An under desk wire basket is worth buying when the extension lead has nowhere to live except the carpet. The socket on a lot of home desks sits in the wrong corner, the laptop lead only just reaches, and the spare cable ends up in a loop against the chair. A steel tray clamped along the back edge takes the power strip and the chargers off the floor, while a spare socket stays within reach of the chair.
What actually fits in it
Ours is black powder-coated steel, 39 cm long and 12.5 cm deep. That is room for a normal UK power strip and a couple of chargers. A full computer, two screens and a printer will not go in as well, and a long loop of spare cable still needs shortening or tying. For a laptop, a lamp and a phone charger, it is the right size.
Clamps, so the desktop is left alone
Cable ties are the usual first attempt, and they hold until the next device arrives and they have to be cut off. A channel glued under the top is fine until the desk moves, or until the glue lets go. The clamps on this basket hook over the rear edge and tighten by hand, so the top is not drilled. That matters if the desk is rented, or if it is a table you would rather not mark. On the size drawing the clamp opening is marked at 5 cm. Measure a thick top, or one with a deep lip underneath, before ordering. If the edge is thicker than that opening, the clamp will not close.
The pack includes the tray, two cable holders, six clips and ties, and the screws, nuts and adapters. The clips are worth using. Without them the lamp lead still drops into the gap a knee catches, and the tray only deals with the strip. The holders are there for the leads that come in and out of the sockets, and the spare length sits in the basket.
It is £15.99, with free delivery on orders to a UK address. Order the under desk wire basket if the strip is still on the floor.
