Ropes, hoses and cords are some of the most difficult things to organize at home, in the garage or on the jobsite.
That’s because they tangle easily if you don’t handle them properly. You can’t just place them carelessly wherever you want, unless you want to take forever to untangle them when next you want to use them.
Once they’re tangled, it’s very difficult to untangle them again. I personally, I’ve endured my own personal share of tangled ropes, hoses and cords, and I’ll tell you, it can be very frustrating at times.
Especially when you’re not the one that left them carelessly to tangle together.
So, what’s the solution tangled ropes, hoses and cords? Good organization is the solution. Like I mentioned earlier, you can’t just drop them carelessly anywhere you want after you done using them.
You have to organize and store them properly, and in this article, I’m going to talk about some of the best methods, equipment and accessories for storing and organizing ropes, hoses and cords, so they don’t get tangles, and so you can use them as swiftly as possible when next you need them.
Automatic Retractable Hose Reels
For hoses, one of the best solutions you can go for to make sure you don’t ever deal with a messy hose at all, is to just get a retractable hose reel.
Yes, there are retractable hose reels you can use. It retracts by itself after using it, so you don’t even have to do any work of organizing it by yourself.
The only downside to they have is that they’re a little more expensive than the non-retractable hose reels.
Use Manual Retractable Hose Reels
Sometimes you’ve already got a very long garden hose and you just want something to help you organize it neatly.
What you need in this situation is a manual retractable hose reel you can just wind that hose reel into a coil. This is just a simple reel with a hand crank you can use at home. It doesn’t automatically retracts on it’s own.
If you need the hose, you just pull it from the reel and it will unwind. Once you’re done, you just rewind it on the reel.
Related: 15 Practical Garage Storage Racks To Organize Your Garage
Wrap-it Straps
If you don’t want to use a reel or maybe you just want a lightweight and portable way to organize your your rope, hose or cord and be able to carry it with you, say for camping or for out outside job, a wrap-it strap is one very good solution you can go for.
Wrap-it straps or cinch straps are commonly made from materials like nylon, polyester or elastic. They are adjustable and are designed to secure, bundle or fasten items together.
They usually feature a velcro or hook and loop fastener that holds the strap together once you’ve used it to bind the cable, cord or hose together.
It’s the best storage solution for you if you need to be able to carry the cord or hose around after you neatly bind it together.
Self-Gripping Cable Ties
Self-gripping cable ties are the best solutions for organizing and storing small lightweight cables, like your charger cable, appliance cable, extension cable, desk cables and so on.
If you’re tired of all the messy computer cables and wires on your desk, then you should get some of these.
They look just like zip ties, but unlike zip ties which are not reusable, these self-gripping ties are totally reusable. You can use them for as long as you want, because you don’t cut them like zip ties when loosening them.
They’re made from velcro, so you just wrap them around the the coiled wire to organize it, and just strip it off when you need to release it.
Cord Wrap
A cord wrap like the one shown above is designed for organizing long cords and rope. It’s kind of made of plastic, but it’s very tough and durable.
You just wind the cord or rope and around it, and you can store it in your garage or throw it in your truck in case you’re taking it with you on a job.
It even have mounting holes on it, so you can mount it on a wall and just have it in a fixed position where you just wrap cords and ropes around it.
