Leaf blowing can be an excellent alternative to trying to rake or sweep up leaves. Based on the amount of raking you need to do, renting or owning a leaf blower could be an option that you may want to consider. If you do decide to get one, or you already have it, here are four tips for its use:

Dry days only
Make sure that leading up to the day you decide to move the leaves, you have some good dry weather. If the leaves are wet, your leaf-blowing efforts won’t be very effective.

Have a place
Before you start this job, figure out where you want the leaves to go. After you figure it out, lay a tarp down. If you want to bag them on the tarp, have the bags waiting and ready for when you blow a large amount of leaves there. Ideally it’s nice to have one person bag the leaves and one blow them to help make the process more efficient.

Have a plan
You should not just sporadically blow leaves everywhere with your leaf blower. That’s why you are doing this job in the first place. Start from one place of the lawn and move in slow, controlled movements towards the tarp you laid down. Walk back to the place you started and repeat.

Take breaks
No one ever said leaf blowing was easy. Often times the leaf blower will start to vibrate and become very tough to hold. Take a break or if you have the aforementioned second person, you can switch jobs. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to give you the bagging position without any complaints.