# Raking leaves- I'm doing it wrong. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 22, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856 "2012-11-22T19:18:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/1 "2012-11-22T19:18:30Z")
So it’s that time of year. Between lawn waste disposal from the local trash hauler and buying a bunch of those stupid compost-friendly bags that are so delicate they fall apart if you breath on them, and need to be double or triple bagged to keep the leaves in, I figure I’m spending $100 a year to get rid of the leaves. Craigslist is full of people offering to come and make my leaves dissappear for $100. I think I’ve been doing this all wrong. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/2 "2012-11-22T20:57:51Z")
A couple places around here accidentally found a good way to deal with leaves. Leaving trash in the street was a 50 dollar fine, regardless of the amount of trash. People started raking their whole pile of leaves onto the edge of the street. But the cities realized that with their big vacuum truck, it only takes them about 30 seconds per yard to suck em all up. The cites are so cash strapped, they use it as a service, with the truck going down the street cleaning them all up, and a guy leaving a 50 dollar “fine” on the screen door. Of course some year there is going to be a big storm after all the piles are in the street, and the storm gutters will me clogged with millions of leaves, ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/3 "2012-11-22T20:59:18Z")
> [@Mdcastleman](#): > > So it’s that time of year. Between lawn waste disposal from the local trash hauler and buying a bunch of those stupid compost-friendly bags that are so delicate they fall apart if you breath on them, and need to be double or triple bagged to keep the leaves in, I figure I’m spending $100 a year to get rid of the leaves. > > Craigslist is full of people offering to come and make my leaves dissappear for $100. I think I’ve been doing this all wrong. Don’t forget the time! People never factor in the cost of their time. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/4 "2012-11-22T22:05:23Z")
I mow my leaves and they magically get mulched into nothing. Trick is to not fall behind. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/5 "2012-11-22T22:11:21Z")
If you have a undeveloped wooded area behind your house like I do, just rake the leaves into it and/or use a mulching lawnmower and then you have spent $0 (excluding your time and a rake/mower, but you need a mower for the grass anyway) to get rid of the problem. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/6 "2012-11-23T00:01:38Z")
the fat end of the rake goes on the ground. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/7 "2012-11-23T00:08:10Z")
The wind is my leaf blower. ---
**Author:** ![turner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@turner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turner)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/8 "2012-11-23T00:10:27Z")
I went to Lowe’s and bought an electric leaf blower. I don’t remember the brand, but its really cool. Relatively quiet and designed such that you can reverse the Air flow and it turns into a vacuum/shredder. I blow the leaves into a pile, reverse it, then vacuum the leaves which are subsequently shredded by a blade in the housing. I have a big back yard with a lot of aspen trees and by the time Im done, I have about three bags of leaf shreddings. Before the machine, I’d have about 15 bags which meant a trip to the landscaper down town to drop off my leaves due to the limit my garbage hauler puts on the amount of trash they’ll pick up per visit. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/9 "2012-11-23T14:06:13Z")
Over 20 years ago I bought a powered wheeled blower/vac. Great investment. Blow the leaves into a pile (or the woods), then vacuum up the pile for the compost pile for my garden. (And it’s quieter than a lawn mower, so no complaints about “noisy leaf blowers” please. This isn’t a 2-cycle thing.) The amortized cost is quite low. More like $100 a decade. Of course I have a real leaf problem. If your “solution” is mow over them/let them rot/let them blow away then you have _no_ idea at all of the amount of leaves some of us deal with. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/10 "2012-11-23T17:16:48Z")
> [@turner](#): > > I went to Lowe’s and bought an electric leaf blower. I don’t remember the brand, but its really cool. Relatively quiet and designed such that you can reverse the Air flow and it turns into a vacuum/shredder. I blow the leaves into a pile, reverse it, then vacuum the leaves which are subsequently shredded by a blade in the housing. I have a big back yard with a lot of aspen trees and by the time Im done, I have about three bags of leaf shreddings. Before the machine, I’d have about 15 bags which meant a trip to the landscaper down town to drop off my leaves due to the limit my garbage hauler puts on the amount of trash they’ll pick up per visit. We’ve got one of those too. My husband has decided it’s the smartest purchase we’ve ever made. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/11 "2012-11-23T17:20:25Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Of course I have a real leaf problem. If your “solution” is mow over them/let them rot/let them blow away then you have _no_ idea at all of the amount of leaves some of us deal with. My parents house was originally surrounded by large oak trees. The leaves would pile up 2 feet thick on the front lawn. This was in the days before leaf blowers. We used to rake, and shovel the leaves out to the streets to burn them. Eventually the town banned leaf burning when the smoke became so thick it caused traffic accidents. Luckily the back yard had so many trees it was just woods. We piled the leaves into big tarps and hauled them to the back. So yeah, I know how bad it can get. I have only pine needles to worry about now. It’s a blessing. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/12 "2012-11-23T19:05:24Z")
When I was looking for a house to move into so I could separate from my then-wife, my realtor tried repeatedly to steer me toward single-family homes, finally trying to help me understand by saying, “If you insist on a condo, you’re probably looking at $150-200 in HOA dues every month.” I told him, “If I have a yard, I’m looking at $200-300 in lawn service fees every month.” He showed me great condos after that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/13 "2012-11-23T19:15:45Z")
Another way to shred leaves… Fill a trash can about 1/2 full of leaves and use your weed eater to shred them up. It will reduce to about 1/10 the volume. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/14 "2012-11-23T20:03:34Z")
A few years back, we got a mulcher/vac that is towed behind our riding mower and hooks up to the discharge chute. I can usually do the front lawn in 2 loads and the back yard in 3-4, depending on the time of year and how long since we last cleared leaves. We’ve got 3 acres, but the lawn area is less than one acre, leaving us lots of woods to dump the leavin’s. In about 3 years, we get nice dark compost. Our first year in this house, I raked. That’s why we have the mulcher/vac. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/15 "2012-11-24T10:55:29Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The wind is my leaf blower. And my neighbors hate me. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raking-leaves-im-doing-it-wrong/641856/16 "2012-11-24T16:19:38Z")
[The trick is to use a hand-rake. You know, like the pilgrims did.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p1gjAEaMso)