SK saw these last night and was interested in them. For everyone else: Fences - FREE Group desktop icons into "fences". Double-clicking the desktop hides all the icons. http://www.stardock.com/products/fences/ Bins - $4.99 Group Windows 7 taskbar icons into "folders". There was a free beta, but now you need to pay for it. If the below link fails, try this download site. http://www.1upindustries.com/bins/ Feel free to post some handy programs that you use!
Two things I recommend: StrokeIt - FREE Mouse gestures for Windows! http://www.tcbmi.com/strokeit/ Auto Mute - FREE Mute your volume automatically on shutdown/logoff. This is GREAT for laptops so you don't accidentally play Jon's Justin Bieber on unhibernate at a public wifi hotspot. http://www.karpolan.com/software/auto-mute/
F.lux - Free Adjusts brightness and color tones in response to time to help your eyes. http://stereopsis.com/flux/
SmartDoctor, not really a windows tweak BUT a good way to automize your nvidia graphics card's fan speed and clocking
ObjectDock is an awsome replacement for the windows taskbar. light, fast, nice, easy to setup and easy to use Both free and buyable versions http://www.stardock.com/products/objectdock/index.asp
I personally recommend Trillian <3 My favorite instant messenger: http://www.trillian.im I also have found CintaNotes to be a very lightweight note taking app: http://cintanotes.com/