cord control to major tom

Houston, we have a problem. A cord problem. And we need some intervention.

I am in need of some cord control, and in a bad way. Maybe I have just been reading too many blogs written by design perfectionists, who have found ways to hide literally every single cord. Or maybe it's Apartment Therapy's "Perfect Workspace" contest, whose entrants do magical work hiding their cords. (It seems to help that many of them have Macs, which somehow just require far less cordage.)

For example, this is the pinnacle to me of cords incognito, from Young House Love:

They actually have their modem and wireless router hidden in those white file boxes... ingenious.

More enviable cord-free workspaces...

But here is my desk and cord situation (and we're not even getting into Mark's swamp of cords)...

Blech... such a mess. But fortunately, there is help. A few of Ikea's clever products are meant to help situations like mine.

The rest of the office is really looking better, so it's just a matter of getting these cords cleaned up, and then it will actually look like a proper room.

Update: We did resolve the cord situation. Read about it here.