The Snow Shoveling Trick You Need For An Easier Time Clearing Your Driveway

Snowy weather is all fun and games until you're the one who has to clear the driveway. You grab an old shovel and get to work, but the snow is heavy and dense. You're sweating, you're breathing heavily, and your arms feel like they weigh 847 pounds each. You look up to see how much farther you have to go, and the driveway seems to stretch on for three more lifetimes. If only you had shoveled it two days ago, before 298 family and friends paraded through the drive, across the walkway, and up the front stairs for your annual ugly sweater party. The hot cocoa-loving traffic compacted all the fresh snow, and it turned overnight to rock-hard ice that you're now breaking your back trying to shovel.

The snow shoveling trick you need for an easier time clearing your driveway is so obvious, and yet you rarely use it — don't walk or drive on the snow before shoveling. Easy, right? It's one of the handiest hacks to take care of snow and ice outside, but how often do we just traipse across the snowy lawn and drive our way out to the road? In all your snow shoveling procrastination, walking and driving over the snow is causing it to become compacted and allowing it to turn to ice. 

Ever wonder why so many people seem to have their snow shovels out on the front porch? That tiny little trick makes a huge difference, too. It makes it so much easier to shovel your way out when you don't have to walk across the snow to get the supplies, then walk back and start shoveling.

You might have picked up on it by now, but freshly fallen snow is a lot easier to shovel. That's because it's lighter than snow that's begun to melt or has been compacted somehow, like by walking or driving on it. But how do you avoid walking on snow when you're out there trying to shovel? If you've stored your shovel at your front door, you can simply shovel your way off the porch and to the top of your driveway. It's important to start at the top so you can work your way toward the street, clearing a center path. That will allow you to clear one side and then the other without ever having to step on the snow.

And don't even think about moving your car before you shovel. Driving on the snow will compact the snow even more. Shovel around your car; then, when you've created a snow-free trail behind it, back it up to the clearing and finish shoveling. 

There's a lot of advice out there, from how to choose the perfect snow shovel that meets all your needs to the best time to shovel snow for easier removal. You just have to remember to keep those boots off the snow, and everything else will fall into place (or at least feel a bit lighter). You might not even need snow boots if you use this hack.