A $12 cable tray cleaned up this desk fast

PCWorld’s Alaina Yee says a $12 under-desk cable tray solved one of the most annoying parts of working on PCs: the tangle of power cords, printer cables, lamp plugs, and other wiring that builds up behind a desk.

Yee writes that cable management used to be low on her priority list, but that changed after having to troubleshoot more than one PC buried in what she describes as a “rat’s nest” of cables. Her preferred fix is a tray mounted under the desk, especially the clamp-on type, though she notes that some versions can be drilled into the underside of a desk instead.

She points to a few practical benefits:

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• Clearer visibility into what’s plugged into the power strip
• Faster cable tracing back to each device
• Less setup time than routing cables along a desk or wall
• Cleaner-looking desks, with fewer cords hanging down the back

Yee says she uses an open-wire tray at her own desk because it gives her more flexibility for routing cables. For friends, she often recommends a mesh version like the one shown above, saying it tends to look better.

Her setup uses two trays: one for the power strip, and another for the power bricks connected to the mini-PCs and laptop she uses. She adds that while cable protectors or routing cables along desk legs can also work, an under-desk tray takes less planning. The time saved can then go toward labeling each cable, which she says makes future cleanup and troubleshooting much easier.