You’re Using The Wrong Snow Shovel
You know, the snow shovel is a somewhat rare tool in Southwest Oklahoma sheds and garages. You know why? Because snow is pretty rare, and snow that sticks around for more than a day is downright extraordinary. Our snow storms are usually limited to a day. Then the sun comes out, melts everything off, and those little pockets of snow that linger in the shadows are easy enough to take care of with a standard transfer shovel. Even so, regular snow shovels are a pain to use. Your back will ache, you'll get hot and sweat, then you'll slowly freeze as that sweat evaporates... If only you'd known about snow scoops before now.
The brilliant snow scoop is a tool invented in one of the many frequent heavy snow locales of America. Some old man got tired of shoveling his driveway the old fashion way, so he came up with a better way. With the design, instead of picking up snow to remove it, you push a scoop along like a lawnmower until you get to a point you can turn it over out of the way. Simply brilliant.
I fully admit, I was 28 years old before I learned about these things, so don't feel bad if you're learning about it just now too. It was christmas 2011, we received a heavy dumping of the white stuff at my parents. With two sisters, one working in retail, the other in the medical field, there's usually a lot of waiting around for them to get off work to have a holiday. Instead of sitting around relaxing while on vacation, dad and I started shoveling the driveway. I had a buddy that was in the industry that maintained parking lots, he knew all about snow removal. He loaned me two of these snow scoops, and what would normally take an hour or two (big driveway) only took use about thirty minutes... and it was clean, down to the concrete in the first swipe.
I realize it's still just a super-specified unlikely tool for just about anybody in Southwest Oklahoma, but believe me... When storms like these hit, you'll be super glad you actually had the right tool for the job.
While prices have skyrocketed for these over the last few days, supply and demand at work for you, there's no sense in ordering one right now. The snow will be mostly gone by the time it arrives. In the future, at some point you want to pick one up, just search around the various terms for them... Snow scoop, scoop shovel, sled shovel, sleigh scoop, etc... Next year, when you're not breaking your back clearing the driveway, you'll silently thank me.