Over-under coiling saves your extension cord.

Use the over-under method (also called “alternating loop” or “figure-eight”) — it prevents the internal wires from twisting and developing memory or damage.

The trick is to alternate the direction of each loop. Hold the cord with the plug in your left hand. With your right hand, make the first loop by twisting your wrist away from your body (overhand twist). Then the next loop, twist your wrist toward your body (underhand twist). Each loop cancels the twist of the previous one. It sounds fussy, but once you get the rhythm, you can coil 50 feet in under 30 seconds. This is how sound engineers and stagehands do it.

If you just wrap it around your elbow in the same direction every time, the cord will develop a tight spiral that refuses to lay flat and can eventually fray the jacket or stress the conductors. Over-under also makes it tangle-free when you uncoil — you just toss it and it lays straight.

The first few attempts might feel awkward. That’s normal. Stick with it. Future you will thank Future you.