It's fall and the leaves are changing. Ah, the beautiful colors of fall. That's the good news. The bad news, we have to rake piles and piles of leaves up.

But wait, is that really true?

Detail of rake in autumn season. Raking in garden.
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I have a lot of trees in my yard and raking leaves always seems to be an endless task every fall. It blows my mind.

             👇 FIND OUT HOW FALL IS GOOD FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH👇

However, bet you didn't know at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, DNR, says you don't have to worry about raking leaves because you don't have to if you don't want to.

Yep, instead of bagging about a million leaves, or mulching them, the DNR says you don't have to and just leave them be.

Alrighty then that relieves a big pain in my bark. I'll just let them sit.

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But, wait a minute. First of all my yard will look like c...p! My neighbors sure won't be happy with my totally unsightly and ugly yard while their lawn is clear after they raked their arms off all fall.

Seriously, won't leaving piles of leaves on the grass kill it?

Annie Spratt For Unsplash+
Annie Spratt
For Unsplash+
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The website Obsessedlawn.com says absolutely. When left unattended, fallen leaves will accumulate and form a dense mass that can damage or kill grass and plants. Leaves reduce water evaporation and block sunlight. These damp, moist conditions encourage mold, fungus, and other diseases to grow – which can be very difficult to cure and do major damage to your grass.

Nuts, now what can I do?

Mulch!

A man holds a lawn mower for the handle.
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Treehugger.com says mow them with a mulching mower — a lawnmower with a specially designed high deck and a mulching blade that chops leaves into fragments as tiny as confetti. As the shredded leaves decompose, they will act as a natural fertilizer and weed control agent.

Now you're talking. Good for the lawn and good for me!

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By the way, burning your leaves is basically a NO-NO in Michigan. It does depend on your community population, 7,500 and more is a big NO. If you must, however, you do need a permit.

Don't we love fall!!

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