First of all, I don't like having allot of apps on my Dock, so every morning before I start working I open each app from Spotlight. So this morning I thought...mmm, let me make this easier...
I just made an Automator Utility to open my apps with one click, opening TextMate, Terminal, Itunes, Tweety and iChat all at once. I started Automator > new Application, added Launch Application for each app, saved it, gave my new "app" a name, and added it to my dock and boom! So this is my simple "app" to keep my dock clean, and open all my apps at once. Im so proud :-)