How I Added a DIY Charging Drawer to My Kitchen (& Why)

Final yr, I had a small reworking challenge that received just a little out of hand. It will definitely led to me reworking my entire kitchen. That’s a narrative for one more day and one other weblog put up. 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 variety 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 turn out to be certainly one 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 put up, 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 with regards 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 means of countless reels. However there are some vital the reason why this won’t be the healthiest selection.

The Influence of Blue Mild on Sleep

Some of the 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, cut 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 telephone earlier than mattress after which having hassle falling asleep, you’ve skilled this firsthand. The answer? Maintain your telephones, tablets, and different gadgets in a devoted charging area exterior the bed room. Just like the charging drawer I’ve created.

In case you aren’t keen to try this, there are issues we will do. Examples embrace placing a pink gentle filter on the telephone, carrying blue-light blocking glasses. You may also swap to one thing just like the Daylight Computer (I really like this for journaling and writing at evening). 

Cut back Late-Evening Distractions

One other subject 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 buddy, 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’ll be able to create a wholesome boundary between your bed room and the skin 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 throughout the evening. This straightforward 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 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 know-how.

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 challenge, and it didn’t require a variety of 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 useful 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 just a little disorganized, so I made a decision to repurpose it for this challenge. Ideally, the drawer must be in an area that’s simply accessible to the entire household however not in a high 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 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 function. If the drawer is just 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 the whole lot 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 without delay. It’s vital to pick out 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. Ensure the ability strip is positioned in a approach that enables airflow to forestall overheating. To perform this, I re-wired a plug that was 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 huge containers for the kitchen. 

You may also add charging cords which are 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 virtually $300 every, I needed to attempt a DIY possibility and am glad I did. 

Step 3: Add a Silicone Mat to Defend 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 the whole lot in place and searching tidy.

Step 4: Manage the Cords and Gadgets

Now comes the enjoyable half: organizing the cords and gadgets. I made certain to maintain the whole lot neat and accessible. This concerned coiling the cords and utilizing small clips to maintain them from tangling. I additionally made certain to depart sufficient room for every gadget 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 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 evening. 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 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 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 accomplished 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 know-how and rest. It’s additionally improved our total well-being.

In case you’re in search of a easy strategy to make your own 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!

Joyful 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!