Strategic Shoveling

On Monday, Norristown is due for another snow storm. Just as we thought Spring is on the way, here comes Mother Nature saying "jk, I lied." Today, I created a fun, far from expert opinion, blog on how we can strategically shovel this snow.

First up, shoveling your cars out. I think I can safely say that my neighbors have this down to a science...sometimes. I must remind you NEVER to shovel snow into the street. This just makes it that much harder for us to have clear roads to get to work. Please don't!

One thing our neighbors do to try to avoid large mounds and reduced parking spaces is shovel the snow onto their yards. Not the little patch of grass between the sidewalk and street, but the other side. Makes sense? This avoids creating large mounds, making it harder for passengers to get in the car. Also, it avoids the amount of snow piled up in the street waiting for the next street cleaning day for it to be removed. The disadvantage... taking an extra 5-10 steps. Trust me, that's not sarcasm speaking! 

But imagine if we ALL pitched in to shovel our cars out this way. I bet you will see the amount of "abandoned chairs" in the road reduced! 

Help out the fire department. Unfortunately, this season has been the worse I can remember in number of fires. The Norristown Fire Department has worked hard to make our town safe, and here's how we can help! In a Facebook post, NFD asked residents to adopt a fire hydrant to make their jobs easier when battling fires. When we shovel our sidewalks and cars, we sometimes forget to clear the fire hydrant that may be in front of our homes. Most of the time, they are on the corners and get covered by plow trucks passing by. Help them out by shoveling the fire hydrant if your house is near one. In doing so, firefighters gain minutes of battling a fire simply because the hydrant is now noticeable and accessible.

Help your elderly neighbors. This is a point that needs no explanation. If you have an elderly neighbor, shovel their sidewalks. Even if your neighbor is not elderly but may be out of town or works three jobs. Giving a helping hand to your neighbors goes a long way to building a stronger community. 

There are many ways to "strategically" shovel your neighborhood. The reason why I call it a strategy is because all the tips above help out the community in the big picture. Don't make a pile in the street to make it easier for plows, shovel around the fire hydrants to help the fire department and help your neighbors to create a stronger bond.