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I spent some of my weekend raking leaves, which is something many of us have to do after our trees have put on their beautiful displays of fall colors.
Even though I generally enjoy outdoor time working on the lawn, I find leaf raking to be a little challenging because after I’m done raking all the leaves into a pile, I have to scoop them into a bin so they’re all in one spot when I recycle the fall foliage.
So, you can bet that I was very glad when the company that makes ReLeaf leaf scoops reached out to me and offered to send me a sample of their product.
I told them back in the late summer that I’d be glad to give their leaf scoops a try once the leaves started dropping and would write about my experience using them. When the leaves finally dropped from the beautiful oak tree that stands outside my home, I was excited to see how well these leaf scoops actually work.
Until now, I always had to use the head of a leaf rake to scoop leaves from a pile and place them into a bin, which I would use to transport the leaves and dump them in the landscaping hedges around the yard to recycle them as mulch or place into the composting pile.
How ReLeaf Leaf Scoops Work
When I first opened the package containing my leaf scoops, I thought they looked like two huge, green catcher’s mitts!
The photo below shows how I insert my hands into the backs of the leaf scoops — they’re really ergonomic and are comfortable to hold. See? I simply use the tips of my fingers to grasp a small ledge on the back of the scoop.
Once I slid my hands into the ReLeaf scoops, I was ready to dive into those leaves. I pretty much just scooped my hands toward each other and clawed the leaves from the pile into the nearby bin. My hands stayed clean the whole time!
This made swift work of that leaf pile. I was able to scoop it up cleanly and with little residual mess in only a couple minutes — which is much faster than I could tackle those leaves with only the back of a rake or even a wide-scoop snow shovel.
I felt like the leaf scoops put me in much better control of the leaves, since I wasn’t having to use a long-handled yard tool to pick away at the leaf pile. This made it really easy to get at the leaves. After all, it can be awkward holding 5 pounds of leaves at the end of a 6-foot-long stick and dumping them into a recycling bin.
With the ReLeaf scoops, dumping the leaves into the recycling bin was a cinch, and I was able to clean up the pile of leaves in only a few minutes.
The ReLeaf leaf scoops are a life saver! Or, at least a back saver. And a time saver, too.
I had plenty of time to sip some apple cider and even hit a corn maze later that day. Now that’s the way to spend an autumn weekend!
So, for the ReLeaf leaf scoops, I give two enthusiastic and green thumbs up.
Other Uses For Leaf Scoops
Autumn comes around a few months out of the year, and I might need to rake leaves once or twice in the season. But there are plenty of other uses for leaf scoops as well.
Leaf scoops can also be used for:
- Scooping up grass clippings
- Dispersing mulch
- Handling prickly plant pieces
The ReLeaf scoops come with a limited lifetime warranty, but I wouldn’t use them to scoop up heavier material like sand or dirt. I think if I take good care of my leaf scoops (and they are really easy to clean), they will be helping me scoop autumn leaves, grass clippings, and other light yard material for many years to come.
More Eco-Friendly Yard Tips
- Why Should I Compost?
- How To Recycle Leaves In Your Yard
- How To Mulch Leaves With A Lawn Mower
- Beginner’s Guide To Mulch
- Creative Yard Recycling Ideas
As an advocate for good health, I usually try to choose the 'greener' option over other more dangerous and/or wasteful options. Generally speaking, if it's bad for your health or the planet, I try to avoid it. In my effort to live green, I like to find new (healthier) budget-friendly ways to do things — from cleaning to recycling to home decorating. My goal is to help you take the chore out of living green by sharing fun new ecofriendly ideas that you can try today… or <em>any</em> day! My all-time favorite way to live green is to repurpose items and give them a new use — I've written a lot of useful DIY articles.
