101 ways to collect leaves

Every year we find ourselves paying the price for the coolness of that wonderful tree out front as the leaves come down and blanket our lawn. And every year we are bombarded with the latest idea of how to pick those leaves up.

It's not that these ideas don't help some...but as you know if you 've been out there, it's still a big tough job no matter what cute new tool we use.

Your back still hurts and the shear amount of leaves seems overwhelming.

That overwhelming amount has created even more special bags and machines we have spent money on only to find, although maybe it herded those leaves into a more contained area, it was still our muscles that had to lift and move those leaves.

Have you ever considered the amount of money we spent on those cool new tools being spent on labor to help us out there :)

So are these Garden Rip Offs? Well not in a sinister way by any means, the designer truly believed it would help you gather up those leaves.

 

But instead of spending all that money on gadgets, what about the tools we already have?

 

Keep in mind that leaves are one of the best mulches we have in this world. The tree dropped those leaves to fertilize their roots. We steal that away from them and then wonder why they struggle.

 

Honestly, still the best way to pickup leaves is with the lawn mower you have in your garage. Now we've all done it, and the mower clogs in minutes and the bags fills in seconds. But is it the tool or the expectation?

 

Here is a good video on how to get your lawn mower to be more effective at NO extra cost.

 

Mulching up the leaves first reduces the amount of bag you need. Then having tarps placed around the yard so you don't have to walk so far to dump the leaves actually works as well as anything.

 

If the leaves are frozen to the ground, your lawn mower again is the answer (click here).

 

So it really is a rip off to keep buying gimmicks to pick up your leaves when you have the best tool already.