Final yr, I had a small reworking undertaking that bought a little bit 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 among the adjustments 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 a variety 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 grow to be one in all 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 units 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 Essential to Hold Units Out of the Bed room
First, let’s speak about why having a charging drawer within the kitchen—or one other frequent space—is a game-changer. Particularly on the subject of 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 sincere) scroll by means of infinite reels. However there are some necessary explanation why this may not be the healthiest alternative.
The Impression of Blue Gentle on Sleep
Some of the apparent causes to keep away from having units close to your mattress is the impact of blue mild on sleep. The screens of telephones, tablets, and different digital units emit blue mild. This may intrude 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, scale back sleep high quality, and make it more durable to fall right into a deep, restorative sleep.
By preserving your units out of the bed room, you may assist your physique wind down naturally, with out the interference of synthetic mild. In the event you’ve ever discovered your self scrolling mindlessly in your telephone earlier than mattress after which having hassle falling asleep, you’ve skilled this firsthand. The answer? Hold your telephones, tablets, and different units in a devoted charging house outdoors the bed room. Just like the charging drawer I’ve created.
In the event you aren’t prepared to try this, there are issues we are able to do. Examples embody placing a purple mild filter on the telephone, carrying blue-light blocking glasses. You too can change to one thing just like the Daylight Computer (I like this for journaling and writing at night time).
Scale back Late-Night time Distractions
One other difficulty with having units close to your mattress is the fixed temptation to verify 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 may create a wholesome boundary between your bed room and the surface world. By setting a agency rule that units have to 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 night time. This easy behavior can enhance your sleep high quality and enable you to be extra current with your loved ones in the course of the day.
Improved Focus and Connection
When your units are tucked away in a drawer, it’s simpler to deal with 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 delegated space for charging units, we encourage everybody to be extra intentional about when and the way they use know-how.
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 a variety 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 useful and arranged house for charging units. 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 little bit disorganized, so I made a decision to repurpose it for this undertaking. 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 could possibly be a distraction. Our kitchen labored completely as a result of it’s near our household’s every day actions, but it surely’s not the place the place we go to unwind at night time.
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 function. If the drawer is simply too small or shallow, you may need to contemplate swapping it for a deeper one that may accommodate a number of units.
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 units in a single place, preserving all the pieces 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 units directly. It’s necessary to pick out an influence strip that has an extended sufficient wire to achieve your nearest outlet. You additionally need one with surge safety to make sure the security of your units. Be sure the ability 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 facet of a cupboard to be inside going through. This left the cupboard under largely open. It now shops rubbish baggage and enormous containers for the kitchen.
You too can add charging cords which are lengthy sufficient to comfortably attain from the ability strip to your units. I like to recommend preserving a wide range of cords for various units—some for iPhones, some for Androids, and others for iPads or tablets.
I did discover energy strips particularly designed for this. However at virtually $300 every, I wished to attempt 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 units from slipping round. Silicone mats are heat-resistant, non-slip, and straightforward to wash, making them excellent for this type of undertaking. Additionally they add a pleasant contact of group, preserving all the pieces in place and looking out tidy.
Step 4: Set up the Cords and Units
Now comes the enjoyable half: organizing the cords and units. I made certain to maintain all the pieces neat and accessible. This concerned coiling the cords and utilizing small clips to maintain them from tangling. I additionally made certain to go away sufficient room for every system to relaxation comfortably whereas charging.
For our household, the charging drawer has grow to be the go-to spot for telephones, iPads, and every other units that want a cost. Everybody is aware of the place to plug of their units. 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 units have to be charged within the drawer in a single day. This ensures nobody is tempted to verify their units late at night time. And we get up with absolutely charged units, 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 units 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 related expertise. We use this time to catch up, chat about our day, and deal with one another with out distractions.
Conclusion: The Advantages of a DIY Charging Drawer
Including a DIY charging drawer to our kitchen has been among the finest issues we’ve achieved for our household’s tech habits. It’s a easy answer that promotes more healthy sleep, reduces distractions, and encourages extra conscious use of our units. By preserving our telephones and tablets in a devoted house, we’ve created higher boundaries between know-how and leisure. It’s additionally improved our general well-being.
In the event you’re in search of a easy approach to make your private home extra organized and tech-friendly, I extremely suggest organising a DIY charging drawer. It doesn’t take a lot time, and the advantages are completely price it!
Joyful charging, and right here’s to more healthy tech habits for the entire household!
What are your loved ones’s guidelines and habits round units? Go away a remark and tell us!