Laura Daniels Favorite Tool for Leaf Raking [PHOTOS]

On Friday (11/18/16), it was sunny and 72.  But the wind was whippin', and in WNY, we know what that means....a change is a'comin!

If you're like me, you took advantage of the warm weather to rake (one of my least favorite chores on earth).  I have a large tree in the back yard, that sadly, had only lost about 1/4 of it's leaves, but I wanted to work ahead.

So on Friday, my back yard was CLEAR.

On Saturday morning, it looked like this:

So I begrudgingly trekked back out and did round number 2.  Since it's just me doing the work, my method is to rake several tiny piles throughout the yard, and then scoop the leaves into bins to drag to the curb.  It takes 2 hours, but I consider it a free workout (that I hate as much as the ones I pay for).

Some use the use-the-rake-as-a-shovel method, but that never works for me.  I either hit the side of the bin with the rake and dump all the leaves, or they blow away as I'm trying to dump them.

Enter: my favorite tool.  These hand-held scoops.

I got them online last year, and everyone made fun of me.  I don't care if I look like a mutant Hulk...these things make the job SO much easier!

After I finished round 2, by the way, I looked up at the guilty tree....this is still what's hanging on....

Looks like my job here is not yet done..... :(