(5) Work smarter, not harder...

Today I want to share my adventure of clearing the snow from my driveway. I came home to about 2-3 feet covering my entire yard and driveway. On saturday morning I brewed up a fresh pot of coffee and was ready to attack the snow, shovel in hand. I cleared one lane of my 3-car-width driveway in about an hour, and was quickly tiring out. It was just a bit more snow than one fella could handle. I then stopped and thought for a moment. I have over 800 square feet of driveway, with an average of 2 foot of snow covering it. That makes for 1600 cubic feet of snow I'm trying remove with a shovel that was now bent in half after the first hour, not to mention my back also showing signs of distress.

I considered my options. I could always call up a snow removal truck and pay $50 to have it plowed out. I could also go spend $400-$500 on a snow thrower. Neither were likely options for me, because I'm cheap for one, and a snow thrower would only see use perhaps 2-3 times a year, and take up valuable garage space the rest of the year. The new girlfriend, Amber, mentioned that her brother had a snowthrower. Well, a phone call later and we were heading up to Whiteland to pick it up! After a quick operators crash-course, I helped her brother load it into his Ford Escape and we set off for home. Luckily, Amber is a pretty tough cookie, or we might have never gotten that monster back out of the truck! It is a good 150 pounds and a bit bulky for one person to lift. Once we got it on the ground, I got the secured the handlebar in place and began the starting procedure. Low throttle, choke on, low gear, clutch disengaged. A few tugs of the pull-starter got her idling nicely. However, every time I closed the choke, the engine would stall. I grabbed a fuel can from the garage and filled up the fuel tank. Repeat starting procedure, close the choke, and voila! Purring like a kitten.

The rest is history. I was able to clear the remaining snow in a matter of 20 minutes. We dropped off the snowthrower back to its rightful owner, expressed much gratitude, and had a full day ahead of us that didn't involve laboring behind a shovel in the cold. Perhaps a snowthrower may be a good investment if we have too many more winters like this one, plus I could possibly make a little money in my large housing edition clearing neighbors drives and walkways. At least enough to subside the cost of the snowthrower over a couple years time. We'll see, as it will perhaps be a decision made next time I am standing in front of the driveway covered with 1600 cubic feet of snow!

Until next time...