I'm fairly new to gardening. I know basically nothing and I would appreciate some input on the next step in my project. I just ripped out some bushes from the area around our front entrance steps. It received regular mulching and the area is about 20' by 6'. It was invaded by weeds and some sort of ground cover that I certainly didn't intentionally plant. The bushes were half dead and I was able to pull some of them out by hand. The entire run needed to be razed and planted fresh I thought so today I ripped it all out.

Now I am left with an area mixed with soil, mulch, weed remnants, some small rocks, and I'm sure thousands of seeds that I can not remove by hand. What is my next step to ensure everything doesn't grow right back? I don't want to plant right now as I haven't precisely decided what I want and I don't think the ground is ready for a planting. How can I get a good soil base and "cleanse" the area?

Thanks in advance!