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Fall Chores: Cleaning out the Gutters

November 3rd, 2009

When you live in the woods you have a lot of chores in the fall; raking, planting, mulching, cleaning out gardens, mowing and cleaning out the gutters!
leaf_filled_gutters
We usually wait until they’re all off the trees and then we get out the ladders and clean them out for those icy winter rains. It’s really not a bad chore since you end up with some brown matter for your compost pile. Mr Chiots usually gets up and does it, but I have on occasion. I took these photos last Thurs, and as you can see there are still a few leaves on the trees. We had a big wind storm on Friday night and now all the leaves are down (and the gutters are very very full of leaves).
leaves_in_gutter
I have most of my fall chores checked off the list so it looks like we’ll be out cleaning out the gutters on the next nice day. We’ll also be raking all the leaves in the front lawn. I’m planning on using the leaves to fill the crates I’ll be putting up around my hydrangeas (to keep those munching deer out).

What fall chores do you have yet to check off your list?

15 Comments to “Fall Chores: Cleaning out the Gutters”
  1. vrtlaricaana on November 3, 2009 at 5:56 am

    Sparrows live in my gutters all through spring and summer, so in autumn I have more than leaves to clean…
    .-= vrtlaricaana´s last blog ..Preparing garden for next season =-.

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  2. Dave on November 3, 2009 at 9:05 am

    We don’t have enough trees to fill the gutters with leaves but I did collect the leaves from our tree line in my bagging mower and mulch many of the beds this weekend. I still need to plant some bulbs and get the hoses packed away.
    .-= Dave´s last blog ..The Greenhouse Project: Braced for The Best =-.

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    • Susy on November 4, 2009 at 12:03 am

      I mulch with the leaves as well. I often mix with grass clippings and it keeps my front flowerbeds a zone warmer in the winter. I’ve had a tropical plant overwinter up there one year under a particularly heavy layer of leaf/grass mulch.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  3. kristin @ going country on November 3, 2009 at 9:25 am

    I can’t say I’m sorry that I will have to delegate the gutter cleaning to my husband this year. I mean, the odds that I’ll fall off the ladder are pretty slim, seeing as I never have before, but why risk it, right? I’m only thinking about the baby.

    This pregnancy thing is very useful sometimes.
    .-= kristin @ going country´s last blog ..Braving Target =-.

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    • Susy on November 3, 2009 at 11:59 pm

      That’s a good use of the pregnancy card!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  4. Christine on November 3, 2009 at 12:42 pm

    In Florida we don’t have too many problems with leaves falling off the trees in fall. We do get plenty of chores year round though— stuff grows like crazy around here. A few days ago we were pulling out some huge Brazilian Pepper trees, which are an invasive that are completely taking over here.
    .-= Christine´s last blog ..Priming the chicken coop =-.

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    • Susy on November 4, 2009 at 12:02 am

      I feel that way about maple, tulip poplar, and sassafras trees, I’m forever pulling them out of the flower beds, driveway, garden beds and the lawn.

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  5. Conny on November 3, 2009 at 6:06 pm

    That’s a great idea – crating around the hydrangeas and filling with leaves!

    Hubby usually waits until the gutters are overflowing from rain before getting out the ladder to remove the leaves/muck AND it’s always a cold, windy day too. You can tell it’s a chore he dreads; but he always waits until the last leaves have fallen from the trees.

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    • Susy on November 4, 2009 at 12:01 am

      I have a few hydrangeas that aren’t hardy in my zone, this is supposed to keep them flowering (I have yet to do it to them though, they’ve been pretty small until this year). I mainly crate to keep the deer out or they eat all the hydrangea buds and I don’t get any blooms.

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  6. rik2u on November 3, 2009 at 7:43 pm

    I don’t know where in Florida Christine lives, but I live in Sarasota, FL and have three huge oak trees canopying my roof!!! Here in Sarasota, the oak leaves fall all year long!
    It used to take me 4 hours to clean out all my rain gutters about every 4 weeks. Now, because I checked the internet under gutter cleaning tools and found the Gutter Clutter Buster, attachment tool, that connects directly to my 2-1/2″ wet/dry vac HOSE, I can literally vacuum out all my rain gutters in less than an hour, and all the time I am safely on the ground. This new tool is great and I encourage everyone to go to their webpage and check it out. No more ladders, scoops, buckets, trash cans, googles, gloves, etc for me. I just walk around the entire house with my wet/dry vac and let it do all the work!!!!

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  7. Susy on November 4, 2009 at 12:00 am

    HMM, very interesting. I’ll have to check this out.

    Reply to Susy's comment

  8. warren on November 4, 2009 at 10:02 am

    I finally raked leaves so all I have left is the gutters too. I really don’t like that…but alas, it is my task!
    .-= warren´s last blog ..EST =-.

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  9. the inadvertent farmer on November 4, 2009 at 1:48 pm

    I still have to pull up two more beds of black tomato vines. Luckily we live in the middle of a big field…no leaves in the gutters!

    I still have to spread straw/manure/compost on the raised beds and till up the pumpkin patch and cover it with straw also. Need to clean out the chicken house. Lastly I need to clean out the camel abode…I am putting that off for last as it is a BIG job!
    .-= the inadvertent farmer´s last blog ..Sanctuary Garden away from the Chaos =-.

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  10. Dick on November 4, 2009 at 4:32 pm

    Cleaning out gutters is a thing of the past for me. Four years ago I had leaveguard gutters installed and they work great no more leaves to remove from them; the leaves all fall to the ground. The gutters are a little pricey put well worth the cost.

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  11. Beegirl on November 5, 2009 at 8:22 am

    We’ve done it once already and need to do it again.. sigh…
    .-= Beegirl´s last blog ..Lunch =-.

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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