This took 10 minutes, was completely no cost for me and solved the ‘messy coloring supplies all over my table all of the time’ issue we seem to constantly have.

this ‘mess’ was created by me. I wanted an aesthetically pleasing mess for my post. In real life, it would be crazy chaos on this table. Serious crayon carnage, people!

I dug out these 2 metal trays from my pile of office supplies in the basement. You know, from back when I was a big girl that put on actual pants everyday and had a paying job (AKA before I had 8 kids and started staying home).

These particular trays are connecting. Which was perfect – I knew the metal tabs would be ideal for attaching them to the table.

With my trusty metal pliers, I bent back the tabs so they were somewhat flat.

Here’s what they looked like ‘all bent out of shape’ 😂

Sorry, I had to!

I needed shorter screws to go into the wood under the table. But, the heads of the screws were too small for the width of the tabs. So, I scrounged up some washers to fix that problem.

The washers hold the screws in place and keep them from going through the tab.

You may need a hand holding the trays up while you attach the first screw. I suggest getting yourself an adorable helper ❤

The underside of my table.

It ain’t pretty – don’t judge me. I mean, who paints the underside of their table? Or cleans it? (Obviously not me. Anything to cut a corner around here 😏)

If crayon carnage isn’t an issue at your house, these trays are versatile.

Really, anything could be stored in these. Napkins, plates, silverware, etc.

This is basically the same idea as a school desk.

Nice and neat!