How do you handle tech clutter? I have an underbed storage box full of old wires, chargers, manuals and remote controls I’ve never used. First, I need some guidance about how to sort through Mount Techmore: I don’t want to throw out adapters for gadgets I’m still using, but I can’t always tell what goes with what. Then I need a strategy for handling new gadget clutter as it comes in. I like to keep the old device around for a bit until the new one is running smoothly. But then I forget to purge the old one until two years later when it’s really no good to anybody anymore. What do you suggest?

Unfortunately, I think everyone reading this post has a Mount Techmore. In the electronic age, it’s difficult to avoid this unpopular storage destination. I’ll explain what we do in our house to keep Mount Techmore from erupting, but be sure to check out the comments for even more suggestions from our readers.

New products. A few years ago we realized we had to be diligent with marking cords, adapters, and other electronic accouterments the minute we unwrap an item. We have to do it immediately or we wonder for years what device goes with what peripheral.

If we plan to regularly use the cord that comes with a device, we’ll adhere a cable identification tag to it. If the item has a wall wart, we’ll stick a printed label on its bulky back. If the wall wart is black, sometimes we’ll even just write directly on it with a silver Sharpie. If we plan to store the cable/charger/whatever until we donate the device to charity or sell it, we stuff it inside a zip-top plastic bag and write on the bag with a black Sharpie what is inside and what it belongs to.

All manuals for items we plan to sell or donate go inside a plastic sheet protector of a three-ring binder. If we don’t plan to get rid of the item and simply keep it until it breaks, we go online, find a .PDF of the manual, and link it to a spreadsheet. If the manual isn’t online, we’ll scan it, save it as a .pdf, and link the file to the spreadsheet. Once we have access to a digital copy, we recycle the print version. Learn more about the spreadsheet method in our 2007 article “Organizing digitally scanned data.”

Old products. When we started labeling our new stuff, we took a couple hours and sorted through all the old stuff in Mount Techmore. We labeled everything we wanted to keep as described above, and ultimately got rid of a good amount of electronic accouterments we no longer needed. Do a little each day, or tackle it in one afternoon, but it is important to figure out what all the old stuff is and if you really need it. If you’re like us, you’ll be surprised by how many USB cables you own.

Storing. We store Mount Techmore exactly the same way you do, but we use a Rubbermaid Footlocker because we have so much electronic equipment in our house and for our company. We have zip-top bags grouped into bins inside the footlocker based on type (all cords in one, all adapters in another, all chargers in yet another) and the manual binder is in there, too. There are also hard drives and electronic repair tools in it.

I’ve seen people use over-the-door shoe storage organizers and put a printed label on the pocket, which seems to work very well. I also like when people use drawers for cable storage and use a sock drawer organizers for each cable. I don’t think there is a wrong way to store these things, as long as everything is well marked and can easily be found.

Out with the old. When we replace an item, we dump the old device and all of its accompanying stuff into an electronics recycling bin that we keep in our laundry room. The device and its stuff usually sits in the bin until the bin is full and we have to decide if we want to sell, donate, or simply recycle the items in the bin. The bin we use isn’t very big (it’s kind of like this one, but in navy blue), so we go process it four or five times a year. Since we don’t immediately get rid of the items, we have a crossover period in case the new device doesn’t work. And, if we offer the old device to a friend, we know exactly where it is when the friend comes around to retrieve it.

Even doing the one-in-one-out method, we still wind up with obsolete cables, duplicates, etc. lingering in our footlocker. Because of this, we still go through it once or twice a year and pull out anything we no longer need.

Thank you, Katie, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. I hope something I wrote above will help you. And, again, be sure to check out the comments for even more suggestions from our readers for how to conquer Mount Techmore.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

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Check out your:

• Blankets. Are there heavy blankets lingering in your closet that you haven’t used this year or last year or the year before that?
• Sweaters. If you haven’t worn the sweater by now, are you ever going to wear it again?
• Hats, gloves, scarves. If you have children, do all the hats and gloves in your closet still fit someone in your home?
• Coats. Similar to your sweaters, if any of your winter coats haven’t been worn this season, are you ever going to wear them?
• Boots. If they’re in good condition, someone in need could really benefit from any boots you’re not wearing.
• Outdoor recreation items. Sleds, toboggans, and skis won’t help someone in need, but if you’re no longer using them, they still shouldn’t be taking up space in your garage.
• Outdoor care items. Snow shovels, snow blowers, and other outdoor care items should be replaced if they’re broken or unsafe to use. Don’t donate unusable items to charity, but recycle and/or trash pieces as appropriate.
• Decorations. Any holiday or winter decorations you didn’t put out this year could easily be sold on eBay, Craigslist, or given away through Freecycle. Check with local doctors’ offices, day care centers, and schools to see if they have any interest in the items you didn’t use this year.

Those of you basking in the summer sun in the southern hemisphere, consider doing a similar sweep for unused warm-weather items. If you haven’t used something yet, it’s likely just taking up space in your home unnecessarily.

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In my opinion, the best part of the breakfast pancake is the syrup. Without syrup, a pancake tastes like hay. With syrup, a pancake tastes like candy. The more syrup on a pancake, the more it tastes like candy, and the better it is. Yummy, yummy maple syrup candy pancakes …

So, you can imagine my confusion when I recently learned about these very special pancake plates that have run-off reservoirs for your syrup. Why would anyone want a device that drains away the syrup from a stack of pancakes? This makes no sense. None at all. The goal is to have ALL the syrup on the pancakes:

I’m going to go out on a limb here and make a couple wacky suggestions — If you don’t like syrup, don’t pour any syrup on your pancakes. If you want to limit the amount of syrup you use, pour syrup into a small cup you already own and dip bites of your pancakes into the cup of syrup. If you don’t have a cup, go out and buy one. Heck, buy two! My guess is you can find two small cups at Target for significantly less than $45 (the price of the two pancake plates) and those cups will take up less space in your kitchen cupboards. You can also reuse cups for drinking beverages. Snazzy.

If I haven’t convinced you not to buy these syrup-depriving abominations, then by all means don’t eat just any pancake off your very special pancake plate … eat terrifying pancakes from an aerosol can!

Really, they’re a thing. Aerosol pancakes. They exist.

Thanks to readers Katie and J for leading us to these two pancake-related unitaskers. What’s that? You want one more? Okay, here you go, have an unintelligible pancake decorative plate to hang on your wall. (Why cut off the words? Why?!)

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• George Washington: Simplicity seeker
  George Washington’s biography is a nice reminder that the problems and aggravations we face currently, and our desire for a more simple life, are often very similar to those experienced by the people who lived before us.

2008

• Unitasker Wednesday: The pancake puff
  Do you like pancakes? If you do, you’ll probably question why you have been eating flat pancakes all of these years when you could have been eating pancakes in the shape of a ball.

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They recently sent us one of their new Transformer Jackets for us to review. Like their other jackets, it has 20 pockets, which can reasonably save you a small carry-on when flying.

What’s nice about the Transformer is that the sleeves are held on by magnets and they come right off when you pull firmly on them. They also reattach much easier than if they were secured with zippers.

The jacket also has a nice and simple aesthetic that belies the fact that it has so many hidden pockets. The jacket is available for pre-order starting today.

Like this site? Buy Erin Rooney Doland’s Unclutter Your Life in One Week from Amazon.com today.