Every cable tidy-up works for about four days. The reason is almost always the same: the cables were hidden rather than routed, so the first time you needed one you pulled the whole arrangement apart.

Route, do not hide

Hiding means a drawer or a box where everything goes in a tangle. Routing means every cable follows a defined path – along the back edge of the desk, down one leg, to the floor at a single point. When you need to unplug the third one along, you can, without disturbing the other six.

Start by unplugging everything

It feels excessive and it takes ten minutes. You cannot tidy a working nest; you can only tidy a set of individual cables. While they are out, throw away the two you no longer own devices for. There are always two.

Clip along one edge

Adhesive-backed clips along the rear edge of the desk carry the run. Space them about 15cm apart – closer and it looks busy, further and cables sag between them. Clean the surface with isopropyl alcohol first or the adhesive will let go in a month.

Drop at one point

All cables should leave the desk at the same place, ideally behind a leg. A single tidy drop reads as deliberate; three separate droops read as a nest.

Give the loose ends a home

The charging cable you plug in twice a day needs somewhere to sit when it is not in use, or it will slide off the back edge every time. A weighted clip or a small holder at the front of the desk fixes the most annoying problem on this list.

Then deal with the surface

Cables are usually only half the mess. A stackable organiser gives pens, cards and dongles an assigned slot, and assigned slots are the only reason anything gets put away. A riser lifts the monitor to eye level and creates storage underneath at the same time.

One colour

Clips, trays and riser in one finish make a desk look designed. Ordered together they are printed in one run and match exactly. Ordered months apart they can drift a shade, which is worth knowing before you buy the set piecemeal.

More on this: building a desk setup that is not a cable nest and six small home-office upgrades.