I say you have to many, please package up about half of that pile and send it to me.
Ok not.
I personally don't ever think I will have enough. I think at this point I have hauled home around 50 bags. I will be getting around 25 tomorrow, I also have gotten 20 bales of straw, tomorrow will be picking up 2 more. Granted I use lots of this in my flower beds also.
Sandy

Unhappily, that great big pile will rot down to a pittance. Dry leaves are like money and you can never have too many.

Just to shred them with a lawn mower will reduce the volume something close to 10 to 1. They when they compost there is not much left as mentioned above.
Bill P.

If you have ready access,get all you can.Leaves are easily stored,especially once reduced (shredded )and can be used for lasagna,as you say,but also compost additions and mulching.If you have so many they remain unused you'll end up with leaf mold,a wonderful thing.

That is nothing. You don't have nearly enough. You need to get a LOT more.

I'll bet if you threw those 2 cute little boys in there to roll around those leaves would be shredded for you and reduced in no time!

The boys are a green. Leaves are browns.

kqcrna: That's what I was thinking, but after helping to put them all in that pile, they grew tired pretty quick :)
pablo, LOL
Thanks to everyone! I knew I needed more, just had to convince DH

How many you need depends on what you intend to do with them. You should have about 5 to 8 percent organic matter in your soil and if you are starting from scratch with very little that takes a lot of leaves. If you are planning on using those leaves as a mulch you need enough so after most of the air is moved out the leaves are 3 to 4 inches thick, and that is a lot.
I find that no matter how many I accumulate I can always use more.

"The boys are a green. Leaves are browns."

One of the great things about boys is their ability & willingness to add nitrogen to a pile of brown leaves.

Lots of bags at the curb all ready for you to pickup.
I say the more the better!
I am a convert of the " I can't" pick up the leaves to how many bags can I fit in my van?
I am sure your neighbors will gladly give you theirs.
Lovelycherry.
Really liked the analogy to the Money.

More more more! I have a compost pile for a first time (4 wood pallets in a square) and I am AMAZED at how quickly it shrinks! BTW, I would strongly recommend this method. You could build the bin on the site of your future garden. It will hold in moisture and heat, and is also nicely contained. And it will keep animals out, if you decide to put food scraps in there.

What ever you do, hang on to that great picture of the kids and treasure those memories into the future. There will be a time when that is much more important than what happened to the leaves. My feelings.
Bill P.

I think the best thing to do with those leaves would be to let the kids jump in the pile. Then rake the pile back up, and let them jump in again. Maybe they'll crush up the leaves a bit that way :)

That's serious fun right there.

yay! I not only got more leaves, but I also called the local coffee shop and they said they would save grounds for me! I'm gonna be a gardener yet :)

Coffee Grounds are GREAT. I am a Starbucks Pirate myself. I think they REALLY speed things up. And they keep the smell down (some) if you add manure.