Keep Extension Cords Organized And Knot-Free With A Simple Wrapping Technique

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Extension cords can be maddening. It's fair to say that when you're ready to plug something in, you have some expectation that it'll be powered up and working in a matter of seconds. But the inverse cord length law — which doesn't exist but should — means that the longer your extension cord, the more likely it is to be in a tangled mess regardless of how carefully you coiled it before. It doesn't even matter whether it has been touched since it was last used; grab the wrong end, or the right end from the wrong direction, and you'll spend five minutes pulling cord through a seemingly infinite series of knots. But the figure-eight wrapping method is built-in protections against most extension cord frustrations.

There are dozens of other solutions to the problem of cable storage, and each is hated by someone. The trouble is that coiling methods are conceived for cables of a particular length and purpose. The over-over and over-under methods for A/V cables might be the best method for storing shorter extension cords without tangling. The chain-stitch (often, and incongruously, referred to as a "daisy-chain") is used by electricians and carpenters. But most are just not great at handling cords that are 100 feet or longer, and long extension cords already bring enough problems to the table. Long cords are heavy; this high-quality LifeSupplyUSA 200-foot heavy-duty extension cord weighs over 34 pounds. And longer cords obviously get tangled more thoroughly than 6-foot cords designed to reach your Christmas tree.

The figure-eight method of coiling extension cords solves the weight problem by using both arms equally in rolling the cable up. You might look slightly silly doing it, since it involves gyrating around with your hands in the air like a Burning Man rope-trick performer. As YouTuber @DirtFarmerJay demonstrates, you're alternately wrapping the doubled cable around each arm, creating a stack of figure-eight coils that can be effortlessly unfurled the next time you use the cord. Wrap the last few yards around the center of your eight, and pull the tag end through the loop opposite the end you started with. There are several improvements available if your cord is supple enough to allow them, mostly involving knotting the tag end in one way or another.

This technique is also used with arborist rope, and tree-climbers are a good resource for knot-free techniques. One such alternative, the butterfly coil, involves draping a large figure-eight around your neck, which is even easier on your arms, but is slower. You can also stow the cord in a bucket; coiling it is time-consuming, but it's unlikely to get tangled with the protection of the bucket enclosing it. Perhaps the only improvement on the butterfly method is using a cord reel, though they increase the cord weight, can cause stresses that prematurely wear your expensive extension cord out, and heat can build up in the tight coils and reduce the ampacity of your cable if not fully extended. Always pay attention to such heat, as misusing extension cords is among the most common causes of home electrical fires.