Final yr, I had a small transforming challenge that obtained a bit of out of hand. It will definitely led to me transforming my complete kitchen. That’s a narrative for an additional day and one other weblog publish. 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 loads 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 turn 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 publish, 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 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 in relation to 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 examine social media, reply emails, or (let’s be trustworthy) scroll via countless reels. However there are some essential the reason why this won’t 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 gentle on sleep. The screens of telephones, tablets, and different digital gadgets emit blue gentle. This could intrude 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, cut back sleep high quality, and make it more durable 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. If you happen to’ve ever discovered your self scrolling mindlessly in your telephone earlier than mattress after which having bother 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.
If you happen to aren’t prepared to do this, there are issues we will do. Examples embody placing a purple gentle filter on the telephone, sporting blue-light blocking glasses. You too can change to one thing just like the Daylight Computer (I really like this for journaling and writing at evening).
Scale back Late-Night time Distractions
One other situation with having gadgets close to your mattress is the fixed temptation to examine them. Whether or not it’s an pressing work electronic mail, a textual content from a buddy, 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’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 examine them throughout the evening. This straightforward behavior can enhance your sleep high quality and allow you to be extra current with your loved ones throughout 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 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 challenge, and it didn’t require loads of fancy instruments or expertise. I began with a drawer I already had in my kitchen, and with just a few small changes, turned it right into a useful 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 a bit of disorganized, so I made a decision to repurpose it for this challenge. Ideally, the drawer needs to be in an area that’s simply accessible to the entire household however not in a heavy-traffic space the place it may very well be a distraction. Our kitchen labored completely as a result of it’s near our household’s day by day actions, however 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 front room that’s not serving a lot of a objective. If the drawer is just 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 without delay. It’s essential to pick out an influence strip that has an extended sufficient wire to succeed in your nearest outlet. You additionally need one with surge safety to make sure the protection of your gadgets. Make certain the facility strip is positioned in a manner that enables airflow to stop overheating. To perform this, I re-wired a plug that was exterior going through on the aspect of a cupboard to be inside going through. This left the cupboard under largely open. It now shops rubbish luggage and enormous containers for the kitchen.
You too can add charging cords which can be lengthy sufficient to comfortably attain from the facility 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 energy 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 facility 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 wash, making them excellent for this type of challenge. In addition they add a pleasant contact of group, maintaining every little thing in place and looking out tidy.
Step 4: Arrange the Cords and Units
Now comes the enjoyable half: organizing the cords and gadgets. I made certain 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 certain to depart sufficient room for every gadget to relaxation comfortably whereas charging.
For our household, the charging drawer has turn into the go-to spot for telephones, iPads, and some 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 examine 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 meal 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 top-of-the-line issues we’ve performed 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 total well-being.
If you happen to’re on the lookout for a easy method to make your property 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 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!
