This topic has probably come up before but now is really the time to address it.
We hear leaf blowers blowing and see people raking their lawns. It's not the best thing for the environment.
Some people just care about how their property looks and I guess there's nothing wrong with that to a degree. But let's find a compromise. Maybe you can clear your front yard and leave the back leaf cover.
Leaving the leaves on your property gives the native insects a place to nestle in for the winter. It provides cover for small animals such as Chipmunks to scurry around without being exposed to predators.
Leaves insulate the roots of trees so they survive better during a cold winter. The rotting leaves also produce a natural fertilizer and the fungus that may grow in the leaves is essential for plant roots to absorb nutrients. You may not know that but without the fungus the plants would simply die.
Many pollinators spend their winters under the leaves in various forms of development waiting for springtime to arrive. We're all aware of the loss of many pollinators so this is even more important now.
A layer of leaves can also help insulate your lawn. Run the leaves over with a lawn mower to break it into finer pieces so it can drop down to the soil and rot to become fertilizer.
In the apring, be sure to wait until the weather starts to warm up a bit before removing the leaves. If the leaves have gotten wet and matted down over the winter just "fluff" them up a couple days before you plan to do y our spring cleanup
To learn more, go to the Xerxes society web page for their campaign to "leave your leaves" https://www.xerces.org/blog/leave-the-leaves