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Raking leaves can appear to be an arduous task, but there are several methods that can be used to ease one's efforts. I often watch my neighbors raking their leaves; first they bring out their leaf rakes, accompanied by a healthy supply of black plastic bags, then they start scraping away until their lawn is covered in large mole hills of fall residue.

Sometimes my neighbors take a lunch or coffee break, only to return to high winds and their hard work dashed against the rocks of mother nature. At fall time, the weather can be very changeable, so I strongly advise that the leaves be raked and bagged as you go. At least if one gets half the job done properly, then the fruits of labor will not be lost and one can return at a later time to finish it off.

A good leaf rake is important; I usually find that the plastic leaf rakes, although very light weight and much wider than others, will become brittle over a couple of winter's storage time, causing the plastic tines to snap off. My first choice is a metal rake, followed by bamboo.

I have often noticed my neighbors breaking their backs over such a simple leaf raking project: First of all, I suggest that a good sized leaf bag should be purchased such as one with a high capacity and a wider mouth. There's nothing more frustrating than loading one's rake up with leaves, only to have at least half of it fall back to the lawn again.

Preferably, two is better than one: If possible, drag a teenager out with you and have them bag or rake with you. The task will be completed in less than half the time and you will both have benefited from the fresh air and sunlight together

Now this is the biggest leaf raking tip that I can offer: Rake as many leaves into one pile as you can, then take a large plastic leaf bag and place it on the ground between your feet, directly in front of the pile of leaves.

Position both heels inside of the bag at the opening and stretch your feet so that the bag is open, and behind you. Lift the bag up over your ankles until you are confident that there is a wide enough gap to slide something into it. Then, rake like the dickens and stuff that thing with as much as you can.

This technique will increase your leaf raking productivity and before you know it, you'll be relaxing in your favorite comfy chair, watching your neighbors trying to stuff their bags one scoop at a time.

Of course, in the event of a much larger area that needs raking; one can take a tarpaulin or bed sheet and simply rake all of

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