I have fond memories of acclimating myself with Windows Me (Millennium Edition) back on my family's home computer in the early 2000s. At a time when boxy, beige PC monitors and towers ruled the roost, I was growing increasingly enamored by the wondrous Microsoft Paint and by the shere scale of information available when surfing the net via Internet Explorer.
Today, there's far less of a need to place shortcut icons directly onto the desktop itself. In Windows 11, for example, it's easy to pin apps to the taskbar and to the Start Menu, though, admittedly, many third-party installation wizards continue the vestigial practice of creating desktop shortcuts to this very day. Even Microsoft itself, despite neglecting the desktop in recent years from a UI standpoint, continues to ship new copies of the OS with Recycle Bin, Edge, and Windows Spotlight icons featured front and center.
In any case, if you find your PC's desktop increasingly cluttered over time due to new program installations, updates, rogue files, and more, then some spring-cleaning might be in order. While you can certainly delete icons one-by-one, there's a far easier method that'll hide any and all icons away instantly, without permanently altering their layout or availability when actually needed.
To remove all icons, folders, and shortcuts from your Windows 11 desktop, simply right click or long press on any empty space, and then navigate to View > Show desktop icons and uncheck the option from within the context menu. At any point, you can reverse course by following these same steps to bring your desktop icons back into view.
While it's true that disabling desktop icons makes for a cleaner PC appearance (and thus a better-optimized work environment), it's worth noting that it's not an ideal setup for everyone. For example, if you're the kind of person who regularly uses your desktop as a digital scratch board for working on ongoing projects, then it doesn't make a lot of sense to toggle off the Show desktop icons function. Thankfully, the option is easy to toggle on and off to suit individual preference, though I do wish there was an accompanying keyboard shortcut for additional convenience.
A clear space makes for a clear mind
Let your Windows 11 desktop shine through with minimalism
On the whole, I'm a big proponent of digital minimalism. There are far too many internet-based distractions vying for our attention at any given moment in time, and, at least in my personal case, I feel a growing sense of cognitive overload beginning to take hold. In an effort to reduce my decision paralysis, to improve my attention span, to combat my fear of boredom, and to lower my risk of on-the-job distraction, I now embrace virtually any and all forms of electronic clutter reduction.
As part of my digital dopamine detox regimen, I've begun limiting my use of social media services (with the help of third-party apps and plug-ins like Reef for Android and Unhook for Chrome), and I've switched over to the distraction-free Olauncher home screen smartphone setup. Over on my Mac, I make use of HazeOver to remain locked-in on whichever task I have on the go, and my PC's built-in pomodoro timer helps me stay focused, too.
Obfuscating my Windows 11 PC's desktop icon clutter via a single context menu click has proven to be a small hack with an outsized impact on my focus and productivity potential. It allows me to focus on getting my work done without all the extra noise, and it lets me take in and appreciate the calming effect of my desktop's landscape backdrop, too. Best of all, I can quickly make my icons visible again as needed, which sometimes comes in handy when managing files or when working on specific projects.