Final 12 months, I had a small transforming venture that received a little bit out of hand. It will definitely led to me transforming my entire kitchen. That’s a narrative for one more day and one other weblog publish. Nonetheless, I’m actually grateful for a number of the modifications 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 numerous house. 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 turn out to be one in all 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 necessary 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 Necessary to Hold 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 with regards 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 examine social media, reply emails, or (let’s be trustworthy) scroll by means of limitless reels. However there are some necessary the explanation why this won’t be the healthiest alternative.
The Impression of Blue Gentle on Sleep
One of the apparent causes to keep away from having gadgets close to your mattress is the impact of blue mild on sleep. The screens of telephones, tablets, and different digital gadgets emit blue mild. This will 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, 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 may assist your physique wind down naturally, with out the interference of synthetic mild. If you happen to’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? Hold 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 keen to do this, there are issues we will do. Examples embody placing a crimson mild filter on the cellphone, 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 evening).
Cut back Late-Night time Distractions
One other subject with having gadgets close to your mattress is the fixed temptation to examine them. Whether or not it’s an pressing work e 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 a substitute 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 gadgets have to be charged within the kitchen or one other designated house, you’ll be much less prone to examine them through the evening. This straightforward behavior can enhance your sleep high quality and make it easier 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 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 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 venture, and it didn’t require numerous fancy instruments or abilities. I began with a drawer I already had in my kitchen, and with a number of small changes, turned it right into a practical 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 little bit 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 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 every day actions, nevertheless 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 lounge that’s not serving a lot of a goal. 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, maintaining 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 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 protection of your gadgets. Ensure 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 beneath largely open. It now shops rubbish baggage and huge containers for the kitchen.
You too can add charging cords which are lengthy sufficient to comfortably attain from the facility strip to your gadgets. I like to recommend maintaining 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 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 gadgets from slipping round. Silicone mats are heat-resistant, non-slip, and simple to wash, making them good for this type of venture. In addition they add a pleasant contact of group, maintaining every little thing 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 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 machine to relaxation comfortably whereas charging.
For our household, the charging drawer has turn out to be 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 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 machine 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 examine their gadgets late at evening. And we get up with absolutely 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 supper time 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 top-of-the-line 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 maintaining our telephones and tablets in a devoted house, we’ve created higher boundaries between expertise and leisure. It’s additionally improved our general well-being.
If you happen to’re in search of a easy solution to make your private home 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 price it!
Pleased 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!