Outdoor Fall Cleanup

Yard Cleanup with STIHL Power Tools

I was able to use a trio of STIHL battery-operated power tools to begin fall cleanup in our yard.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me in collaboration with STIHL, but all opinions are my own. As always, when using power tools read the manual and follow all recommended safety guidelines.

If you’ve been tagging along At Charlotte’s House for any amount of time then you know I love a challenge, I love to do things myself, and I love to try new tools… even when they feel a little intimidating.  Which is why I am SO excited to talk you through a few power tools I received recently from STIHL tools to help with fall cleanup given our rental has SO much property to contend with!

Safety First

Before I even begin to talk about which tools I was sent and what I planned to do with them, I need to emphasize that the proper safety gear is imperative here… just like I always wear safety goggles in the workshop, there are similar precautions to take when using any power tool. Read the manual, ask at your local dealership and generally be cognizant of which safety gear is recommended for each tool (e.g. helmet, goggles, chaps, ear protection, gloves, etc.)

Chain Saw

I’ve held a chain saw before and decided on the spot that I didn’t *need* one for my arsenal given how heavy and powerful it seemed. But THEN, I spoke with STIHL about their battery operated line and found this smaller chain saw. Folks… it is MAGIC. Here’s the deal with our current home. We have trees… SO. MANY. TREES. And technically they’re not our responsibility but I wouldn’t say our landlord is Johnny on the spot about getting them removed. Most of the time, we just need a way to break the limb down into smaller pieces so we can wheelbarrow it into the woods or clear it off the lawn. The MSA 200 C-BQ makes small work of these types of limbs.

I loved that there was an obvious lock button and an easy push button start so no fiddling with a pull cord. I also love that because it’s battery operated I don’t have to worry about the seasonal maintenance of whether the gas has gone bad or do I need to add oil and so on. I’m not using this chainsaw to clear the forest behind my house, but I am EASILY using it to break down large limbs and clean up fallen branches.

Pole Saw

Again, maintaining trees on the property is NOT our responsibility, but sometimes it’s just easier to do things yourself. There were a few trees around the house that had lower dead limbs. Normally I wouldn’t care, but I’ve noticed it’s a major hassles for the lawn guys to maneuver around so I figured it would be just as easy for me to quickly prune the trees so there was a bit more clearance underneath. So I got to try out the HTA 65 pole pruner. Spoiler alert: it’s fabulous.

Just like the chain saw, the pole saw uses a battery (same one as the chainsaw and the blower), it has an obvious safety lock and starts with the push of the button. The pole saw also has a strap that can slide over your shoulder to help disperse a bit of the weight which I found helpful after a while.

Leaf Blower

Have I mentioned how much I love a leaf blower? Our old leaf blower was gas powered which meant it took me 10 minutes to try and start it, another 10 minutes to wait because inevitable I’d flooded the engine and then half the time, it needed gas so I couldn’t use it anyways! The times I grab my leaf blower are to quickly blow off the patio before friends are coming over. To clear the driveway of acorns because I want to film a video. To blow the remains of our toilet paper gun into the woods. You know… normal leaf blowery stuff.

Needless to say, being able to pop in the battery, throw the harness on and immediately get blowing with the push of a button? Ermahgawd amazing. The BGA 100 leaf blower comes with three speeds; obviously the highest speed will drain your battery the fastest, but I found the lowest speed made fast work of all the acorns gathered on the patio so I didn’t need to use the higher settings!

Look, I’m not a fall cleanup expert, but I play one on my blog and I LOVED how easily this trio of tools made this first round of cleanup. The season is young and there are LOTS of leaves still to fall, but being able to get a a head start without paying a tree guy or our lawn guys felt really really satisfying.