the raking is done, it wasn't too bad, it's collecting them that's kicking my butt. i feel like a fool with all these bags full of leaves. burning them is out of the question. the city will come out and get them, i just have to call and schedule a leaf and limb pick up, the trashman won't take them.
you know, i just googled "raking leaves" and that was one of the first tips they gave. don't know why i waited until i was well into the process to look for advice. guess i didn't think it would be that bad, but now i have 26 bags of leaves. to top it off, i just volunteered to rake the old lady's yard next door when she came out and said her shoulders were messed up. i don't mind doing it, but i'll be damned if i'm gonna be bending over scooping 5 piles of leaves into 26 bags again.
to top it off, my damn dog pissed on my box of trashbags and i didn't realize it till it was too late.
They sell vaccuums for leaves.
Way too slow.
Dealing with leaves is easily the best money I've made during the past 25 years.
1) Blow them into common areas about six to eight feet in diameter.
2) Stand in the middle of those areas and rake to the center for an easy pile.
3) Most important step....Have your bags on hand and then get down on your knees to sweep the newly condensed piles into the bag with your arm.
About four or five good sweeps and the bag is near full. Scoop the rest by hand and complete the fill. Tie the bag off and either complete that pile with next bag or move to next pile.
If you try and "bend over" to scoop up the leaves and then place them into either a loose bag or a bag that has been fitted into a rubber trash can, you will take about 5x as long and you will likely find it difficult to get out of bed later this evening or tomorrow morning because your back is not designed to repeatedly bend at the waist and lift ANYTHING.
Once I've got my leaves condensed and raked into tighter piles, I can fill 30 bags in less than an hour.
4) Don't insist on stuffing each bag to the maximum fill. That just makes them heavier to tote to the curb, street or truck (if you're taking them elsewhere).
Instead of max filling 40 bags, spring for the cost of about 55-60 bags (about 15cents a bag) and make the lifting and toting much easier.
5) Use 1.1ml bags for optimal benefit. Filled to 90%, they should weigh less than 20 lbs and they won't tear like the cheaper .85ml bags do when filled.
Using the thicker "contractor" bags is overkill, imho. They're twice the price and when you fill them, they'll weigh about 35-40 lbs each
Once you get this system down, you can blow, rake 40 bags worth in about 90min and then at most another 90 min to bag it up.
Residential homeowners have been paying me between $25-35 an hour (plus surcharge for bags) for years.
You might find it a pretty handy way to make money in your community, especially from Oct-early spring.
Your only overhead is a good rake (nice wide with sturdy attachment to shaft so you don't snap the shaft) and a good blower. ($89-129 at Home Depot).
Mix the gas right and don't run it for more than about 30 minutes uninterupted (rake in between) and it should give you a solid 200+ hours of service, during which time you can earn $4-5000 or more.
Using a lawnmower with a bag is another tool I use, but you have to be careful to not overload the catcher or it will put a lot of extra wear on your self-propel (which is the only kind of lawnmower to use unless you've got a really, really flat turf that is less than four inches deep.
Do some research on the blower or blower-vac you purchase. The gas engine blowers are better than the electric ones, but if you run 'em for too long uninterrupted, as Barman points out, it will eventually burnout and work like crap.
My solution...Freddy the Landscaper. Probably the best money I spend all year.
My solution...Freddy the Landscaper. Probably the best money I spend all year.
