The EarBuddies: Store Earbuds Without Tangling (With Stuff You Already Have!)

This SYAH (Stuff You Already Have) Instructable will show you how you can build my little invention that I call the EarBuddies. The Earbuddies are a little device that wraps up your ear buds for you and lets you take them out with as little or as much wire as you want coming out. You could also adapt this into  some other things that I will go into at the end of this Instructable.

So here is what you will need...
-2 Pill bottles (Could be film canisters, or something that has a similar shape, size, and a cover)
-Some malleable metal rod (paperclips would work, but I used some bendable copper wire I had around. It will work as long as it can bend yet take a bit of force while retaining its shape.) 
-Your ear buds!
For tools:
-Drill and drill bits
-Hot glue and Hot glue gun (You could use regualar glue, but the hot glue is quicker and easier)
-Wire cutters and pliers (To cut/shape the metal rod aforementioned)
-Hacksaw

The body consists of 3 parts: The cover, the center section, and the bottom. To create our center section, I took the pill bottle and sawed off the bottom. I sawed it off long enough so that when the other pill bottle cover was placed there, it would leave only a tiny gap (To make sure it could still close). If you are using a film canister, you will need to give it more room than just the distance between two covers, so that there is enough room for the wires.

With the pill bottle all cut up, its time to glue them on. The one that already screws on should not be glued, but the one covering the opening should be glued heavily. (This is to make sure that when we unscrew the other cover, this cover stays on.)

This next step will require two holes: one through the top and through to the bottom, and another through the side. The hole through the side should be on the cover that we glued on earlier, and should go all the way through. The size of the hole should be a little more than twice the size of your wire (For the top one) and the hole through the side should be big enough for the ear bud jack to fit through.

Okay, so this is probably the most complex part of the build, and even this isn't too bad. We will need to take our metal rod and bend it into three parts. The middle part is the size of the cover, and the outer thirds bend 90 degrees out where they meet. They should be a bit longer that the full body. If that is confusing, reference the photograph.

This is the step where we put it all together...
First, we unscrew the cover.
The ear buds are pulled through one side hole, and then the other.
The metal piece we made goes through the hole in the glued on cover. 
The middle of the ear buds wire are strung through the gap in the part of the metal piece that is inside the container.
The cover is put back on, and the two ends of the metal piece are put through the hole in the cover we just put on.
If that is confusing, see the photo for clarification.

In order to finish this up, you have to make a choice. The metal bracket sticking out can either be filed and left straight in order to allow the earbuds to be removed easily, or you could bend them onto themselves and prevent the metal piece from ever popping out (Unless you give it a good tug). another option would be to give it only a slight bend which makes it possible it force out, but that would make it harder to put back on. My pick would be to add a sliver of metal attached to the metal piece next to the hole on the glued on cover (preventing the metal piece from slipping out of that hole)

So, with it all built up, now we can use it!
To use:
-Twist metal piece until the ear buds and the jack is all wrapped up inside the container. 
-To take them out, just give a quick tug. Also, you could pull it out only the amount you want, and prevent annoying wires everywhere!

So those are the EarBuddies! You could make larger versions of them to help out with the wires around you home, or use them to store you earbuds hassle-free. If you don't like the pill-bottle-hanging-from-the-neck look, then you can paint it. Alternatively, skip all of the holes except for the one at the glued on cover, and by putting it on a flat surface, use the metal piece to wind up the earbuds where you can stuff them in the container.
So that's my Instructable. Please let me know any questions or comments you have, and have a nice day!
/AssemblyRequired