6 Tips to Make Fall Clean-Up Faster: Pro Tips for Landscapers

For landscaping professionals, fall clean-up can be a time-consuming job. But it doesn’t have to be! With the right strategies and tools, you can significantly cut down on time and effort, freeing you up to move on to your next job sooner. Below, we’ve gathered six tips that’ll help streamline your fall clean-up, reduce strain, and maximize efficiency—so you can keep your clients happy and your workday moving.

1. Use the Right Rakes for the Job

Not all rakes are created equal, and using the right one for the task at hand can save you time and effort. Depending on the area you’re working on and the type of debris you are clearing, choosing the appropriate rake makes all the difference.

• Heavy-duty jobs: When you’re dealing with thick piles of leaves, wet debris, or twigs, a steel tine rake is your best bet. The Gemplers 18" & 24" Steel Tine Rakes feature spring-back action that helps gather heavier materials without getting bogged down. The durable steel tines are perfect for densely packed areas like under trees or in corners where leaves tend to pile up.
• Lighter, broader spaces: If you’re covering a larger lawn with mostly dry, scattered leaves, a wide-head rake like the Gemplers Poly Leaf Rake is ideal. Its lightweight design and wide spread allow you to move quickly across the lawn, scooping up leaves in one or two passes. This is perfect for manicured lawns or open areas where the debris isn’t too heavy.
• Delicate areas: For flower beds, mulch, or areas with delicate plants, a smaller, gentler rake (such as a shrub rake) is useful to avoid damaging roots while still clearing debris.

When to Use Which Rake:

• Steel Tine Rake: Use it for compact, heavy piles of wet leaves, branches, and twigs in tighter spaces.
• Poly Leaf Rake: Best for quickly clearing lighter debris across large, open lawns with minimal obstructions.
• Shrub Rake or Hand Rake: Great for cleaning up around flower beds, delicate plantings, and small garden areas.

Pro Tip: Switch rakes as you move through different sections of the property. Heavier rakes for tough spots and lightweight rakes for open spaces will reduce the effort required while speeding up your clean-up process.

2. Optimize Your Tools for Pickup and Transport

Once you’ve gathered leaves and debris into piles, the next step is to get them picked up and disposed of efficiently. The right tools can make a big difference in reducing trips back and forth to the disposal area and minimizing bending or lifting strain.

• Lawn Sweepers: For large properties or lawns with significant leaf coverage, consider using a lawn sweeper. It’s much faster than raking everything by hand, especially for big, open areas. A sweeper will collect and transport leaves all in one pass, cutting down on the time and effort required.
• Tarps & Collapsible Bins: Use tarps to drag larger piles of leaves quickly. Simply rake the leaves onto the tarp, grab the corners, and drag the whole pile to the disposal area. For smaller piles, collapsible waste bins make transport easier. They’re lightweight, and portable, and pop open for quick leaf collection, saving you multiple trips.
• Trash Grabbers: For those smaller, hard-to-reach bits of debris, use a trash grabber. This tool helps landscapers avoid constant bending or kneeling to pick up scattered items like twigs, pinecones, or stubborn leaves.

By optimizing your pick-up and transport process with these tools, you can make a clean sweep of your fall clean-up jobs, maximizing efficiency and minimizing the wear and tear on your body.

Pro Tip: Combine collapsible bins with trash grabbers to clean up those last bits of debris without straining your back. Use tarps when you need to move large piles of leaves long distances. This method saves you from multiple trips and makes disposal faster.

3. Plan Work Zones for Maximum Efficiency

Breaking the property into manageable work zones is one of the easiest ways to avoid wasting time or duplicating effort. This simple organizational step can help your crew stay focused, avoid backtracking, and finish faster.

Here’s how to do it:

• Divide the property into sections: Start by identifying logical sections based on the layout of the property—front yard, back yard, side areas, etc. Working one section at a time prevents overlap and ensures that no part of the property is missed.
• Tackle one zone at a time: Rather than jumping around from area to area, stick to one zone until it’s completely cleared. This approach is especially useful for larger properties where scattered clean-up can slow things down.
• Position tarps or bins strategically: When you’ve divided the property into zones, place tarps or collapsible bins at the edge of each work area. This makes it easy to dump piles of leaves and debris without having to carry them long distances. Once one zone is done, drag the tarp or bin to the disposal area and move to the next.

By planning your clean-up in zones and positioning your tools strategically, you’ll work faster and smarter—saving both time and energy on every job.

Pro Tip: Use a lawn sweeper for larger open zones to clear leaves faster. Sweepers allow you to collect more debris in a single pass, which can drastically reduce your time spent on larger sections of the property. For tighter areas like flower beds or near fences, use hand rakes or a shrub rake to make sure every part of the zone is thoroughly cleaned.

4. Mulch Leaves as You Go

One of the easiest ways to reduce the amount of time spent bagging and transporting leaves is to mulch them on-site. Mulching allows you to break down the leaves into smaller pieces, which can be left on the lawn as a natural fertilizer or collected in far fewer bags than whole leaves.

Here’s why mulching is a time-saver:

• Less bagging required: When you mulch leaves, they are shredded into fine pieces, reducing their volume significantly. This means fewer bags to fill and fewer trips to the dump or compost pile. Mulching can reduce the volume of leaves by up to 75%, making clean-up far more efficient.
• Natural fertilizer: Mulched leaves can stay right on the lawn to decompose, adding nutrients back into the soil. This saves you time and gives your clients an added service—leaving them with a healthier lawn for next season.
• Tools for the job: A leaf mulcher or a mulching mower is ideal for this task. These tools shred leaves into tiny pieces quickly, saving you from the time-consuming task of bagging large piles.

By mulching leaves as you go eliminates the need for excessive bagging and disposal, speeding up your clean-up while leaving the lawn in great shape.

Pro Tip: Mulch leaves on dry days when they’re easier to shred. Wet leaves can clog up mulching tools, making the process slower. If you don’t have a dedicated mulcher, a mulching blade for your mower can do the job just as well. Mow over the leaves a few times to break them down and leave a fine layer of mulch on the lawn.

5. Keep Tools Clean and in Good Condition

Having the right tools is essential, but keeping them in top condition can make a big difference in how quickly and efficiently you get the job done. Well-maintained tools last longer, perform better, and help you avoid unnecessary downtime.

Here are some quick maintenance tips to keep your tools ready for action:

• Clean after each use: Whether it’s a rake, lawn sweeper, or mulching mower, clean off dirt, leaves, and moisture after each job. This helps prevent rust and keeps the tools working smoothly. A quick rinse and wipe down will extend the life of your tools significantly.
• Check for wear and tear: Inspect handles, blades, and tines regularly for any signs of wear. Replace broken or worn-out parts to keep everything working efficiently. For example, a bent or damaged tine on a rake will make leaf gathering less effective, costing you time on the job.
• Store properly: Use collapsible bins and storage solutions to keep your tools in a dry, organized space when not in use. Hanging rakes, blowers, and other tools off the ground prevents damage and keeps them ready for quick deployment.
• Sharpen blades: If you’re using a mulching mower or leaf mulcher, keeping the blades sharp is crucial for efficiency. Sharp blades cut through leaves faster, making mulching quicker and easier.

Pro Tip: Consider investing in fiberglass-handled rakes. Fiberglass handles are more durable than wood, meaning they’ll last longer and require less maintenance over time. Additionally, use tarp and tool storage solutions to keep your tools dry and protected between jobs. If your tools have some rust, this article can help.

6. Streamline Trash Bagging and Disposal

Bagging leaves and debris can be one of the most time-consuming parts of a fall clean-up job. However, with the right tools and strategies, you can streamline the process, saving valuable time and energy.

Here’s how to make bagging and disposal more efficient:

• Use tarps for large piles: Instead of bagging leaves one handful at a time, rake them onto a large tarp. Once you’ve got a full pile, simply drag the tarp to the disposal area or directly into a truck. This saves countless trips back and forth and minimizes bending over.
• Collapsible waste bins: For smaller jobs, collapsible bins are perfect for collecting leaves and trash on the go. They’re easy to transport and store and can quickly pop open when needed, helping you gather debris faster.
• Trash grabbers for easy pickup: When cleaning up smaller debris like twigs, pinecones, or litter, trash grabbers save you from constant bending. These lightweight tools let you grab more without the strain, allowing you to keep moving efficiently.

By using these tools and techniques, you can cut down the time spent on the final stages of the clean-up and move on to the next job more quickly.

Pro Tip: Use heavy-duty trash bags designed for outdoor work. Thicker bags won’t tear or puncture as easily, which means fewer headaches and quicker disposal. When bagging, position your collapsible bin near your tarp so you can easily transfer leaves and debris without unnecessary steps.

Conclusion

Fall clean-up doesn’t have to be a slow, back-breaking process. By using the right tools and following these time-saving tips, landscaping professionals can streamline their workflow, minimize effort, and finish jobs faster. Whether it's choosing the right rake, breaking up the property into zones, or using tools like tarps and lawn sweepers for efficient pick-up, these strategies will help you get more done in less time.

With the busy season in full swing, make sure you’ve got the gear to handle each job with maximum efficiency. Explore Gemplers’ wide range of landscape tools, from rakes to collapsible bins, and get the job done right every time.