Snow in the west county does not wait for a convenient morning. It arrives overnight, sits on the drive, and turns the school run into a hunt for a shovel. Before the first storm, decide whether you will clear it yourself or hire it out, and decide it on the actual driveway, not on how much you like the idea of shoveling.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
Measure the work you are comparing
Walk the drive and the path to the front door. Count how long the drive is, whether it slopes toward the garage, and how many steps or corners the walk has. Note where the snow would pile. A short level drive with a clear spot at the end is a different job from a long sloped one that runs past a tree line. Also count the car path, the mailbox path, and any sidewalk the city or your subdivision expects homeowners to keep open. Ask the city or your association what they expect you to clear, so you are not guessing about the sidewalk.
Decide who is standing outside
This is the question most families skip. Ask who would be out there at six in the morning on a school day. If the answer is you, count the minutes you have before the car needs to move, and count the mornings you have no one else at home. If Mom lives close, she may not be able to be the one clearing her own walk, and that is a job to assign, not a favor to hope for.
Check the hire side on paper
If you lean toward hiring, compare what the paper says before you pick a crew. Ask whether the price is per visit or seasonal. Ask what amount of snow sets off a visit. Ask whether a second storm the same day counts as a second visit. Ask whether they clear the walk to the door or only the drive, and whether the piles get moved off the path or left where they land. Ask who calls them when the snow starts, and what time the crew usually shows up. If the answers are vague, write the answers into the agreement before the first storm.
Check the do-it-yourself side honestly
Doing it yourself means owning the tools, storing them, and keeping gas or a charged battery ready. It also means having a second person for the bad mornings, or accepting that some mornings the walk will be cleared late. Check that the shovel fits the path, that the salt or melt you use is kept where you can reach it in the dark, and that the car path is clear before you leave the house.
Make the choice that fits the week
Some families do both: they shovel the short walk themselves and hire the drive for the big storms. Others hand the whole job out once the first storm lands and the schedule gets tight. Either choice is fine. The one to avoid is the choice you made by default on the morning the car was stuck. For more on lining up who covers what in a week like that, the planning notes in Local Help in St. Louis can help you think through who to call before you need them.