Raking Season is Coming Up!

Let's be clear: raking is a hassle. It is a real, bona fide chore that nearly everyone hates to complete. It is one of the most strenuous, time-consuming, and annoying jobs to complete, especially because your ability to do it is dependent on the wind and weather. 

But here's the deal: A Yard Beyond is here, and we really do enjoy raking. It's not anyone's favorite, but we have made it our mission to be there for you in your yard when you need it most--and fall is one of those "need it most" kind of times. So call us up: 719-623-5211 or email us at AYardBeyond@gmail.com if you live in the zip code 80907 or the Holland Park neighborhood. We are more than willing to service you and take care of the dirty chore that ruins your Saturday. 

This is our second year completing this job, and we have tons of experience from the many jobs we completed last year. Count on our expertise and experience this fall and bring your LIFE back. 

Now, we won't do a marketing pitch for more than three paragraphs. If you're planning on doing the job yourself, congratulations, and enjoy! But you must do it right. So when you wake up that weekend morning and look out the window to the realization that the trees are bare and your lawn is covered in leaves, look no further than this article. Below are some tips and tricks for the most efficient and safe raking experience.

1. TOOLS: Get the right tools for the job, or you'll spend more time and effort raking than you need to. You can get the entire set of tools A Yard Beyond uses for its yard raking for under $40 at a local hardware store or on Amazon. You'll just need a heavy-duty rake (heavy-duty being critical here as otherwise tines will break off and it will bend easily), some heavy-duty trash bags (again, heavy-duty or they'll tear), a trash can, and some small leaf scoopers to get the piles you made into the trash can. You may also require a leaf blower. That's it, and you probably have most of those already lying around the shed.

2. SAFETY: We've all heard this spiel, but in the case of raking it is especially important. You can easily hurt your back, arms, legs, or any other muscle while you're raking because of how intense it is. It uses a ton of muscles and all major parts of your body, so be careful when you're doing this job. Take it nice and easy (speed is not the goal here, otherwise, you won't do the job correctly and you'll hurt yourself), make smooth, consistent strokes with the rake, and lift with your legs, not your back. Utilizing these tips will help you walk inside with a job well done and a (relatively) well-moving body.

3. TIME: Anticipate spending a good bit of your day outside. The time you spend will vary on how many leaves you have, how much variation of terrain your yard encompasses, and how big your yard is. As a general rule, most yards take about three to seven hours to fully clean, rake, and blow--plan on this. And you might not want to do this on a day when you have a social event in the evening--you'll be sore, exhausted, and dirty. 

4. WEATHER: The last thing to keep in mind about raking is the weather on the day you're doing it. Do not rake on a windy day, as your piles will be blown around after you made them and you'll get leaves blown in from other yards to cover the areas you've already raked. Just wait another day or period of days if you find that the wind is too intense to efficiently rake. You will spend more time and energy on the yard and it still won't turn out looking as good.

Clearly, this is not a full list of everything you need to keep in mind and do when you rake. Refer to these couple of articles for some more specific information, but this article will help you get started in your chore. 

Or just shoot us a text, call or email! We will gladly do it for you.

719-623-5211

AYardBeyond@gmail.com

LaVange, Don. WGLT, 27 Oct. 2017, www.wglt.org/show/wglts-sound-ideas/2017-10-27/glts-grow-to-rake-or-not-to-rake. Accessed 4 Aug. 2023.