After a hurricane, a whole life can feel disrupted. The home may have sustained heavy damage, important belongings may be scattered or missing, and it can all feel so overwhelming that it can be difficult to know where to start. Thankfully, modern technology can assist in a quick and easy clean-up that will set things back to normal considerably faster than laboring by hand would. Ensuring there is enough gasoline and oil on hand to power necessary tools like chainsaws or leaf blowers and making a habit of routinely charging batteries for them, if needed, will help get things moving along when it comes time to begin setting things back in order.

When approaching cleaning up after a storm, it's best to take it step by step and use tools intended for this type of job, such as a chainsaw or leaf blower, rather than go it alone and risk back injury or other problem from broken tree limbs and scattered possessions. After strapping on protective gear like goggles and heavy work gloves, make use of clearing tools like a leaf blower before breaking out the heavier artillery. Leaves and debris may be covering and hiding shards of items that could kick up and out when using reciprocal tools like a chainsaw. Use a leaf blower or other clearing tool to expose broken tree limbs and other items that can be broken down or cut up into smaller pieces by cutting or working by hand. Be sure to use gloves if attempting to break up smaller branches by hand, and remember to lift heavy logs by bending at the knees, not the waist.

Once fallen tree limbs have been exposed, fire up a chainsaw or similar cutting tool to carve them into small, manageable pieces. These slices and branches can be piled in a corner of the yard for removal later, and some logs may even come in handy as weights for other clean-up products like tarps or holding storm-damaged doors closed. When finished with the chainsaw, pick up a leaf blower again to get rid of sawdust and any other leaves that may have fallen off tree limbs during the cutting process.

If neighbors are also cleaning up from the storm, try approaching them about collectively renting a wood chipper. This will speed up the time it takes to remove small branches and piles of organic debris from the yard. Check with the town or county about when normal trash pickup will resume, if it has been delayed due to the storm, and pull any contractor bags used in clean-up to the curb well ahead of time so they are picked up promptly.