The 6 Things You Need to Dig Yourself Out This Winter

This shovel has a hybrid head that can push snow or lift it, and a handle that allows you to stand, not stoop. No stooping.

A good deicer not only melts the ice you've got now, it also prevents the next storm from forming more of it. This one accomplishes both tasks without poisoning your concrete, your pets, or the environment.

The design of this brush allows you to reach into awkward nooks on your car where snow can hide, like beneath the wipers or behind the spare tire. And with the foam head, you can be aggressive without accidentally scratching the paint.

Waterproof. Kevlar-reinforced. Insulated. And unlike the ski gloves you might have planned to use, they allow you to move your fingers.

Coating your shovel with a slippery polymer before shoveling prevents snow from sticking to it and slowing you down. It's like spraying a frying pan with PAM but, you know, for tools.

When you're ready to take a break, press the button on the side of this insulated bottle to open it with one hand, even in gloves. Pro tip: A splash of Irish whiskey vastly improves both coffee and cocoa.

As much as I love machines, I don't need another one to look after. So I don't use a snowblower. I shovel, and I have for more than 40 years, since I was a kid in Connecticut. The difference between now and then is that these days I'm smarter. I've learned that it's better to push the snow than lift it. If I do have to pick up snow, I hold the shovel close to my body. It's simple physics: The farther out you extend a full shovel, the harder you have to work.

My method: I clear a strip along the edge of the driveway and then push all the snow into it. Then I go work on something else. No sense spending all day pushing around old weather. —Roy Berendsohn