I went through three phone charging cables in one year. Not because the cables were cheap — because they kept sliding off my nightstand into the gap between the bed and the wall. Every time I fished one out, the connector was bent or the cable had been stepped on.

A one-dollar pack of binder clips solved this permanently. No drilling. No cable management trays. Just office supplies and thirty seconds.

The setup

Clip a medium binder clip onto the edge of your desk, nightstand, or shelf. Feed the charging cable through one of the metal wire loops on the back of the clip. The clip holds the cable in place while the loop keeps the connector end suspended — it cannot fall off the edge even if you pull the cord.

When you need to charge your phone, just grab the connector. The cable stays precisely where you left it. When you are done, let go and the connector hangs in midair, waiting for next time.

Other places this saves you

• Kitchen counter. Clip to the edge of the counter or a shelf bracket. Your phone charger never lands in the sink again.
• Car dashboard. Clip to an air vent slat. No more fishing for the cable between the seat and center console while driving.
• Behind the TV. Clip to the back edge of the media console. HDMI and power cables stay organized and accessible instead of falling into the tangled pile behind the furniture.
• Workbench. Clip to the edge of a pegboard or shelf. Soldering iron cord, dremel cord, charger cable — all off the work surface and within reach.

The multi-cable version

Use a large binder clip and feed three or four cables through the same loop. Label each cable with a tiny piece of masking tape wrapped around it near the connector. Now you have a mini charging station that cost less than a dollar and takes up zero desk space.

One thing to watch for

The metal binder clip arms can scratch furniture. Put a small piece of felt or electrical tape on the inside of the clip jaws before attaching it to a wood surface. For painted surfaces, avoid clipping directly — use a removable adhesive hook as a mount point instead and clip to the hook.