Final yr, I had a small reworking venture that obtained slightly out of hand. It will definitely led to me reworking my complete kitchen. That’s a narrative for an additional day and one other weblog submit. Nevertheless, I’m actually grateful for a few of 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 number of area. 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 (in all probability proper after the silverware and spice drawers). I really like that it’s led to more healthy tech habits too.
On this submit, 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 vital 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 Vital to Maintain Gadgets Out of the Bed room
First, let’s discuss why having a charging drawer within the kitchen—or one other frequent 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 test social media, reply emails, or (let’s be trustworthy) scroll by countless reels. However there are some vital the explanation why this won’t be the healthiest selection.
The Influence of Blue Gentle 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, scale back sleep high quality, and make it more durable to fall right into a deep, restorative sleep.
By protecting your gadgets out of the bed room, you may 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 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 area outdoors the bed room. Just like the charging drawer I’ve created.
For those who aren’t prepared to do this, there are issues we are able to do. Examples embody placing a crimson gentle filter on the telephone, carrying blue-light blocking glasses. You can too swap to one thing just like the Daylight Computer (I really like this for journaling and writing at night time).
Scale back Late-Night time Distractions
One other challenge with having gadgets close to your mattress is the fixed temptation to test them. Whether or not it’s an pressing work e-mail, a textual content from a good friend, 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 may 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 area, you’ll be much less prone to test them throughout the night time. This easy behavior can enhance your sleep high quality and assist you 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 discuss 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 venture, and it didn’t require a number 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 area 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 venture. Ideally, the drawer needs to be in an area that’s simply accessible to the entire household however not in a high traffic space the place it might be a distraction. Our kitchen labored completely as a result of it’s near our household’s each 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 objective. If the drawer is simply too small or shallow, you may need to think about 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, protecting every part 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 vital to pick out an influence strip that has an extended sufficient twine to achieve your nearest outlet. You additionally need one with surge safety to make sure the protection of your gadgets. Be sure that the facility strip is positioned in a manner that enables airflow to stop overheating. To perform this, I re-wired a plug that was once exterior dealing with on the aspect of a cupboard to be inside dealing with. This left the cupboard beneath largely open. It now shops rubbish baggage and enormous containers for the kitchen.
You can too add charging cords which can be lengthy sufficient to comfortably attain from the facility strip to your gadgets. I like to recommend protecting 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 virtually $300 every, I wished to strive 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 gadgets from slipping round. Silicone mats are heat-resistant, non-slip, and simple to scrub, making them good for this sort of venture. Additionally they add a pleasant contact of group, protecting every part in place and looking out tidy.
Step 4: Set up the Cords and Gadgets
Now comes the enjoyable half: organizing the cords and gadgets. I made positive to maintain every part neat and accessible. This concerned coiling the cords and utilizing small clips to maintain them from tangling. I additionally made positive 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 every other gadgets that want a cost. Everybody is aware of the place to plug of their gadgets. There’s additionally no must 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:
- Gadgets 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 test their gadgets late at night time. 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 children.
- 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 among the finest issues we’ve performed for our household’s tech habits. It’s a easy resolution that promotes more healthy sleep, reduces distractions, and encourages extra conscious use of our gadgets. By protecting our telephones and tablets in a devoted area, we’ve created higher boundaries between expertise and rest. It’s additionally improved our total well-being.
For those who’re on the lookout for a easy solution to make your private home 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!
Glad 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!