Illinois Snow Hack That Could Save You Hours of Shoveling

If the one thing you hate most about living in Illinois during the winter is having to shovel up the wet, heavy snow that plows leave at the end of your driveway, here's a genius hack for avoiding the dreaded "second shovel".

Blizzard in Illinois

The Rockford area just survived a wild, blowing, “why do I live here?” kind of snowstorm, and most of us have arms that feel like overcooked spaghetti right now.

READ MORE: The Post-Blizzard Check Every Illinois Homeowner Needs to Make

Weather officials are reporting Northern Illinois receiving anywhere from from 1 inch up to 8+ inches  but the knee-high snow drifts I had to walk through to get to my front door this afternoon begged to differ.

Thanks to high wind gusts and drifting, it's hard to precisely measure how much snow really felll in the Rockford area over the last 24 hours, but one thing is for certain: the snow was heavy to shovel and I don't want to do it again anytime soon.

How To Avoid the Second Shovel

The second shovel. It can be an Illinois resident's most dreaded chore each winter.

The second shovel is famous for happening right after you get done clearing the driveway, peel off your gloves, and pour yourself a well-deserved drink...then the snow plow scrapes by.

The snow left behind by plows can be absolutely back-breaking to clear without the aid of a snow thrower, but what if I told you there's a simple way you can avoid the second shovel?

Instead of just clearing your driveway straight out to the street, clear a little extra space on the side of your driveway where the plow is coming from.

Why? Because plows push snow in one direction, and clearing a little pocket on the side will give the snow somewhere else to go.

Will it eliminate the second shovel completely? Unfortunately not, but it will lighten the load. After a day like today, I'll take whatever win I can get.