I made a decision a while back that the most icons I would have on my desktop is one column worth, meaning if the icons on the left side of the first monitor "skip" to another, there’s too many and it must be cleaned up.

The only icon I have on the right is the Recycle Bin. I have entertained the idea of removing that from the desktop, but I find that I do actually use it from time to time.

I would say the #1 thing that legitimately irritates me is when people dump everything, and I mean everything, on the desktop.

 
Above: My Windows 7 desktop (tower PC, dual monitor).

Some would say, "That’s a Windows thing." Oh, no sir. I’ve seen cluttered OS X and Linux desktops as well. The only reason non-Windows users label it as a "Windows thing" is because that’s the OS that’s most used. If OS X or Linux held the title as most-used, you’d see cluttered desktops just the same.

I do partially blame browsers (Firefox included) for clutter if using Windows XP, because the default download location for files is the desktop. Yes, this can be changed, but most people don’t do that.

 
Above: My Windows XP desktop (laptop, single monitor).

Here are the problems with using the desktop as the place to put all your stuff.

1. The more stuff is there, the harder it is to tell the difference between a downloaded file and a program.

While it’s true in Windows that a shortcut can be distinguished from a downloaded file by use of a small arrow on the icon, if you have so much crap on your desktop you fall into that "everything looks the same" scenario.

2. It makes it more difficult to find stuff.

The desktop in modern operating systems is not meant to be the launching point for everything you do with a computer. In Windows, that’s what the Start menu is for. On a Mac, that’s what the dock is for. In GNOME (the default in Ubuntu Linux), you have a Start menu-ish environment like Windows. All modern OSes are telling you the same thing: DON’T use the desktop to dump all your stuff to.

If you purposely use the desktop as your launching point, over time this makes it more difficult to do something as simple as launching a program. You have to literally hunt for the icon to start the app you want. This is bad. Use your menus; that’s what they’re there for.

All modern OSes also have ways of searching for the app you want simply by typing it in.

Windows XP doesn’t have this, but it can easily be added using Launchy.

Windows 7 has a program search built right into the start menu.

Mac OS X has Spotlight.

GNOME has Beagle.

3. Clutter leads to wasted hard drive space.

The more crap on your desktop, the easier it is to lose track of it. After a relatively short period of time it’s totally possible to have gigs of space wasted. Maybe you downloaded some trial editions of games and dumped the installation executables on the desktop. Maybe you downloaded a Linux ISO, burned the disc but left the file. It could be any number of things.

Steps you can take to clean up your clutter

1. Get it off the desktop.

Not to overstate the obvious, but move or delete your files. If you have so much crap that you’re not sure what to delete, just burn it all to a DVD. If you fill up a DVD, make two, or as many as you need to.

2. Learn ways of launching apps via menus, QuickLaunch icons and/or text commands.

There’s really not that much of a learning curve here and it’s self-explanatory.

3. Know your folders.

Windows 7, OS X and Linux all use user folders and so should you.

If still using Windows XP, use your My Documents folder. Create subfolders within for categorization.

4. Change any app that downloads files to save to your user folder by default.

This is probably a big reason why you have so much crap on your desktop in the first place. Change the settings and put files where they’re supposed to go.

5. When installing new apps, remember to remove the icons off the desktop.

This is the only part of this article where I will say that this is a "Windows thing". Almost all apps on install will dump an icon on the desktop by default – some without even asking you first. These icons are just shortcuts, so get in the habit of deleting them whenever a new one pops up.