Materials Needed

• (1) 1/4 sheet of standard (letter) paper
• (1) ~2″ piece of tape

Construction

1. With the quarter-sheet of paper oriented in “landscape” mode (as opposed to “portrait”), fold the sheet along its horizontal axis (the “long way”) and crease.
   
2. Fold the folded piece of paper along its vertical axis, like a book, and crease.
   
3. Again, fold the twice-folded piece of paper along its vertical axis, like a book, and crease.
   
4. Tape closed the opening opposite the “spine”.

To store your earbud cord

1. Slip your finger between the middle layers of paper and squeeze the sides to form an opening, forming a somewhat tube.
2. Thread the earbuds through the tube. This may need to be done one bud at a time.
   
3. Wrap the cord along the vertical axis, between the two earbuds, until you’ve reached the end of the cord.
4. Store the bundle in a place it won’t be jostled around too much.

Congratulations. You have a fully functional Poor Man’s Earbud Cord Wrap. Standard Edition.

Deluxe Edition

The Standard Edition is usually suitable enough to prevent tangling, and it usually stays wrapped if you’re storing the earbuds somewhere that doesn’t get tossed around too much. However, if you want to be baller and you have a pair of scissors and 15 seconds to spare, consider upgrading to the Deluxe Edition. The Deluxe Edition makes sure the cord stays wrapped around the holder.

To upgrade, cut a small ~1/4″ slit in the “spine”, perpendicular to it, and a small “branch” slit off that so you can push out the “tab” to create a small hole, which I call the Cord Holder Hole.

After wrapping the cord around the holder, tuck a piece of the remaining cord into the Cord Holder Hole. As you can see, the Cord Holder Hole is a hole that holds cord. (That’s what she said.)

[Update]: Welcome Lifehacker readers! Be sure to check out my comics and subscribe to my RSS feed. If you’re interested in tips like the above, look through my other guides.