How to Insulate Your Wall With the Leaves of Trees

Storing autumn leaves over winter allows you to compost them in spring.

Put autumn leaves to work as more than just a giant pile for the kids to jump into and play with. If you have enough trees, or can borrow leaves from neighbors, you can use them to insulate the outside walls around your foundations during the winter. This can keep your energy costs down by keeping the cold outside where it belongs.

Things You'll Need

• Rake
• Contractor-strength plastic yard bags
• Water

Instructions

1. Rake together the leaves after they have fallen.

2. Open a large, contractor-strength plastic yard bag and fill the bag with the leaves, leaving just enough room to seal the bag. Water down the leaves, if necessary, as you place them in the bag so that they are as moist as a damp sponge.

3. Create a row of filled bags along the foundation on the side of the house from where the winter winds normally blow. If you have enough bags, create a second row of bags on top of the first.

4. Check the bags after several weeks. They will have probably flattened out as the leaves settled towards the ground and filled in the empty spaces. Turn the bags if you desire so that the flattened area is propped against the house foundation for better coverage of the wall.

5. Empty the bags in the spring and use the leaves as organic mulch in a garden or flower bed.

References

• Coconino County Master Gardeners' Blog: Save the Aspen Leaves
• University of Massachusetts Extension: Overwintering Containerized Perennials