I would suggest that you take the time, now that it is "off season", to put aside your thoughts of what you can do with various parts of your property. Instead, list out the things that you would like to be able to do outside no matter where you live. Ask yourself what type of experience you'd like to have while doing those. Then figure out the physical space and features you would need to make those happen. Still not thinking about your own property, think about how each of these things relate to each other (or don't) and make a little diagram of how each might be arranged around each other so that they relate and/or don't cause conflict with adjoining uses. Compare that diagram to your existing house to make the diagram compatible with it.

Then go outside and analyze your property and adjust your diagram of activities to make it compatible with the realities of your site.

Finally, plan each of these areas with the goal of enhancing those desired experiences and mitigating things that degrade those experiences.

That will give you a framework to build from. Too many times people start with the mentality of "what could I do over here?" instead of "what do I want to do and how can I go about achieving that?".

If you want to keep the areas you cleared nice and weed free until you can get to them in the spring, cover them with mulch or woodchips. That's what I did in my yard when I was first installing the landscaping. I couldn't plant up all the beds in the fall after my patio was built in the summer, so I mulched the beds and returned to them in the spring. Actually, I still have one area not yet finished because I can't figure out what to do there, and I maintain the beds with mulch. In the spring you can sprinkle corn gluten on the beds to keep weeds from sprouting there (you can get this corn gluten from most nurseries that sell organic-type products). I keep my standby beds relatively weed free by a combo of pine bark mulch and corn gluten. Every spring I apply a generous sprinkle of the gluten, then refresh the mulch. Can also repeat in the fall, depending on how fussy you are about the appearance of those areas.