Autumn is in full swing, and while the changing leaves are undoubtedly beautiful, they can be a pain to clean up. With all of the raking and blowing, who has time for other fall fun like pumpkin carving and apple picking? If your fall leaf cleanup is starting to feel like a burden, follow these tips to simplify this essential chore.

Do a little at a time.

Instead of waiting for all of the leaves to drop and then trying to rake them in a single weekend, do quick cleanups throughout the season. When the leaves are sparse, raking or blowing progresses a lot faster, and you don’t have to worry so much about fatigue. Thirty minutes of cleanup each fall Saturday is a lot easier than 12 hours of cleanup in November.

Get a good rake.

If you’re still trying to rake with a bent metal rake from 1980, it is time for an upgrade. Today’s big plastic rakes are very lightweight, so you don’t get as tired when using them. They also have a much broader head, so you get more leaves in one sweep, and they have tines that join together into one big plastic plate–which means you won’t have to pull as many stuck leaves out from between the tines.

Get the last few leaves with the mower.

Few things are as annoying as those last few leaves that you just can’t seem to gather up. When you get to this stage, give up raking, and go for the lawnmower. “Cut” over the leaves, and they’ll end up being collected into the mower bag. Empty the mower bag into your leaf bag or trash container, and you’re set to go.

Rake onto a tarp.

Getting leaves from the pile into the trash bag can be a real pain. Luckily, there’s a way to make this part of the fall leaf cleanup a lot easier. Rake all of your leaves onto a big tarp. Then, you can just roll up the tarp and dump the leaves into a big trash bag. You may need to have a friend help hold the bag open, but it’s much easier than trying to scoop the leaves with a shovel or your hands.

Wait for a dry day.

The leaves may not blow away as easily when they are wet, but they get so much heavier, which means you will feel fatigued a lot sooner. Try putting your fall leaf cleanup off until dry days when the leaves are lighter and you won’t struggle so much to lift a full bag.

If you are really struggling to keep up with fall chores like cleaning up leaves, contact the experts at Hassle Free Home Services. We offer both indoor and outdoor maintenance programs, and we can handle your fall leaf cleanup, leaving you more time to focus on family and friends this season.