You can organize a desk perfectly and it will still look messy if there is a power strip with eight cables under it. This is the method we use. It takes about half an hour, does not require drilling, and holds up.

Step 1: unplug everything and count

Unplug every cable from the strip and lay them out. You will usually find one or two that go nowhere: an old phone charger, a cable for a device you no longer own. Those go in a drawer bin. What remains is what you actually need to route.

Step 2: decide where the strip lives

Two good options. On the floor against the wall inside a cable box, which is the simplest. Or under the desk top in a mounted tray, which keeps the floor fully clear for vacuuming. If your desk goes up and down, mount under the desk so cables move with it.

Step 3: shorten the runs

Most cables are longer than the distance they travel. Coil the excess into a loose loop and hold it with a velcro tie, not a zip tie. Velcro comes off when you change a device. Keep the loop near the strip, not near the device, so the desk end stays clean.

Step 4: bundle and route

Group cables that run the same direction into a sleeve or a series of clips along the back edge of the desk. Monitor power and video cable together. Laptop charger and USB hub together. Keep the bundle behind the rear legs of the desk so it is out of the sight line from the chair.

Step 5: the ones that need to move

The phone charger and the laptop charger need to reach the desk surface. A magnetic clip on the back edge holds the end of each in place so it does not fall behind the desk when unplugged. That single detail is the difference between a desk that stays tidy and one that does not.

Step 6: close the box

Power strip in the box, cables out through the end slots, lid on. Check that the ventilation slots are clear. Done.