'Leaf' Me Alone!
To most people, fall brings one annoying task along with it. That of raking leaves. This is the time of year when most people in North America face that unenviable task of dealing with leaf raking. The most frustrating part of it all is that as soon as you are done raking, there are enough leaves on your property for you to start all over (sigh!) and within a few hours it looks like you haven't touch the rake since the past fall.
The following are some tips that you can try in order to make your life somewhat easier.
1. Never rake when it's windy out unless you're really bored: It is simply a waste of time. The wind will just blow the leaves right back to where they came from and then you are back to square one.
2. Always rake in a straight line: This will help you in knowing which areas you have already raked and which parts of your property still have to get done.
3. Become knowledgeable in leaf bagging: Here is a trick- lay a bag between your feet, making sure that the opening is facing toward the pile of leaves, then use your heels to hold down one side of the bag and lift the opening of the bag with one hand. Use your last remaining arm (and strength) to rake all the leaves into the bag. If you choose, you can rake all the leaves directly into a garbage bin and then pour all the leaves from the bin into a bag which may be somewhat easier on your arms.
4. Work in small areas: For the sake of your back, especially if it's a bad one, choose a position from which you can rake up only what's in your arms reach without having to change positions and then bag it. When you are done bagging your first little pile, move on to the next small area. It may take you longer to complete the whole task, however, there's nothing worse then having to spend a few days in bed because of a lack of patience which caused you to be out on your back.
5. Shred the leaves: If having leaves on your lawn doesn't seem to eat away at your nerves, then take a lawn mower and simply mow over the leaves. The chewed up leaves will serve as a fertilizer for your garden.
And last but not least...and definitely the easy way out for all of us lazy people out there...two words....
6. Leaf blower!
Tags: gardening
Old Comments
I recently came across your blog and have been learning along. I thought I would leave my first remark.