Fall cleanup tips to help you save time and work.
5 Tips for Dealing with Fall Leaves
What to Know About Leaf Removal
You’ve probably been raking leaves since you were a kid. And you might figure that there’s nothing left to learn. But when we asked The Family Handyman’s crew of Field Editors for advice, we got this heap of tips for saving time and labor. Take a few minutes to read the following tips to save yourself hours of work this fall.
While you’re at it, here is a list of things you can do to reuse and repurpose the dry leaves!
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Bag Them
We have a BIG yard and lots of trees. So I bag the leaves with my mower. It does a nice job of shredding the leaves, so they’re ready to become compost or mulch.
Editor’s Tip: With fall comes the promise of leaves, clumping up on your grass and matting down on your flowerbeds, check out these useful tools that will help you collect leaves.
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Rake Picks
Lots of Field Editors told us about their favorite rakes. The most popular rakes are beloved just for their size—a big rake makes the job smaller. Most home centers carry rakes up to 30 in. wide. Other Field Editors swear by “no-clog” rakes—the tines don’t skewer leaves, so you don’t have to stop and unclog the rake. Several manufacturers make them, also in widths up to 30 in.
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Mulch Fall Leaves
A mulching mower shreds leaves into tiny flakes that settle into the turf and decompose into natural fertilizer. You might have to go over some areas two or three times to completely chop up the leaves. Still, it’s fast and easy and it makes the grass happy.
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Vacuum in Tight Spots
A leaf blower/vacuum sucks up leaves fast, especially around shrubs, in flower beds and in other hard-to-rake areas. You might think that the bag would need to be emptied every five minutes, but the vac minces the leaves and packs a mountain of them into just a few bags.
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A Tarp Beats a Trailer
Instead of bagging or hauling leaves, I rake them onto a tarp, which I drag into the woods. It’s even easier if you get your kids to do it!
