11 (Awesome) Tips for Fall Leaf Cleanup

There’s certainly a lot to love about the fall months: crisp air, football, apple cider, pumpkin spice everything, and even those leaves that begin to pile up on your lawn.

Raking leaves give you an opportunity to get outside, enjoy the fall air, spend time with your family, and even get a decent workout in. Also, your lawn will look great when you’re done!

According to Livestrong.com, raking leaves is considered moderate physical activity – similar to a brisk walk or short jog. Along with the cardio benefits of raking leaves, it also helps build upper-body strength, as well as core strength in your back and abs. Raking leaves at a moderate pace can burn roughly 300 calories per hour, so make sure to stay properly hydrated before, during and after doing yard work.

To make it easier on your body, here are some safe and healthy leaf-raking tips:

1. Wear layers. It may be chilly when you first head out the door to do yard work, but after a while, you’ll be working up a sweat. Make sure you wear layers to peel off so you don’t get overheated.

2. Warm up & stretch. As with any activity, you should warm up your muscles before you start. Raking and other fall yard work use the muscles in your arms, chest, shoulders, legs, and back. It’s pretty much a full-body workout by the end of the day. Try walking around the yard, bending forward and side-to-side to get warmed up. You can also follow that up with some gentle stretching.

3. Standing & posture. Pay attention to your posture when raking leaves. The best posture to ensure safety and minimize injury risk is to stand with a wide base and holding the rake slightly toward the end of the handle. Be careful not to twist your spine when pulling the leaves toward yourself of the pile. Keep your back naturally aligned — try to stand as straight as you comfortably can.

4. Switching sides. People tend to rake on one side of their body only, which increases the risk of injury. Using the same muscles to do the same movement repeatedly can cause overuse injuries. To reduce the risk of injury (and boredom), try switching the side to which you rake the leaves every 10 minutes or so. The constant switching sides can help balance the stress and strain to the muscles used when raking leaves.

5. Pause and breathe. Take your time. If you don’t normally do yard work or aren’t very physically active, you’ll likely tire yourself out with all the leaves to clean up. Don’t try to rake the whole yard at once. It may be easier to tackle your yard in quadrants, and then taking a 15-minute break after each quadrant is raked clean. The breaks will give you a chance to relax, stretch out the muscles you’ve been using, and to eat or drink.

6. Cool Down. When you’re done raking, do some light stretching. It may be smart to soak in a warm bath or schedule a massage with one of our talented massage therapists!

7. Dry weather is your friend. Rake leaves when they’re dry. Wet leaves are harder to rake, heavier and more slippery. Also, if you suffer from allergies, wet leaves can breed mold and mildew. It’s best to rake leaves during a stretch of dry weather in the fall.

8. Boot season is upon us. Wear shoes with good traction and support to keep you from slipping, or falling. Good foot support can also help with back pain during yard work. Invest in some durable, waterproof, supportive boots like these from DSW this fall.

9. Be aware of your surroundings. It may seem silly but beware of your surroundings – even in your own backyard. Be careful of holes in the ground or objects that can trip you or cause you to fall such as rocks, roots, garden tools, etc.

10. Pay attention to nature. Be on the lookout for insects (especially those that sting) and snakes or other critters that might have made the leaves their home. You can wear gardening gloves to protect your hands from cuts and scrapes. If there is mold or mildew on the leaves, consider wearing a mask if you suffer from seasonal allergies.

11. A smarter solution. Sure – there is some pride that comes from a hard day’s work. However, for homeowners that either aren’t physically fit enough to rake leaves, or they want to spend more time watching football on TV, there are a few other solutions. You could invest in a leaf blower, a power push rake or pay a landscaping company to take care of the leaves for you.

Raking leaves is not only good exercise for you, it’s good for your lawn; grass that’s covered with leaves can’t soak up the sun, which it needs to grow when spring rolls around. Raking also will make the outside of your house safer and more appealing. Make sure you add raking to your physical activity list and welcome those falling leaves in the coming weeks!

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