Desktop icons are borderline useless on single-monitor setups, aside for shortcuts to games and such (since you generally don't have a ton of things running when you start those). On a multi-monitor setup they are actually useful in some cases.
My desktop has the current issue of being TOO FUCKING BIG, but my main monitor has a clean desktop, since that's where I usually do my work, and my second display has four icons that I use for my RAW editing "workflow" (in quotes since it's not too efficient...me needs me some Capture One 4).