Final 12 months, I had a small reworking undertaking that bought slightly out of hand. It will definitely led to me reworking my entire kitchen. That’s a narrative for one more day and one other weblog put up. Nevertheless, I’m actually grateful for a few of the modifications that got here from this rework, 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 plenty 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 into certainly one of our most-used drawers (in all probability proper after the silverware and spice drawers). I 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 necessary to maintain our gadgets 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 Maintain Units Out of the Bed room
First, let’s speak about why having a charging drawer within the kitchen—or one other widespread space—is a game-changer. Particularly relating to your sleep hygiene and general well being. Many people are responsible of bringing our telephones into the bed room, whether or not it’s to verify social media, reply emails, or (let’s be trustworthy) scroll via limitless reels. However there are some necessary explanation why this won’t be the healthiest alternative.
The Influence of Blue Mild on Sleep
One of the apparent causes to keep away from having gadgets close to your mattress is the impact of blue mild on sleep. The screens of telephones, tablets, and different digital gadgets emit blue mild. This may intervene with melatonin manufacturing, the hormone that regulates our sleep-wake cycle. Research have proven publicity to blue mild earlier than mattress can delay sleep onset, cut 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 possibly can assist your physique wind down naturally, with out the interference of synthetic mild. For those who’ve ever discovered your self scrolling mindlessly in your cellphone earlier than mattress after which having hassle falling asleep, you’ve skilled this firsthand. The answer? Maintain your telephones, tablets, and different gadgets in a devoted charging house outdoors the bed room. Just like the charging drawer I’ve created.
For those who aren’t prepared to try this, there are issues we are able to do. Examples embody placing a purple mild filter on the cellphone, carrying blue-light blocking glasses. You may also change to one thing just like the Daylight Computer (I like this for journaling and writing at evening).
Cut back Late-Evening Distractions
One other situation with having gadgets close to your mattress is the fixed temptation to verify them. Whether or not it’s an pressing work e mail, a textual content from a pal, or the newest 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 possibly can create a wholesome boundary between your bed room and the skin world. By setting a agency rule that gadgets should be charged within the kitchen or one other designated house, you’ll be much less more likely to verify them in the course of the evening. This straightforward behavior can enhance your sleep high quality and assist you to be extra current with your loved ones in the course of the day.
Improved Focus and Connection
When your gadgets are tucked away in a drawer, it’s simpler to give attention to 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 gadgets, we encourage everybody to be extra intentional about when and the way they use expertise.
Now, let’s speak about how I created this charging drawer and why it’s been such a game-changer in our house.
How I Created My DIY Charging Drawer
Making a charging drawer in my kitchen was a comparatively easy undertaking, and it didn’t require plenty 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 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 slightly disorganized, so I made a decision to repurpose it for this undertaking. 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 could possibly be a distraction. Our kitchen labored completely as a result of it’s near our household’s every day actions, nevertheless 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 take into account 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 every little thing organized and out of sight.
I selected an influence strip that match completely contained in the drawer, with sufficient shops to cost a number of gadgets directly. It’s necessary to pick an influence strip that has a protracted sufficient twine to succeed in your nearest outlet. You additionally need one with surge safety to make sure the security of your gadgets. Make certain the ability strip is positioned in a manner that permits 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 huge containers for the kitchen.
You may also add charging cords which can be lengthy sufficient to comfortably attain from the ability strip to your gadgets. I like to recommend maintaining quite a lot of cords for various gadgets—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 choice 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 straightforward to scrub, making them good for this sort of undertaking. Additionally they add a pleasant contact of group, maintaining every little thing in place and searching tidy.
Step 4: Set up the Cords and Units
Now comes the enjoyable half: organizing the cords and gadgets. I made positive to maintain every little thing 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 system to relaxation comfortably whereas charging.
For our household, the charging drawer has turn 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 Time Habits
Since we added the charging drawer to our kitchen, it’s actually helped us set up wholesome habits round our system 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 should be charged within the drawer in a single day. This ensures nobody is tempted to verify their gadgets late at evening. And we get up with totally 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 time for supper a extra linked expertise. We use this time to catch up, chat about our day, and give attention to one another with out distractions.
Conclusion: The Advantages of a DIY Charging Drawer
Including a DIY charging drawer to our kitchen has been probably the greatest issues we’ve carried out 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 gadgets. By maintaining our telephones and tablets in a devoted house, we’ve created higher boundaries between expertise and rest. It’s additionally improved our general well-being.
For those who’re in search of a easy technique to make your property extra organized and tech-friendly, I extremely advocate establishing a DIY charging drawer. It doesn’t take a lot time, and the advantages are completely value it!
Completely satisfied 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? Go away a remark and tell us!
