Do you cut your own grass?

[gingersmom]

For years I have been saying I am going to get rid of my gardener. I have just under 1/4 acre and I pay $140/month for the gardener to cut my grass, blow leaves and stuff like that. He has only been back once so far this spring (for 10 minutes which is going to cost me $35 :001_huh:), so I am not sure if he has raised his rates.

 

I keep debating whether I should cut my own grass or not. The last time I owned a gas powered lawn mower it was not a pretty experience. I'm thinking of getting maybe an electric lawn mower. Or maybe an old fashioned one you just push.

 

Any lawn mower recommendations?

[athena1277]

That's an awful lot to be paying for all that, at least in my experience. Have you considered hiring a teenage boy (or girl :D) who wants to earn some spending money? Many boys will do a pretty decent job.

[HeathenMom]

i do my own yard even though i have a teenage boy. i like it, it's fun/relaxing. :)

 

i couldn't imagine paying someone to do it! :001_huh:

[prairiewindmomma]

Our family is one of 3 in our neighborhood that does our own lawn work.

 

Don't get a self-propelled one. We have one of those push mowers with no engine--it's nice the first couple of times you use it, but after that the blades dull and it's awful to own. Dh still occasionally uses it, but I refuse to. I really like our propelled gas motor. It's especially nice on our hills. ;) As your lawn is a 1/4 acre, I think you'll like it better than dragging an electric cord all over heck and yon.

 

Don't forget that you'll probably also want a trimmer, a blower, and a fertilizer/weed deterrent broadcast spreader. You'll probably only break even this year, but next year you'll start saving loads of money.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I mow our yards (two in front - it's a pie shape with a big driveway in between and a backyard) with an electric mower with power assist. We specifically got the mower with me in mind (my dh and ds are both terribly allergic to grass). I count this as part of my exercise routine!

[Rhonda in TX]

Well, I don't, but DH and the 2 kids do. Dh won't pay anybody because he's very picky about the yard. I know that if it was up to me to do it, I'd pay someone. However, I'd start by looking for a teenager to pay to do it. Oh, wait. I have two of those. :D

[gardening momma]

We have about 1/3 acre and have never paid anyone to mow/rake/etc. I can't imagine doing so. The only thing we do hire out for is some weed control, because they use a liquid spray that works better than the granules bought in a store. But we do everything else--fertilizing, trimming, etc...

 

ETA: If I were nervous about using a power mower, I'd get a push reel mower. I know someone who has one for her small yard and apparently it works great. I would try it anyway if I had to mow myself. No hassle with gas & oil.

Edited April 20, 2011 by gardening momma

[Cera]

I mow and trim our yard. I find it relaxing. We have a gas powered mower and a gas powered trimmer that can be turned sideways for edging.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

DH does our small yard. I can't imagine paying anyone to do it.

[Spy Car]

I have a push mower. As prariewindmama suggests they are great when sharp and then get progressively troublesome to push.

 

So what do you do? Sharpen the blades!

 

You can send it out every season (which costs a little) or if you get a model like a Scotts Classic 20 you can purchase a "back-lapping kit" that makes sharpening a pretty easy chore.

 

A sharp push mower is pretty easy to use (providing you have fairly even ground). A push mower with dull blades is not so fun.

 

Bill

[Jean in Newcastle]

I forgot to mention trimming. We have a huge gas trimmer but I can't lift it. So we got an electric "Bush Hog" that I can handle just fine.

[In The Great White North]

Don't get a self-propelled one. We have one of those push mowers with no engine--it's nice the first couple of times you use it, but after that the blades dull and it's awful to own.

 

Have you ever had the blade sharpened? It's held on by two screws and you can take it off to bring into the hardware store to get sharpened.

 

We have a large yard and a commercial lawnmower that you stand behind. (We have to get those blades sharpened too, every couple of weeks.)

 

And I would recommend a trimmer and a rake too.

[Excelsior! Academy]

I don't. I am allergic to lawnmowers.:D

 

Dh does the back. He usually ropes the kids into pulling weeds, then he mows. We live across the street from a friend who owns a lawn service, so we pay him to do the front. He does our lawn, trims our trees and hedges, and cleans up after the fact. We pay $60 a month during the spring and summer. He comes about 2x a month.

[DawnM]

Yes, DH LOVES being out in the yard. We have 2.5 acres and DH has a riding mower (cub-cadet zero turn radius something or other).

 

Now, I have always told DH that if something were to happen to him, I am moving to a townhouse. I hate yardwork.

 

Dawn

[Mom-ninja.]

We have 2 acres and mow it ourselves. We have a riding mower.

[mom2scouts]

We have always mowed our own grass as have almost all of our neighbors. My next door neighbor just hires one of my teens to do his grass.

[nukeswife]

I do, I love to mow and couldn't see paying someone to do it. My dh will occasionally, but since he has times when he's on deployments that's usually not real often. I have about 1/3 acre and I trim, edge and mow the whole thing myself. I love it, as it's my "me" time. I pop on my old ipod shuffle and away I go. I do have a old fashioned reel mower that my oldest son will sometimes use to help out, but he's not really strong enough yet to do much.

 

I did have a neuton electric mower that I loved, but my dh sold it on craigslist because he wanted a gas mower. Don't ask me why, I don't know. I'm making plans right now to get a new neuton (the new ones have a wider cutting path which will be nice) and dh finally gets why. LOL

[gardening momma]

I have a push mower. As prariewindmama suggests they are great when sharp and then get progressively troublesome to push.

 

So what do you do? Sharpen the blades!

 

You can send it out every season (which costs a little) or if you get a model like a Scotts Classic 20 you can purchase a "back-lapping kit" that makes sharpening a pretty easy chore.

 

A sharp push mower is pretty easy to use (providing you have fairly even ground). A push mower with dull blades is not so fun.

 

Bill

:iagree:

Even if you have a gas-powered mower, you still have to sharpen the blades. Dh takes his in once a year to be sharpened. If you ever see someone's lawn with brown tips at the end of the grass blades, it's because they haven't sharpened their mower blades. Dull blades tend to rip at the grass instead of cutting it.

[fairfarmhand]

your yard would be a cinch....my dh and dd and I mow about 2 acres, and parts of it have our orchard on it....Total yardwork time is about 4 hours..

 

dh trims, and does the driveway, ditches, etc. I push mow around the trees and sidewalks, dd does the big open areas.

[Remudamom]

The girls and I mow our lawn and the two other house lawns here on the farm. Dh and the guys do all the maintenance, fill it, check it, sometimes they have to start it then one of us sits down and goes round and round and round.

 

I like to mow.

[prairiewindmomma]

The blades need sharpening after every 2 mows. I don't mind sharpening/replacing the blades once or twice a season as part of the general tuneup, but doing it 2-3x/month is just more hassle than I'm willing to sign up for. If dh would take it on, that's great, but I have enough other stuff going on in my life.

 

I recommend them only for people with small lawns, no hills, and with the tools & desire to sharpen the blades themselves. If she's going from having lawn care (& previous bad experiences mowing), I'm wishing her a low maintenance lawn mower.

[abbeyej]

We pay someone. But not *nearly* what you do. I would look around for someone else...

[MBM]

We cut our own grass because the lawn care business we hired mowed way too short which caused numerous problems. I prefer to keep the blades long and cut more often if necessary. Anyway, our wonderful mower uses a battery. The charge lasts long enough to cut all the grass in our yard, which is about 1/5 of an acre, and it does an excellent job. Never had problems with it. I forget the name of the brand.

 

If you do decide to use a push mower, yes, you have to keep the blades sharp. Also, mow when the grass is good and dry. We had a push mower (Scott's), and maybe because we are so humid (??), it was sometimes difficult to push even with sharp blades. Cursing it didn't make it work any better. ;)

 

You could also get a goat.

[Tap]

Everyone in our neighborhood cuts their own or has a neighborhood teen do it for them.

[momofsbandeg]

however, you might consider seeing if there is a teenage student that would be willing to do it for a lower rate.

[Abbeygirlsouth]

Yes, and we have a fair size yard so I imagine a service would charge around $70 per visit...at least that's what my neighbor pays. $70 is a pair of pointe shoes for dd, or two guitar lessons for ds, or extra fresh fruit and vegetables, or.....at this time in our lives we'll just keep mowing our lawn.

[WiseOwlKnits]

Yes, and we have a fair size yard so I imagine a service would charge around $70 per visit...at least that's what my neighbor pays. $70 is a pair of pointe shoes for dd, or two guitar lessons for ds, or extra fresh fruit and vegetables, or.....at this time in our lives we'll just keep mowing our lawn.

 

:iagree:

 

Our yard isn't as big, but there are lots of things I'd rather spend that much money on. So we mow it ourselves.

[hsbaby]

That seems so expensive. We have almost 2 acres and we had someone mow, edge, and blow it for us before we got our riding mower. It was only 50 a week.

[Daisy]

We do our own yard. We have a push mower and a gas-powered mower. We share the gas-powered mower with two other families, but it lives at our house. LOL.

 

We've always done it ourselves. We enjoy being in the yard. We live in SoCal so we have to do yard work year round.

 

I will say though that very few people around here do their own yard work. Most hire workers and pay under the table. The going rate around here is about $75-$80 a month for an 8,500 sq ft lot (with a 1,800 sq foot house on that). They'll charge extra for throwing down seed or fertilizing. If you just want your front yard done they'll usually do it for $50 a month and mow over other week.

Edited April 20, 2011 by Daisy

[Crissy]

I have a push mower. As prariewindmama suggests they are great when sharp and then get progressively troublesome to push.

 

So what do you do? Sharpen the blades!

 

You can send it out every season (which costs a little) or if you get a model like a Scotts Classic 20 you can purchase a "back-lapping kit" that makes sharpening a pretty easy chore.

 

A sharp push mower is pretty easy to use (providing you have fairly even ground). A push mower with dull blades is not so fun.

 

Bill

 

We have used a Scotts reel mower for years. We have a friendly gentleman who picks it up early each spring and returns it one week later, cleaned and sharpened.

My husband loves to mow this way, so he does our yard. The boys use it to mow for the neighbors.

[2squared]

Yes, DH LOVES being out in the yard. We have 2.5 acres and DH has a riding mower (cub-cadet zero turn radius something or other).

 

Dawn

 

I dream of a zero turn radius mower. I mow about 2.5-3 acres, and it takes a long time with my 48" rider. Trees, trees, and more trees.

[Spy Car]

We have used a Scotts reel mower for years. We have a friendly gentleman who picks it up early each spring and returns it one week later, cleaned and sharpened.

My husband loves to mow this way, so he does our yard. The boys use it to mow for the neighbors.

 

 

I love not gagging on gas fumes. And (as long as the blades are sharp) a push mower is pretty easy.

 

The other point (that you touch on) is that push mowers are "reel" mowers that have a number of spinning blades that cut grass cleanly (almost like scissors). This is good for grass. Electric mowers and all but the very most expensive professional gas mowers are "rotary" mowers with a propeller like blade that thrashes grass. Not good.

 

So a push mower gets you the very high end results while being a very economical (and ecologically sound) choice.

 

Bill

[regentrude]

We have half an acre and cut our own grass. We only pay somebody if we are out of town for a longer time.

I would not want to spend the money. Plus, it's free exercise.

[Imprimis]

We have 2 acres, with about 1 and 1/2 acres of it grass. We take care of our own yard with a riding mower and weed eater.

[KidsHappen]

I have never mowed a lawn in my life. My hubby does when he has time, sometimes my kids do when he doesn't. Otherwise, we pay someone else to do it.

[Laura Corin]

We have about 2/3 of an acre of mown grass and a ride-on mower. We also have a small electric mower for tricky bits and a weed eater for the rough grass around the trees. Husband and Calvin split the work.

 

We pay once a year for a couple of guys to come in and cut the 'meadow', which is also about an acre.

 

Laura

[Unicorn.]

i do my own yard even though i have a teenage boy. i like it, it's fun/relaxing. :)

 

i couldn't imagine paying someone to do it! :001_huh:

 

:iagree: But even if I were to pay someone, it would be about $35-$40 per visit. So if he is only coming every other week- you are paying too much. If he's coming every week- and doing a full mow/trim, that's about right.

[MamaT]

My dh and my 17yo each have areas that are "theirs" to take care of - mowing, weed eating, etc. We have 5 acres that we mow, so it would probably cost more than we would be willing to pay to have it done.

[Nestof3]

My husband does it, but he has a lawn business. LOL

 

Regarding your lawn guy, I just thought I'd share this info with you.

 

Spring clean-ups can be expensive because of the winter debris. It usually involves a lot more than mowing. I cannot imagine anyone spending only 10 minutes as it takes almost that much time just to load and unload equipment.

 

My husband's prices are also based on how much stuff he has to move out of the way to mow, how much trimming is involved, whether he can get his 72" mower through the backyard gate, etc. You'd be surprised how many customers think it's his job to clean up lawn toys, hoses, etc. The worst is walking through dog poo. :glare:

 

Also, my husband has a minimum in that he won't mow any lawn for less than $35 because it's not worth the gas to get there and the time to load and unload the mower, trimmer and blower. He's also paying a helper.

 

It's a hard business to be competitive in because there are so many people doing lawns on the side and not claiming the income -- around here, part-time employees often have lawn jobs, and we have been told that many of them claim very little of the income (or at least pocket all of the cash). A truly professional service doesn't do this, and they have to pay liability, worker's compensation, business license, and pesticide certification/licensing if they offer that as a service. Again, many people refuse to pay these things and operate their business anyway.

 

PS -- My parents have never hired anyone to mow their lawn, and my husband's parents just started hiring someone, and they are 86 and 90 years old. We'd do our lawn even if we weren't in the business.

[Nestof3]

:iagree:

Even if you have a gas-powered mower, you still have to sharpen the blades. Dh takes his in once a year to be sharpened. If you ever see someone's lawn with brown tips at the end of the grass blades, it's because they haven't sharpened their mower blades. Dull blades tend to rip at the grass instead of cutting it.

 

YEP!

[Nestof3]

That seems so expensive. We have almost 2 acres and we had someone mow, edge, and blow it for us before we got our riding mower. It was only 50 a week.

 

This just blows my mind. How can anyone make a living charging only 50 bucks for that? I'd love to see his books.

[Dolphin]

We have just hired someone as dh is really busy at work and I don't want him spending what little time he has on the yard. We pay someone $30 every other week (yes the lawn gets a little long, but not too bad) He does everything in the front(so our neighbors won't be glaring at us this summer). He cuts the grass, weeds, blows leaves when needed and anything else that comes up as the seasons change (tying off bulbs, pruning roses etc..) He says that it will even out, some weeks he might be here for about 15 min, others will be an hour but he says the $30 every 2 weeks keeps the salary regular for him instead of charging different amounts the different weeks. The only time we will have to pay extra is when it is time to trim the trees.

 

eta: We only have a typical suburban front yard, not huge.

[Nestof3]

I will say though that very few people around here do their own yard work. Most hire workers and pay under the table.

 

That's what I'm talking about. Hard to compete with business practices like that.

 

We hired a tree company once to trim our trees, but when he offered us a discount for paying in cash, I refused to ever hire him again. I refuse to support people who leave the tax burden to the honest people.

[LibraryLover]

Our children cut our grass. :auto:

[secular_mom]

DH cuts our grass sporadically. When we move I will be hiring a teenager to do it for us- hopefully a nice and responsible homeschooled teen :D (but not mine, my teen is NOT interested in mowing the grass, even for money). DH will be on sea duty and I can NOT cut the grass without having breathing problems for a week.

[3lilreds in NC]

Dh cuts our grass, but Emma really wants to learn to use the riding mower. I think she and Abbie are both old enough. I'm sure my brother and I were mowing our lawn and my grandparents' lawn next door by their age. We had to trade off doing the riding mower with the trimming with the push mower.

 

When we moved to Apex and had the smallest yard I'd ever seen, I bought a Scotts reel mower. I wanted to love it. However, our yard was one big hill and while it was great exercise, it did not do much cutting of the grass. We then inherited BIL's push mower.

 

Now, we have a much larger yard and have inherited BIL's riding mower. Actually I think we bought this one - when we took the push mower before, we traded him our "toy tractor" that was our riding mower we got with our first house, and he traded it in on a bigger riding mower. That was such a funny little tractor - dh looked like his knees were up to his chin while he was on it. :lol:

 

We did have a great guy do our lawn work last summer. Dh was too busy and I do not mow lawns anymore. :D He has his own lawn service, we paid him with checks, and he was fabulous. He only charged $50 per week for mowing, trimming and cleanup.

[herbalgirl]

I haven't read all the replies, but yes, we sure do mow our own lawn! We have about 3 acres out of our 8.5 that we mow. I cannot imagine how much it'd be for someone to come out and do that on a regular basis.

 

My husband has actually just gotten our soon to be 9 yr. old (next month) to start mowing most of it. :)

[Desert Rat]

We have a push mower, the old fashioned kind with no motor. My 8 yo can even push it just fine. Dh does the weedwacking and the boys mow the lawn sometime during the week. We got the push mower (brand new in the box) from an estate we liquidated in November.

[hsbaby]

This just blows my mind. How can anyone make a living charging only 50 bucks for that? I'd love to see his books.

 

Just a retired guy that lives in the neighborhood:). He does a lot of the neighborhood and surrounding areas. I have no idea how he files his income....

Edited April 21, 2011 by hsbaby

[Abecedarianmama]

I do my own yard. It's relaxing and I work on it while I supervise the kids outside.