How To Rake Leaves Without a Rake!

April 18, 2018

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Even though I really, really enjoy yard work, raking leaves is not one of my favorite things to do. The older I get, the less I like it. However, today I am going to go over how to rake leaves WITHOUT a rake. Most people know how to rake leaves with a rake, but if you are in a pinch and don't have a rake, please keep reading.

How To Rake Leaves Without a Rake
man using leaf blower to clear fallen dried leaves

How To Rake Leaves Without a Rake-My Favorites!

Why would I make an article on raking leaves without a rake? Well, there are certain scenarios that come up that may require you or a helper to rake leaves without a rake. For instance, someone wants to help you rake leaves, but you don't have a spare rake. Maybe you are raking on a Sunday afternoon and your rake suddenly breaks. Or you have a big blister on your hand and it hurts too much to continue using a rake. Any of these things could happen and you need a fallback plan. So here are my favorite ways:

Use a Leaf Blower-My Top Choice

By far the easiest and probably fastest way to rake leaves without a rake is to either use an electric or gas powered leaf blower. When you are using a leaf blower to rake leaves, there are a couple of things to consider.

Tips on Using a Leaf Blower

  • Always have the wind at your back when blowing leaves. This makes it much easier to blow the leaves and not have them blowing back at you. This way you can blow them into a nice pile to either put them on a tarp or burn them.
  • Always use ear protection. Although the leaf blower is small in stature, it can be really loud. That constant, loud noise can be damaging to your ears. Wearing ear protection can prevent hearing loss or hearing damage in the long run.
  • Always use eye protection. Most leaf blowers are pretty powerful. If you are blowing the leaves correctly, you are blowing the leaves with the wind at your back. But what if the wind shifts? The leaf blower will blow up dirt, sticks, small rocks, pricker weeds, dog do-do, and even glass. If the wind shifts, these things could blow back into your eyes and that would not be good. So please, protect your eyes with eye protection when you are blowing leaves.
  • Always wear protective clothing. As I said above, if the wind shifts when you are blowing leaves, a lot of debris could fly back at you. Wearing eye and ear protection is great, but there is other parts of your body that you may need to protect. I never wear shorts or short sleeve shirts when I leaf blow. Please make sure to wear long sleeves and pants when leaf blowing.
  • Always be courteous to your neighbors. Because the leaf blower is so loud, please make sure that you don't do your leaf blowing early in the morning or late at night. Some of your neighbors have small children that go to bed early. Some of your neighbors may work weird hours and need sleep at different times of the day. The neighborly thing to do is make sure you know your neighbors schedules when blowing leaves. Also, please don't blow leaves or other debris into your neighbors yard. Be courteous!

Use Lawn Mower

Using a lawn mower to pick up leaves is another great idea. There are two ways to use your lawn mower to pick up leaves.

  1. The first method involves using a lawn mower with a bag attachment to catch the leaves. The advantage to this method is that you can mow your lawn and pick up leaves at the same time. A drawback to this method is that you have to keep stopping and emptying the leaf bag.
  2. The second method is to use the lawn mower to mow the lawn and basically mulch the leaves that the same time. It basically chops the leaves down into the grass which gives you a healthy, thick lawn.

This is another great way to rake leaves without a rake.

Use Cardboard-Really!

Of the 3 methods I am talking about today, raking your leaves with cardboard is the craziest one of them all! It is pretty simple and ingenious. First, you want to get a large, sturdy piece of cardboard that you can control. Then, start on one side of the yard and use the cardboard to scoop/push the leaves to the other side of the yard. Kind of like a snowplow!

Here is a great video on how to rake your leaves with cardboard:

Well, I hope you enjoyed my article on how to rake leaves without a rake. I know that this situation may never come up, but in case it does, you are prepared!!!

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