I used to argue that manual lawn mowers were better for small yards

I spent three summers pushing a reel mower on my 4,000 sq ft lot in Portland, thinking I was saving the planet and getting exercise. Then I borrowed my neighbor's electric mower for one afternoon and cut the same lawn in 18 minutes instead of 2 hours. Am I the only one who stuck with a bad method out of principle for way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_richard1mo ago

Honestly, I was the same way with this old school push mower I kept using because I wanted to prove a point to myself. Ngl, I finally switched to a cheap gas one and felt like an idiot for wasting all those weekends.

jana_henderson521mo ago

I read this article from Consumer Reports last month that tested both types and push mowers take like 40% longer on average for the same yard. I was shocked cause I always thought I was being eco-friendly or whatever but the gas one actually produces less total emissions since you're not spending twice as long running it. Plus my neighbor pointed out that the gas ones chop the clippings finer so they decompose faster for free fertilizer.