Sometimes it seems like earbud cords are designed to make the greatest amount of tangles possible. When taking earbuds out of our bags or pockets the minutes long ritual of untangling cords can get very frustrating. A few resourceful people have thought of some home-grown ways to prevent your earbuds from getting into a tangled mess.

Paracord earbud sleeve

By wrapping your earbuds in a reinforced sleeve, it reduces the bendability of your cords, thereby preventing tangles. This hack requires cutting your earbud cords and soldering them back together. So you must be comfortable with a soldering iron and possibly sacrificing some sound quality.

paracord sleeves [via instructables]

Foam caddy

Using salvaged foam, fashion yourself a homemade earbud caddy using your ingenuity and a pair of scissors. A couple of different cut-out patterns are offered. A great way to save from buying one of these in the store.

foam caddy [via wonderhowto]

Credit card caddy

Another neat homemade caddy idea using old credit cards. Although not mentioned in the linked article, it may be smarter to use a extra super market card or a gift card that didnt have any value put on it. That way you aren't walking around with something you'd be worried about losing. Also, if using this idea make sure not to wrap the cords too tightly. Wrapping earbud cords around the sharp edges of a plastic card could cause accelerated wear.

credit card caddy [via instructables]

Cord wrapping

Just taking the time to wrap your earbud cords before putting them away can prevent a mess. Here is one easy way to wrap them.

cord wrapping technique [via lifehacker]