Yahoo Movies I Own a House and Live Alone, and This Electric Snow Shovel Has Been a Life-Saver
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No more dragging out the snowblower or shoveling by hand.
Real Simple / Tyler Roeland
I really like my independence, which is why I’m a single homeowner. That said, I’m also a 4-foot-11 woman. While I’ve got more upper-body strength than expected for someone my height, certain tasks are admittedly still a pain. Shoveling my massive driveway by myself is one of them. A few winters back, however, I stumbled upon the Snow Joe Cordless Snow Shovel on Amazon, and I’ve used it for every blizzard since.
Before I get into why I love it, let’s back up a bit: When I first moved into this house, I took my dad’s old gas-powered snow blower with me. While that thing is an animal, it’s also huge, heavy, difficult to start, and hard to store. It ended up in my shed—which also happens to be in the backyard, a retaining wall and a fence away from the driveway. Getting it out in a snowstorm turned out to be near impossible, so every time it snowed, I just resorted to shoveling my 50-foot driveway by hand with an old-fashioned shovel.
Cue the Snow Joe. Unlike a snow blower, it only weighs 20 pounds, but it can move 2,025 pounds of snow per charge. (For 3 inches of snow, that’s 370 square feet.)
Amazon
To buy: $180 (was $200); amazon.com.
It works like this: The rechargeable lithium-ion battery powers a two-blade paddle auger, which throws snow up to 20 feet away. In other words, you push it along the driveway or sidewalk, and it effortlessly clears an 11-inch path with each pass. You don’t have to worry about gas or extension cords, either. Finally, since it’s lightweight and has an adjustable handle, it’s easy to maneuver. That way, you can say goodbye to the back-breaking crouch-and-throw motion associated with standard shoveling.
Most electric snow shovels require that you purchase a lithium-ion battery separately, but this Snow Joe kit comes with both the battery and the quick charger—which is why I chose it. (A single charge should get you up to 22 minutes of shoveling time, but if you need more, you can opt for the two-battery set instead).
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In my opinion, it’s a no-brainer investment for those who live alone, have limited movement, or just plain hate shoveling, but you don’t have to take my word for it. Currently, this set has a 4.1-star rating from over 2,100 reviewers who have called it “impressive,” “easy to use,” “powerful,” and “one of the best buys” they’ve ever made. “This is the most amazing thing ever,” wrote one senior who lives in a mountain town. “It hit deep snow with no hesitation. [I] will never need to push a shovel again.”
Granted, for the 4-foot blizzards, you should probably still stick to the snow blower—but for snow under a foot, this gets the job done fast and without much effort at all. Personally, I’m happy to tackle my whole driveway in 20 minutes so I can get back inside to the hot cocoa.
Shop the Snow Joe Cordless Snow Shovel while it’s $20 off, and get prepared ahead of any future snowstorms.
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