How to Shovel the Driveway

The snow is here and your driveway, front steps, and walkways are now completely covered. While it might look like a winter wonderland outside, this stuff is no fun to remove — especially when you have a rather large driveway or multiple walkways. If you’re looking for quick tips to make your shoveling experience that much easier, you’ve come to the right place!

1. Prepare Your Body Beforehand

• Always stretch before heading outside; failing to stretch could lead to injury
• Dress in layers; wear the proper clothing, boots, gloves, hat, and jacket
• Make sure your shovel is in good condition with the proper shovel blade
• Stay in the mindset of not shoveling everything in one shot; take breaks and pace yourself for efficiency and safety

2. Know the Shoveling Techniques

• When lifting a shovel filled with snow, bend your knees and lift with your legs — not your back.
• Keep the end of the shovel and snow close to your body; this keeps the weight close to you and prevents back strain.
• Constantly switch up your grip and the dominant hands you use to work different muscles and prevent overworking any particular muscle.
• If the accumulation is more than six inches, skim some of the snow off of the top first, rather than shoveling everything at once.

3. Shovel Smart, Not Hard

• Do not shovel snow and place it in a different part of your driveway. Place any and all snow away from the driveway and avoid creating any piles of snow that will have to be removed again.
• When dumping snow into your yard or surrounding areas, watch out for any shrubs and plants. You don’t want to create a mound of snow on top of a plant that you expect to grow in the spring; this could kill it entirely.
• Save your car for last, but turn it on along with the window warmers and let it run while you shovel; this will make clearing the windshields easier. Once the driveway has been cleared move the car to the street and quickly brush off all of the snow onto the road — just be careful of any oncoming snow plows.
• Do not shovel the edge of your driveway until the very end, as the snow plows will push any previously shoveled snow back onto your driveway.

Shoveling is a chore no one wants to do, but unless you want a layer of ice and snow frozen to cover your driveway — it’s something that needs to be done. For anyone who needs their driveway or property cleared of snow and ice, give us a call and we’ll bring in our trucks!