This year I actually raked all my leaves onto the lawn and then used my lawn mower with mulching blade to grind them as small as possible. I have a battery powered mower so it took like 4-5 charges and several passes to grind everything down, but only the big leaves are left. I will do a little more raking and mowing this weekend but I should be all done for the year hopefully. The smaller you cut them the faster they disappear, and they return their nutrients to the soil.

For all my stuff in the back that I normally let sit, I'm thinking of making a chicken wire cage for a mulch pile. I was watching a couple videos where a guy put all his leaves in one and then made sure to wet and toss them to help air get in and aid in bacteria breakdown. He also took a weed Wacker to grind them into smaller pieces to break down faster. Great high nitrogen fertilizer for the garden!

Consider /r/lawncare for some advice too!