I've been watching speed builds on Youtube, and the builders often over clutter surfaces by placing the items, and then moving the desk/counter/etc out from under the items, adjusting their positions,...
Also if they use objects not meant to be on a counter and/or table they usually adjust size by “shift + ” and then adjust height of item using numbers “0 or 9.” And usually if they use these cheats the item will stay in place when the counter/table is removed from underneath.