But sometimes you do have to get outside and do shit.
So a couple weeks ago my son and I agreed to find something on TV we could both watch. So channel after channel, description after description led us to a infomercial entitled 'Never Rake Again'. Ok, I would like to never rake again. Carter agreed that we should never have to rake again. So here was this nifty device called the WORX Tri-Vac that would not only pick up the leaves but mulch them in to tiny microscopic pieces and also blow them into the neighbors yard. 10 bags of leaves could actually turn into one? I could actually have the fun of vacuuming my entire lawn in a matter of 30 hours?
Remember last year I had come up with the device - 'the leaf diaper' - well, I did not sell too many of these devices. When people found out it was basically a giant piece of plastic and a giant rubber band they demanded their money back (see photo below).
As Carter and I watched the inf0merical we became more and more intrigued. Sue even came in at one point and said, "You never have to rake again?". And then before we knew it Paul DiMeo showed up to promote the product. He was picking up styrofoam cups, cheesecurls, small animals, and even leaves! I figured if Paul DiMeo was saying it was a good product, well it had to be a good product.
I had never ordered from an infomercial before. So after about 20 minutes of the operator trying to sell me other crap I was home free and the WORX Tri-Vac was on it's way. The operator tried to talk me into expedited shipping but I told her the usual 3 months delivery time was fine with me. And then don't you know that it arrived in about 5 days? She must of liked the tone of my voice and cut me a break on the shipping.
So today I used it for the first time. Since all my leaves are in the back of my yard I had to go out and buy another extension cord. So it took about 125 feet of extension cord. Paul DiMeo also lied to me because I do have to rake again! You can't just wander around a 1/2 an acre with this portable shop-vac. I had to actually rake the leaves into piles. Oh I'm sure if you have one tree and you're too lazy to put in 10 minutes of raking then this would be true to the commercial.
The device basically sucks up the leaves and then they go through a blade that mulches them. One advantage for me is that it was great not having to make about 12 - 15 trips to the road. I only had to make 3. And we are talking a large garbage container on wheels (not sure of the gallonage).
The good thing is it came with a 4-year warranty. I see this thing breaking down at some point but probably will only use it a couple times a year.
Here's a photo of me at work. See how easy it is to pick up leaves. You can work in the yard and still have a smoke. Just don't smoke the leaves - they are nasty tasting.
