Final 12 months, I had a small remodeling project that acquired just a little out of hand. It will definitely led to me transforming my entire kitchen. That’s a narrative for an additional day and one other weblog put up. Nevertheless, I’m actually grateful for a number of 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 objective 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 change into 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 put up, 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 gadgets out of the bed room. Plus I’ll share how this small change has made a big effect on our household’s tech habits.
Why It’s Necessary to Hold Units Out of the Bed room
First, let’s discuss why having a charging drawer within the kitchen—or one other widespread space—is a game-changer. Particularly in terms of 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 test social media, reply emails, or (let’s be sincere) scroll by way of infinite reels. However there are some essential the reason why this may not be the healthiest selection.
The Affect of Blue Mild on Sleep
Probably the most apparent causes to keep away from having gadgets close to your mattress is the impact of blue light on sleep. The screens of telephones, tablets, and different digital gadgets 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 maintaining your gadgets out of the bed room, you’ll be able to assist your physique wind down naturally, with out the interference of synthetic gentle. For those who’ve ever discovered your self scrolling mindlessly in your cellphone earlier than mattress after which having bother falling asleep, you’ve skilled this firsthand. The answer? Hold your telephones, tablets, and different gadgets in a devoted charging house exterior the bed room. Just like the charging drawer I’ve created.
For those who aren’t prepared to do this, there are issues we are able to do. Examples embrace placing a pink gentle filter on the cellphone, sporting blue-light blocking glasses. You may as well change to one thing just like the Daylight Computer (I really like this for journaling and writing at night time).
Scale back Late-Evening Distractions
One other difficulty with having gadgets close to your mattress is the fixed temptation to test them. Whether or not it’s an pressing work e mail, a textual content from a buddy, or the most recent information replace. This fixed connectivity can result in late-night distractions, leaving you feeling wired and anxious as an alternative of relaxed and prepared for relaxation.
With a charging drawer, you’ll be able to create a wholesome boundary between your bed room and the skin world. By setting a agency rule that gadgets have to be charged within the kitchen or one other designated house, you’ll be much less more likely to test them through the night time. This straightforward behavior can enhance your sleep high quality and assist you be extra current with your loved ones through the day.
Improved Focus and Connection
When your gadgets are tucked away in a drawer, it’s simpler to concentrate on the current second. For households, this implies extra quality time spent together with out the distractions of texting, gaming, or scrolling. By having a chosen space for charging gadgets, 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 residence.
How I Created My DIY Charging Drawer
Making a charging drawer in my kitchen was a comparatively easy venture, 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 just a few small changes, turned it right into a purposeful and arranged house for charging gadgets. Right here’s how I did it!
Step 1: Discover the Proper Drawer
I had a drawer in my kitchen that was underused and just a little disorganized, so I made a decision to repurpose it for this venture. Ideally, the drawer must be in an area that’s simply accessible to the entire household however not in a high traffic space the place it might be a distraction. Our kitchen labored completely as a result of it’s near our household’s day by day actions, nevertheless it’s not the place the place we go to unwind at night time.
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 objective. If the drawer is simply too small or shallow, you would possibly need to contemplate swapping it for a deeper one that may accommodate a number of gadgets.
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 gadgets in a single place, maintaining all the things organized and out of sight.
I selected a power strip that match completely contained in the drawer, with sufficient retailers to cost a number of gadgets without delay. It’s essential to pick out an influence strip that has an extended sufficient twine to succeed in your nearest outlet. You additionally need one with surge safety to make sure the security of your gadgets. Be certain that the ability strip is positioned in a approach that enables airflow to forestall overheating. To perform this, I re-wired a plug that was 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 baggage and huge containers for the kitchen.
You may as well add charging cords which can be lengthy sufficient to comfortably attain from the ability strip to your gadgets. I like to recommend maintaining a wide range of cords for various gadgets—some for iPhones, some for Androids, and others for iPads or tablets.
I did discover power strips particularly designed for this. However at nearly $300 every, I wished to attempt a DIY possibility and am glad I did.
Step 3: Add a Silicone Mat to Defend the Drawer
As soon as the ability strip was put in, I added a silicone mat to the underside of the drawer. This protects the floor and prevents any gadgets from slipping round. Silicone mats are heat-resistant, non-slip, and simple to wash, making them good for this sort of venture. Additionally they add a pleasant contact of group, maintaining all the things in place and looking out tidy.
Step 4: Manage the Cords and Units
Now comes the enjoyable half: organizing the cords and gadgets. I made positive 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 positive to go away sufficient room for every gadget to relaxation comfortably whereas charging.
For our household, the charging drawer has change into the go-to spot for telephones, iPads, and every other gadgets that want a cost. Everybody is aware of the place to plug of their gadgets. 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 screen 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:
- Units are charged in a single day within the kitchen: We’ve made it a rule that telephones, iPads, and different gadgets have to be charged within the drawer in a single day. This ensures nobody is tempted to test their gadgets late at night time. And we get up with absolutely charged gadgets, 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 gadgets 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 supper time 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 the most effective issues we’ve performed for our family’s tech habits. It’s a easy answer that promotes more healthy sleep, reduces distractions, and encourages extra aware use of our gadgets. By maintaining our telephones and tablets in a devoted house, we’ve created higher boundaries between know-how and rest. It’s additionally improved our total well-being.
For those who’re on the lookout for a easy approach to make your private home 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 value it!
Completely happy charging, and right here’s to more healthy tech habits for the entire household!
What are your loved ones’s guidelines and habits round gadgets? Depart a remark and tell us!
