This No-Shovel Method for Clearing Snow Actually Works (It’s So Smart!)

If you live in an area that tends to get snow in the wintertime, you know that when it happens, you have to be prepared — especially if you own your home. Why? When snow sticks, it really sticks, and when it piles up, it can be quite tough to deal with. There are so many ways to remove snow, but they tend to require a lot of physical labor and specific tools, like shovels. 

You can use cooking spray to make your shovel more efficient or even swap out a shovel for a piece of plywood — but if you find yourself with more snow than you bargained for (which may happen throughout the country later this week!) and don’t have the right tools for the job, you’ll need to improvise. Fortunately, all you may need for that is a big piece of plastic.

Showcased in a video by Kentucky-based TikTok user @pstevenson (which was reposted by the weather app Accuweather), this method of snow removal relies on covering the area — in this case, his car and walkway — with a large, thick plastic sheet or tarp before it starts to snow. For his car, he secures a part of the sheet inside of the door to prevent it from sliding off.

Once the snow has finished falling, he simply grabs the plastic and pulls it off the car, taking all that pesky snow with it. For his walkway, he simply lifts and moves the plastic sheet to the side, so the snow slides off to the side instead of pulling it away.

This easy, breezy snow removal hack does require a bit of planning, but because plastic sheets are affordable, accessible, and quick to set up, it shouldn’t be hard to get in the habit of prepping your sheet any time there’s a chance of snow. If the sky stays clear, putting it away will be a breeze.

Using this method of “shoveling” snow depends on what area (or object) you want to keep clear. But no matter where you’re targeting, you’re going to need a thick plastic sheet, of course. You can get a two-pack of 10-foot-by-15-foot plastic sheets by Frost King, which are designed specifically to ward off snow and ice, for $13.52 at Walmart. And if you don’t need all that material, you can use any extra to insulate your windows or protect floors and furniture while painting.

You aren’t limited to cars, bikes, driveways, and walkways, either. “I do this in the back yard for my dog,” one commenter wrote, so their pet can go to the bathroom on a clear patch of grass instead of a pile of snow. And as simple as it looks, there are some things to keep in mind when removing snow with a plastic sheet: “I’ve been doing this forever. Just watch your boots when pulling it off. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve dumped a foot of snow into my boots doing this,” another comment advised.