Winter Weather Heeds The Need For A Melting Agent

What a lovely sight! I shot the photo in my post from the deck at my apartment, it was probably a scorching or mild summer day. Oh how I long for that perfect, untouched by the elements wood now.

With the impending winter weather headed our way, I need to figure out a way to get safely down my deck stairs without falling and seriously injuring myself. What about a sled? It's an easy way to get down and it's fun, but then, how do I get back up? It's a dilemma. I thought falling down my interior stairs was scary, but it's nothing compared to my paralyzing fear of falling down my outdoor stairs. The most popular option and the most readily available in stores is rock salt.

Who am I kidding? I don't even have any table salt in my possession! Talk about unprepared. I'm hoping by the time I get the store, it won't all be gone. By the way, my bread and milk consists of a package of bagels and half of a half gallon of milk, will that get me through? All right, I'm rambling, but here's the interesting part, when I went to look up what is the best way to get rid of snow? This is what one smart aleck site suggested:

That's right, the good old snow shovel. Ugh! So the question is, should I invest in a snow shovel, a bag of rock salt/other melting agent or both? Either way, I will dig my out and conquer the world again.