You have a garden. You live in a temperate climate where the trees lose their leaves in the autumn. Perhaps you have a gardener who deals with the leaf problem. Or you have invested in equipment that blows the leaves away (where?), and even sucks them up and chews them into a bag that you can leave for the garbage man to collect. Or you just don´t deal with the leaves at all, and wait for nature to do its job. If the latter is the case, you are doing the right thing. The leaves are a winter protection and will eventually become good fertilizer for your garden. However, most people are disturbed by nature´s slowness. Many also have neighbours who disapprove of the environmental approach as the wind tends to move dead leaves from one garden to the next. Why not purchase a humble rake and start scratching away at those leaves? We explore the surprising wellness benefits of this favorite Scandinavian past-time.
Dead Leaves are a Health Blessing
The dead leaves that have settled on your lawn are not an irritation, they are a blessing! Raking has all of the qualities of an excellent therapy: it is good physical exercise, not too strenuous, yet plenty to exercise your heart and to work up a light sweat. It provides you with the opportunity to enjoy the fantastic autumn season, at a time of the year when the tendency is to start huddling indoors. Those neat heaps of leaves are a clear manifestation of your labors.
Satisfaction
There is a certain unbeatable satisfaction about raking. It can be a social activity, giving you an excuse to chat with the neighbours. Doing something repetitive that also has a certain rhythm about it helps you to relax your focused consciousness and frees your mind to explore whatever it likes. This can sometimes result in new perspectives on everyday problems or issues. According to some, raking is good for your social relations too! Your husband, or wife, sees you out there doing a good deed for the family. The neighbors like the fact that you are doing your bit for the neighborhood without making an awful noise with another machine on a Sunday afternoon.
Raking for Good Ecology
What do you do with your leaves once your work is done? Don´t leave them as the wind will undo your work. Don´t burn them. Don´t collect them in black plastic bags for the garbage collector. The satisfaction of leaf raking doesn´t end with the activity itself. You can use your raked leaves to improve your garden. Use them to cover sensitive perennials during the cold season. Or compost them in the corner of your garden. In this way you can still allow nature to do what it intended with your leaves: provide protection and organic material for the soil. Our advice is: give your gardener a vacation and sell the leaf blower and/or chewer. Get a good rake, which you can buy for less than USD 10. Our preference is for a durable wooden stick and steel broom model. Then all you have to do is to wait eagerly for the autumn and the first storms that fell the leaves.
Our Tips for Good Raking
Avoid tripping: Watch where you rake! Remove sticks and stones that you can trip on. Watch out for those low hanging branches and tree stumps!
Be kind to your back and hands: Stretch before you start. Make sure your rake is not too short or too long and wear gloves with a good grip. Don´t twist or bend from the waist when you rake or pick up leaves. Bend your knees!
Be kind to your body and the environment: Skip the plastic bags. Pile your leaves into a wheelbarrow and take them to your compost or pile them onto perennials.
Enjoy the autumn: Prepare a thermos before you start and enjoy a break with a warm drink.
Go for it!
There are many delicious warm drinks that can fill your raking thermos! Check out our warm lingon juice recipe!
Raking for Good Ecology 
