Final 12 months, I had a small reworking undertaking that received a little bit out of hand. It will definitely led to me reworking my complete kitchen. That’s a narrative for one more day and one other weblog publish. Nonetheless, I’m actually grateful for among 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 a number of area. For the primary time, I used to be left with drawers I didn’t have a goal 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 change into one in every 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 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 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 Maintain 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 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 by means of infinite reels. However there are some essential the reason why this may not be the healthiest alternative.

The Affect of Blue Gentle on Sleep

One of the vital apparent causes to keep away from having units close to your mattress is the impact of blue gentle on sleep. The screens of telephones, tablets, and different digital units emit blue gentle. This could intervene 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, scale back sleep high quality, and make it tougher to fall right into a deep, restorative sleep.

By retaining your units out of the bed room, you possibly can assist your physique wind down naturally, with out the interference of synthetic gentle. 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 units in a devoted charging area exterior 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 gentle filter on the cellphone, carrying blue-light blocking glasses. You too can swap to one thing just like the Daylight Computer (I like this for journaling and writing at night time). 

Scale back Late-Evening Distractions

One other situation 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 pal, or the most recent 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 surface world. By setting a agency rule that units have to be charged within the kitchen or one other designated area, you’ll be much less prone to verify them in the course of the night time. This easy behavior can enhance your sleep high quality and show you how 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 chosen space for charging units, 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 dwelling.

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 number of fancy instruments or expertise. 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 area 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 may very well be a distraction. Our kitchen labored completely as a result of it’s near our household’s day by day actions, nevertheless it’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 lounge that’s not serving a lot of a goal. If the drawer is just too small or shallow, you may wish to think about 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, retaining all the pieces organized and out of sight.

I selected an influence strip that match completely contained in the drawer, with sufficient retailers to cost a number of units directly. It’s essential to pick an influence strip that has a protracted sufficient twine to achieve your nearest outlet. You additionally need one with surge safety to make sure the security of your units. Ensure that the facility strip is positioned in a means that enables airflow to stop overheating. To perform this, I re-wired a plug that was once 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 might be lengthy sufficient to comfortably attain from the facility strip to your units. I like to recommend retaining 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 nearly $300 every, I needed to attempt a DIY choice 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 units from slipping round. Silicone mats are heat-resistant, non-slip, and straightforward to wash, making them excellent for this type of undertaking. In addition they add a pleasant contact of group, retaining all the pieces in place and searching tidy.

Step 4: Arrange 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 gadget to relaxation comfortably whereas charging.

For our household, the charging drawer has change into the go-to spot for telephones, iPads, and some 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 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 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 dinner a extra linked 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 top-of-the-line 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 retaining our telephones and tablets in a devoted area, 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 suggest establishing a DIY charging drawer. It doesn’t take a lot time, and the advantages are completely value it!

Comfortable 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? Depart a remark and tell us!