Windows 7: Stupid desktop question

Ok, now this may sound pretty stupid, but old habits die hard...
I always have lots of icons on my desktop. Not files (I know exactly where to find my data) but programs. Some of them I use practically every day, so I find it handy when they are on my desktop. Some others I use very rarely and if I hadn't the icon sitting there I wouldn't remember that I have them, what they are called and where to find them

The result is a very full desktop. I find everything I need at a glance but it is ugly. Now I've started to put some programs into the quickstart list but I don't want to put too many there, there isn't room enough for all of them anyway.

In your screenshots I've seen beautifully clean desktops - which makes me wonder how you start your programs - going through the list of installed programs all the time?

It would be cool if there was a way to keep them somehow organized in groups. Is there perhaps a tool for that?

Make a folder for programs that you use the most, then another one for miscellaneous, etc ...
That way you could have maybe three (named) folders on your desktop instead of a mess

This is my 'organized' desktop

Stardock ObjectDock

There are two versions ; one is free - with that you may get a cool dock , that may contain a guge number of icons .

But there is another, Plus version, costa 19.95 dollars . It gives you a scope of using multiple docks, as drawers . Like the screenshots of this link New Page 1 .

You can organize all your programs in folders on the start menu, and then delete the desktop icons. Note that contents of the start menu are stored in two locations, see this prior thread for more info.

Hi,

Another option is to use a program like Winstep nexus or Rocketdock.
You can put all of your icons on it and even organize them in groups with deviders.
I myself use winstep nexus: Winstep Nexus Dock - The Advanced Docking System for Windows
It is higly customizable and you can auto hide it.

MK2

I use Objectdock from Stardock, free and easy to use! (you can also set it to auto-hide).

Then, I right click my desktop and hide the icons.

I make an extra folder on the desktop called DeskTop Extras

Here's another option,

Toolbars - How to Use in Windows 7 and Vista

Thank you

If you really want all the icon on the desktop itself, then you can try Fences