10 Snow Shoveling Tips

Maybe it’s because we don’t get a ton of snow in these parts, but I have to admit, I love shoveling snow. It’s an awesome workout and there is something kind of picturesque about all of the neighbors coming out armed with hats, gloves and a snow shovel to clear the driveways.  You yell things across the street like, “Hey, why don’t you come do mine when you’re done!” and then everyone chuckles.  It’s suburbia at its finest, people.

If you live in a part of the country where the novelty wears off quickly, though, here’s a couple of tips to get you cleared driveways and on your way to work faster:

1. Spray your snow shovel with cooking spray.  The snow will slide off easily as you shovel it aside.
2. Don’t risk an injury, make sure to bend your knees and lift with your legs.  One long drive-way can have you cozying up to a bottle of Aleve with some nasty back pain if you don’t take care in shoveling correctly.  Along the same lines, make sure to stretch before you start.
3. Don’t drive over snow.  It might be tempting to drive into the garage and then start shoveling, but resist.  Driving and even walking on freshly fallen snow packs it down, making shoveling a much harder task.
4. If you want to be basically the coolest parent ever, shovel all of your snow into one big pile–it will give the kids hours of homemade sledding entertainment.
5. Dress in layers.  I swear, shoveling snow requires me to use muscles I didn’t even know I had, so I work up a sweat pretty fast.  I can slowly strip off layers as I get warmer.
6. Take care of the edges of your snow shovel.  If you have a metal snow shovel, hammer it straight each time it gets bent.  If you have a plastic one, carve off all of the little shavings that inevitably form.
7. Start closest to where you will be dumping your snow and work your way out.  That way, you don’t trample down the snow as you walk to dump your shovel.
8. Take frequent breaks.  Seriously, shoveling is a workout–if you are out of practice or it’s the first snow of the season, it will make you vow to hit the gym more often.  Frequent breaks will ensure your muscles can go the distance {and by distance, I mean from the garage to the sidewalk.  Ha!}
9. If you really got dumped on and you have more than a foot of snow, don’t try to clean all the way down to the driveway in one swoop.  Take the first 6 inches off, dump your shovel, and then go back for the rest.  You’ll wear out really quickly if you try to get all the way down with one shovel full.
10. Cozy up to a neighbor with teenagers–that way, you can call them when it snows and avoid having to know any other snow shoveling tips 🙂

Happy Shoveling,

~Mavis

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