the facility strip to your units. I like to recommend conserving a wide range of cords for various units—some for iPhones, some for Androids, and others for iPads or tablets.
I did discover energy strips particularly designed for this. However at nearly $300 every, I needed to strive a DIY possibility and am glad I did.
Step 3: Add a Silicone Mat to Shield the Drawer
As soon as the facility strip was put in, I added a silicone mat to the underside of the drawer. This protects the floor and prevents any units from slipping round. Silicone mats are heat-resistant, non-slip, and straightforward to wash, making them good for this type of challenge. In addition they add a pleasant contact of group, conserving all the things in place and looking out tidy.
Step 4: Manage the Cords and Gadgets
Now comes the enjoyable half: organizing the cords and units. I made certain to maintain all the things neat and accessible. This concerned coiling the cords and utilizing small clips to maintain them from tangling. I additionally made certain to go away sufficient room for every gadget to relaxation comfortably whereas charging.
For our household, the charging drawer has turn out to be the go-to spot for telephones, iPads, and every other units that want a cost. Everybody is aware of the place to plug of their units. There’s additionally no have to seek for chargers or battle over who will get to plug in first.
Our Household’s Charging Routine and Display Time Habits
Since we added the charging drawer to our kitchen, it’s actually helped us set up wholesome habits round our gadget use. Right here’s how we use it:
- Gadgets are charged in a single day within the kitchen: We’ve made it a rule that telephones, iPads, and different units should be charged within the drawer in a single day. This ensures nobody is tempted to examine their units late at evening. And we get up with absolutely charged units, prepared for the day forward.
- No screens after darkish: We attempt to keep away from utilizing screens after darkish, particularly within the hour or two main as much as bedtime. With the charging drawer, it’s a lot simpler to maintain units out of attain and out of thoughts throughout this time. This behavior has helped enhance our sleep high quality, particularly for the youngsters.
- Household-wide tech detox: We’ve additionally made it a behavior to maintain screens off throughout household meals. This has made time for dinner a extra linked expertise. We use this time to catch up, chat about our day, and concentrate on one another with out distractions.
Conclusion: The Advantages of a DIY Charging Drawer
Including a DIY charging drawer to our kitchen has been among the best issues we’ve executed for our household’s tech habits. It’s a easy answer that promotes more healthy sleep, reduces distractions, and encourages extra aware use of our units. By conserving our telephones and tablets in a devoted house, we’ve created higher boundaries between know-how and leisure. It’s additionally improved our total well-being.
In case you’re searching for a easy approach to make your house extra organized and tech-friendly, I extremely advocate organising a DIY charging drawer. It doesn’t take a lot time, and the advantages are completely price it!
Glad charging, and right here’s to more healthy tech habits for the entire household!
What are your loved ones’s guidelines and habits round units? Depart a remark and tell us!
