It's true that we live in a wireless society, yet all of our high tech gadgets still have to recharge their batteries somewhere.  That somewhere seems to be all over my house.  Everywhere I look there are tangled wires hanging from every outlet, as family members need to power up their phones, cameras, iPods, Gameboys, Blackberrys, etc.

We've seen various versions of personal power stations on the market, but they are usually expensive, require a lot of hardware themselves, and are usually limited to two or three docks.

With very little effort or expense, we have found an easy way to power up several items at once and... without the mess.  We've created a "charging station" which will take care of that unsightly cord clutter and keep everyone's gadgets in one area for easy access.    


SUPPLIES:

- Photo Storage Box with lid (Look for inexpensive version found at craft or local drug store.  We paid $3.99 for ours)
- Power Strip
- Hammer
- Utility Knife
- Package of Extra Large Eyelets (large enough for power cords to fit through; buy at crafts or fabric store)
- One large circular metal tag ring (found with the scrapbook supplies).


INSTRUCTIONS:(see photos below)

When choosing your box make sure it is long enough to hold Power Strip. Power strips also come in various lengths and you want one that is of the short variety.

Trace around large tag ring on end of box and cut out circle for power strip cord using your utility knife.

Hot glue metal ring onto opening for a nice finished look.

Trace the eyelets on the side of the box to create the correct size hole.  Cut out holes with utility knife and insert only one half of the eyelet - the larger part with the sharp tabs.  

Hammer the points of eyelets down flat inside of box to secure.

Place the power strip inside box and thread cord through side of box.

Plug all charger cords into power strip and thread through holes in the side of box.

Plug power strip into electrical source and you are ready to charge.  You now have all of your cords contained and everyone knows where to find their various items at all times.