Final yr, I had a small transforming challenge that bought a bit of out of hand. It will definitely led to me transforming my entire kitchen. That’s a narrative for an additional day and one other weblog publish. Nonetheless, I’m actually grateful for among the modifications 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 area. 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 develop into one among our most-used drawers (most likely 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 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 Essential to Preserve Gadgets Out of the Bed room
First, let’s discuss why having a charging drawer within the kitchen—or one other widespread space—is a game-changer. Particularly in the case 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 test 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 Influence 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 may 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 tougher to fall right into a deep, restorative sleep.
By retaining 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. In case you’ve ever discovered your self scrolling mindlessly in your cellphone earlier than mattress after which having bother falling asleep, you’ve skilled this firsthand. The answer? Preserve your telephones, tablets, and different gadgets in a devoted charging area outdoors the bed room. Just like the charging drawer I’ve created.
In case you aren’t prepared to try this, there are issues we are able to do. Examples embody placing a crimson gentle filter on the cellphone, carrying blue-light blocking glasses. You may as well 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 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 pal, or the newest information replace. This fixed connectivity can result in late-night distractions, leaving you feeling wired and anxious as a substitute 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 surface world. By setting a agency rule that gadgets should be charged within the kitchen or one other designated area, you’ll be much less prone to test them through the night time. This easy behavior can enhance your sleep high quality and provide help to be extra current with your loved ones through 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 delegated 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 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 abilities. I began with a drawer I already had in my kitchen, and with a couple of small changes, turned it right into a purposeful 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 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 high traffic space the place it might 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 lounge that’s not serving a lot of a function. If the drawer is simply too small or shallow, you would possibly need to contemplate 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, retaining every little thing 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 gadgets 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 protection of your gadgets. Make sure that the ability strip is positioned in a approach that permits airflow to forestall 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 beneath largely open. It now shops rubbish luggage and huge containers for the kitchen.
You may as well add charging cords which can be lengthy sufficient to comfortably attain from the ability strip to your gadgets. I like to recommend retaining 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 strive a DIY possibility and am glad I did.
Step 3: Add a Silicone Mat to Shield 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 wash, making them excellent for this type of challenge. Additionally they add a pleasant contact of group, retaining every little thing in place and searching tidy.
Step 4: Arrange the Cords and Gadgets
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 gadget to relaxation comfortably whereas charging.
For our household, the charging drawer has develop 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 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 should 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 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 among the best issues we’ve finished 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 retaining our telephones and tablets in a devoted area, we’ve created higher boundaries between expertise and leisure. It’s additionally improved our general well-being.
In case you’re searching for a easy approach to make your own home 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 price 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 gadgets? Depart a remark and tell us!
