This Guide Makes Mowing Your Lawn A Lot Easier!

It’s one of those regular chores we put off for as long as possible. The prospect of mowing your lawn is the only thing that makes rainy weather exciting. If it rains, then there’s a natural excuse to not go out there and cut the grass! It feels like it takes so much effort to mow the lawn and it can be an arduous task. 

Is this how you feel when you look outside and recognise the grass needs cutting? Well, this guide will make mowing your lawn a lot easier; follow the tips and advice below and it’ll stop being such a grand chore! 

Get the right mower for your lawn

Mowing the lawn feels like a chore when you’re using the wrong mower for the job. Realistically, small manual mowers are only useful for the tiniest patches of grass. We’re talking about the slithers on the pavement outside your house – most gardens will need a self-propelled mower as it makes the whole task far easier. 

You can opt for gas mowers, but a battery powered lawn mower is the popular choice nowadays. Like a gas mower, there are no cords to get in your way, but the absence of an engine in favour of batteries makes the machine lighter. It requires less effort to push while still doing the same job – which is much better for you! 

Those of you with massive lawns might need a ride-on mower instead. This is perfect if your garden is more like a field and takes far too long to use a push mower. Riding atop one makes the task feel a bit more fun too; it’s also a surefire way to encourage the men in your family to cut the lawn frequently. 

Keep your mower in excellent condition

The right mower makes the task less physical and drastically cuts the time taken to mow your lawn. However, things quickly become troublesome when the mower isn’t maintained properly. Follow all the maintenance instructions from the manufacturer, particularly those aimed at keeping the blades sharp. This could mean wiping them down after every use and using oil now and then to ensure they remain in tip-top shape. 

Sharp mower blades mean the machine cuts through grass with no problems. When the blades get dulled, every grass mowing session is harder and more strenuous. You will also need to clean the mower deck after every use to get rid of all the grass underneath. Even the best mowers can collect grass instead of pushing it into the collection bag. When too much accumulates, it hinders performance and you’ll find lawn mowing tougher. 

Only mow the lawn when it’s dry

We touched upon rain being a good excuse to avoid cutting the grass and there’s a lot of truth to this. Don’t get into the habit of going out and mowing your lawn when it’s wet or damp. Even if it’s terribly long and you’ve been on holiday for a few weeks and can see it desperately needs to be cut. 

You’ll face big problems when the grass is wet! 

That’s why you shouldn’t mow your lawn in the morning as the morning dew may still linger and create complications. Wet grass doesn’t cut cleanly and the clippings will clump together. When it’s really bad, the grass almost forms a paste that clogs your mower and causes all sorts of problems. People have genuinely broken their lawnmowers because of wet grass, so it’s not worth the risk. 

Remember, your goal is to make it easier to mow your lawn! Wait for dry spells so you get a much cleaner cut with minimal effort and no risk of clogging.

Mow little and often

How often do you wait between mowing sessions? You need to be honest here; are you mowing your lawn once a month, maybe even less often? That’s a big problem, and we’ll explain why. 

Letting your grass grow might seem like a good thing to do. It gives it a chance to grow healthily and look really thick. However, long grass is harder to cut. The blades are longer, so the collection bag fills up faster and there’s a higher risk of clogging the mower floor. Moreover, long grass tends to stay wetter for longer, so even if it’s the middle of the day, there could be some lingering dew causing all the complications mentioned before! 

You ideally want to cut your grass once every 5-10 days. 

Yes, this sounds like a lot of effort – isn’t this guide about making your life easier?! Switching to this schedule means you’re not letting the grass grow too long. It will be far easier to cut as you can go over each part once and you might not fill up the bag most times. The trick is to set your mower height to around 3 inches, so you’re only taking a small bit off the top. This keeps the lawn healthy while making it easier for you to cut the next time. 

Look at it like this; mowing little and often might mean you’re out there for 10 minutes each time. You do this four times a month, so it’s 40 minutes of mowing in total. Letting your grass grow and cutting it once a month will make the job harder and you’ll likely spend over an hour out there handling it. That’s more time overall – not to mention the job will be far more stressful! 

Cut the grass in rows

Our final tip is simple; cut the grass in rows. This can be vertical or horizontal rows, but you go down one side and then back the other. It’s the easiest and quickest way of cutting the grass while ensuring you don’t miss a patch and need to go back over it. You’ll also discover this makes the process quicker as there’s a method to what you’re doing. 

Stick to a regular lawn-mowing schedule and you will breathe new life into your garden. The grass is always green and it makes everything look healthier. You’ll stop feeling like this is a big chore and it becomes a small task to do once a week with zero stress.