If you claim to enjoy yardwork, you're fibbing.

Every year, usually in the springtime, I'll come across some 24-hour morning person who claims they love doing yard work, like raking leaves. It's funny though, I feel like if you go to that same person's house in the middle of the job, they look like they want to die. Or that they want to just disintegrate and disappear in the wind.

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But, there are a host of legit reasons why you should just leave (see what I did there?) the leaves right where they are. It's true! According to the BDN, there's lots of actual science about why you should just leave them until spring. So while you can't avoid the job forever, you can enjoy your fall by waiting.

So what's the deal?

Raking fallen leaves in the garden
Zbynek Pospisil
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There's two reasons, actually. One, is that it provides crucial habitats for all sorts of bugs, critters, small rodents, small amphibians, etc. It's true, it does also provide protection from some of the ones we hate, like ticks, but the ground cover also helps ones we do like, such as some moths and butterflies.

herreid
herreid
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The other big reason, is that it's absolutely awesome for your lawn! When we bought our current house a few years ago, the lawn was in pretty rough shape. Mostly out of laziness and being busy, I didn't rake leaves in the fall. But sure enough, just two seasons later, my lawn looked amazing all summer. I also don't mow it very often, but that a whole other story....

Man mowing the grass on a riding mower
Chemlamp
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The magic word is mulch.

All those decaying leaves under the snow, leach wonderful nutrients into the soil, feeding the lawn the whole time. If you just can't stand the sight of the leaves, you could also consider just mowing them. It's not quite as good as just leaving them, but will still provide a lot of food for your lawn.

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Don't think about it too hard. Sure, there's a lot of beautiful science to back all this up, but the real takeaway here is that science is actually encouraging a small amount of laziness for a change. How often does that happen? Besides, it's not like your lawn needs to get a tan in the winter. You do. Skip the raking this year. Go to Florida. Enjoy.

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