Saw the news the other day: that was some winter storm in the Eastern United States! Reminded me of my years living in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, where there is still snow in the backyard come April.

Thankfully, I’m in Leamington now, in beautiful Essex County in southwestern Ontario, so shovelling shouldn’t require too much of my time. But while winters here are definitely milder, I’m not crazy enough to believe that life in the Tomato Capital of Canada does not require snow boots and a shovel or two.

After living in a condo for two winters, this will be my first year back shovelling.  That’s what comes with owning a house with a driveway again. You might think I’m mad, and maybe I am, but I’m secretly pining for a real Ottawa winter. Snow by the foot? I say bring it on!

Shovelling makes me happy. That’s probably because I see shovelling as an art form. It’s a thing of beauty. And beauty can do wonders to lift your spirits high. You know that good feeling you get when you give the house a good cleaning and declutter? Shovelling can do that for you.

Turning snow-shovelling into an art is easy when you follow my secret family method. Before you know it, you’ll be creating a true thing of beauty right in your own driveway! And feeling great!

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Like any art, there are a few simple rules that must be followed if you are to know success — measured in the number of dog-walkers and motorists who slow down to nod in appreciation as you stand in your driveway, your face flushed with pride, surveying your handiwork.

The rules that I share here are the result of seeing one too many pathetically shovelled driveways. One driveway was so bad there was barely room to squeeze a car in between snowbanks! Talk about clutter. But I don’t blame the homeowner. It’s not his fault that no one taught him what apparently only members of my immediate family know: cutting corners is the secret to the best-looking hand-shovelled driveway in town.

So our secret is out.  But before you put it into practice, here’s what you should know:

Turning shovelling into an art form begins with the realization that the power to shape snowbanks is in your hands — not Mother Nature’s.

This leads to Rule #1: create your snowbanks as soon as the first snow falls. For example, if you have a double driveway, don’t just shovel the asphalt. Think big. Think wide. Think mountains and valleys. That four-inch snowfall may not seem like much at first, but come March, when the snowbanks are eight feet tall and hard as ice, you don’t want to feel as if your driveway is closing in on you.

So, with the first snowfall, get out there and clear the driveway, plus at least two feet of lawn on each side. That’s Rule #2. Then, stand on the roadway behind the left snowbank and advance about three feet. Stick your shovel into the snowbank and draw a line at a 45-degree angle. Remove all the snow outside the cut mark.

Repeat on right side of driveway.

Cutting halfway up the lawn (Rule #3) may seem like a lot of work, but it’s worth it. You’ll now have room to put the garbage out for pickup; have plenty of space to drive in and out without those tricky tight turns; and, most important, you’ll be able to see what’s coming when you back out of the driveway.

Now, just one more step to go.

Since traditions evolve, I have taken it upon myself to add one new step (Rule #4) to the corner-cutting driveway-clearing method of art creation. This involves removing all the heavy snow beyond the bottom of your driveway.

OK, yes, I mean shovel the street. But only your half. And only the width of your new super-wide driveway. And don’t forget to toss the snow up and over your new corner snowbanks.

The reason for this final step is simple: If you’ve cleared the street, there is nothing left for the snowplow to throw back into your driveway. Shovel once and you’re through.

My husband once accused me of making up this corner-cutting thing, but my siblings set him straight. “Of course you have to cut corners,” they exclaimed.

He claims we’re all crazy — and maybe we are. But there’s no denying we always have the best-looking driveways in town. And big smiles on our faces.

There’s nothing like the feeling you get from a job well done.