When it comes to your video game collection, it’s fair to say you can quickly become swamped by cables, headphones, controllers, adapters, and other miscellaneous, (but ultimately important!) items. That’s before you even take into account the physical copies of the games themselves. Things can get messy, fast.
Alas, all these things are necessary when it comes to your gaming setup, but that doesn’t make it any easier to find a home for them. Whether you’re playing on PC, Xbox Series X, PS5, Nintendo Switch, or any other gaming hardware, you’ll have plenty of accessories. If you’re a multi-platform gamer, you’ll have even more.
If you’re looking for a way to make your video game collection more aesthetically pleasing or perhaps hide it away all together, follow our five awesome ways to make that possible. Before you start, it’s important to first gather all your items together, discard any broken or unnecessary ones, and then sort into categories, making sure you inventory what you have.
1. Clips and/or storage boxes for cables
The amount of cables that come with any gaming setup is abundant, but it’s still possible to maintain a level of organization by following some simple steps. Firstly, there will always be cables connecting your console or PC to power, to screens, and to external hardware.
Cable clips are a great way to keep those loose cables together and avoid them hanging down from your desk or console unit. You can also label your clips to make it clear which cable is which, so when you need to swap cables around, unplug one, or plug another in, it’s easy. One final product that helps with this are braided cable sleeves from a company called Alex Tech ($9, Amazon)
For those extra cables that aren’t always connected, e.g. your charger cables or headphones, a simple and cheap storage solution is to use any kitchen storage boxes or any other suitably small box to keep them contained and avoid them getting tangled together.
2. Alphabetize your games
Although video games can be purchased digitally and downloaded straight onto your gaming system, you may still prefer to own a physical copy. You also may have a collection you’ve been building up for years, even decades, that you hold onto for nostalgia and back burner gameplay. A video game collection, like books or DVDs/Blu-rays, can take up a lot of space and can end up looking cluttered and unorganized. For this, we suggest simply alphabetizing your games.
Before you start, if you play across multiple consoles or PC/Mac, you’ll want to divide your collection first into specific hardware before implementing the alphabet rule. Then, simply order them by title and it’ll make it a lot easier to find. These can be lined on floating shelves, bookcases, or wherever you please. See our 7 clever ways to display books in your home for inspiration.
Another option for organizing your collection is by color coordination to make a visually pleasing display. Or, you can also organize the games by gaming genre with your FPS, sims, etc. all grouping together.
3. Use a headphone stand or wall mount
Headphones can be an essential part to your gameplay experience and after you’ve picked one of the best gaming headsets on offer, you’ll want to look after it. While there’s nothing wrong with placing your headset on the side or placing them into a drawer, they can become damaged or entangled with other accessories. For an effortless and safe solution for your headset, you should purchase a headphone stand or wall mount, depending on your space.
As well as protecting your headphones, this tip will reduce clutter and show off your headset. It’s a fairly simple storage solution, but one that will ensure you don’t damage your headphones by closing them in a drawer or moving them around too much. If you’re looking to take things one step further, we’ve got a guide on the best wireless gaming headsets that’ll reduce your cable usage even more.
4. Tidy up your controllers
Much like your headphones, you’ll also want to store your controller(s). There’s several storage options for your controllers that steer away from just throwing them into a drawer. There’s specific gaming controller stands available to buy, as well as controller charging stations. You could also repurpose a wire desk organizer used for sorting papers for divided sections for your controllers.
If you do just want to use a drawer in your home, drawer dividers or the next tip below are great options for keeping your controllers away from being entangled with loose cables, headphones, and other gaming accessories. To expand on this point, check out how Tom's Guide Editor Anthony likes to store his large collection of gaming controllers.
5. Labeled storage baskets
For miscellaneous items throughout your home, it’s become increasingly popular to use storage baskets to organize them. Armed with a label maker, streamlining these accessories has become a lot simpler. This method can also be enforced when organizing your video game collection.
Whether you want a clear basket so you can see everything inside, half open to peruse your collection at a glance, or completely covered so you can hide it away, there’s plenty of options to choose from. Importantly, labeling your boxes keeps everything organized, so that when you do want to reach for a specific game or cable or accessory, you don’t have to root around in a random drawer or forgotten corner of your home. This comes in handy when you want to put your setup together quickly and enjoy the best Xbox One games, best PC games, or best PS5 games.
More from Tom's Guide
