• There are easy ways to rake up leaves.autumn path image by denevt from Fotolia.com
  
  It happens every fall. Leaves drop off trees and cover the grass in your front or backyard. These leaves will kill the grass, so they must be raked up over the course of the season, creating a repetitive chore that can be very time consuming. However, there are a number of easier ways to rake yard leaves.
  
  

A Family Activity

• Two rakes are better then one, and even more the merrier. Have your entire family rake leaves together. Buy everyone rakes and turn it into a family activity. The best rakes for yards with tall grass are metal rakes with tines close together, as they are heavier and can gather more leaves at once. For shorter grass, plastic rakes work well and are better for kids, as they are easier to use. A prize can be offered to the kid with the biggest pile of leaves, or leaves can be piled together so the kids can dive into them at the end of the raking session. Not only will this be a fun family activity, but it also will make short work of the task in a efficient and cheap manner.
  
  

Leaf Blower

• A leaf blower can be purchased to efficiently pile leaves together quickly and without much sweat equity. These leaf blowers range in price from $50 to $60 for small ones and upward of a couple hundred dollars for large ones. The leaves should be blown as close together as possible and then briefly raked up and bagged, or blown into an area that you have designated as a compost pile. Leaf blowers run off either gas or electricity; gas blowers are much more powerful.
  
  

Lawn Vacuums

• For very large lawns with a constant covering of leaves, it may make sense to purchase a lawn vacuum. The Cyclone Rake XL, for example, resembles a riding lawn mower. It sucks up the leaves and deposits them a bag towed behind the lawn vacuum on wheels. This collection box can hold up to 44 bushels of lawn debris, equal to 33 gallon trash bags. Lawn vacuums start at about $1,000.