The leaves on the trees are falling . . .

I just got back in from an early-morning walk with my 17-week-old dog, and one thing's clear here in my Northern New Jersey hometown: Fall-cleanup season has begun in earnest the last couple of days. The weather has been terrific recently, mild days with more of a late-summer everything-is-in-bloom upbeat feel than a winter-is-coming, let's-pack-it-in-for-the-season dread.

This morning, the brass dial thermometer on my deck reads a bracing 41°F; that's not too bad for October 18, but the leaves have taken the autumn chill of the last 48 hours as a sign to release their tree-bound grip and cascade toward the suburban lawns.

For me and countless others, the sudden shift to full-on fall will interrupt our regularly scheduled lineup of relaxing weekend programming and force us to grab rake, mower, leaf blower, collection receptacle, and myriad essential gear as we gather countless leaves from all the ash, locust, maple, sycamore, and oak trees around us.

Fall cleanup is not a terrible hassle for me, and I dig the vibrant splashes of seasonal color, but I am always looking for ways to make the job go faster and more efficiently. (The sooner it's done tomorrow, for instance, the earlier my twins and I can go for a bike ride.) Fortunately, a colleague of mine prepared this "Tip of the Day: Make faster work of leaf removal" last fall. I followed some of the DIY advice then and I'll use it again in the coming weeks. You should, too.

Good luck, all you leaf wranglers out there. If you have some can't-miss suggestions for ways to deal with leaves, add a comment below.—Steven H. Saltzman

Essential information: Read these other smart moves for fall cleanup. And if you're in the market for a new leaf blower, check out our ratings-based report before you buy.

JANUARY 2009 UPDATE: We will be testing gutter systems for a report that we expect to publish in the October 2009 issue of Consumer Reports.