How do I back system and application settings up on my Mac? I want to reinstall OS X completely on my machine. 

I have backed up all of my documents and made a list of applications that I have, so that I can install them later.

However, one thing that I do not know how to do is how to back my settings up. On a previous occasion, I tried to back the ~/Library/Preferences folder up and restored it on the clean installation, but for the most part it didn't work.

Here are some examples of the scope of what I would like to back up:


System settings (e.g. trackpad options, sentence highlight color, dock options, three-finger drag option, Accessibility options, etc)
Keyboard shortcuts (also a part of system settings)
Printers that I have added (important for me)
System app preferences (Finder, Safari, Preview, etc.)
Third-party app preferences (Little Snitch preferences/rules, Bartender preferences, Amphetamine, etc.)


I don't need to back things like Safari bookmarks, emails or calendars up as I use iCloud for them.

Does anyone have any good suggestions on how to do this effectively?
Use Time Machine. I know it sounds a little snarky, but this is really exactly what it's for. With a current Time Machine Backup, you can install OS X and then restore from your backup... et voila!

Time Machine has crafted exclusions to not backup files that are either counterproductive or unnecessary when restoring a backup onto a clean installation.