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Make it a point to get your blades sharpened after a couple years of use, otherwise you'll give your grass "split ends."

You'll still probably want an electric string trimmer. I got one at the 'Po for $25 five years ago. http://products.howstuffworks.com/electric-string-trimmer-reviews.htm

My grass is a rough half-circle/teardrop shape, roughly 15' long and 10' wide. It takes about 15 minutes to mow. In fact, it takes more effort to get my push mower out that it takes to cut the grass. The trimmer takes another 10 minutes or so.

I re-landscaped my fourth-fifths grass yard last year with shrubs, perennials, vines, and a flagstone dining area -- and left only a small, one-fifth patch of grass for aesthetics, lounging, and that wonderful bare-foot on grass feeling. It's a perfect postage stamp piece of shaded lawn. I use much less water and don't miss the extra grass at all.

Just watch out for twigs. I had a manual mower at my old house and any stick the size of a pencil or larger (even smaller) would bind up the blades something awful and bring the mower to a screeching stop.

My advice would be to walk the yard and remove and of these obstacles before mowing.

I've started to use a push reel mower on my parents' HUGE lawn. I may seem silly using a manuel mower, but I love it!
It's ture that it's actually easier to use the manuel mower than I expected. Just push! Sometimes it's a little bit of a workout, but I'm using my energy instead of gasoline.
I hear the birds sing, I can talk to someone instead of shouting, I got to enjoy the wonderful weather, my ears don't hurt, and my hands don't vibrate after mowing. I enjoy mowing now.
After 2 hours (of mowing slowly) I feel great!
I have a Scotts 20" push mower. It's easy to use. Clean up is easy. I just brush (or shake) the grass clippings off.
Give it a try. You'll be surprised.
You'll have a slimmer body, healthier grass, and saving money at the same time.

My mom loves mowing her huge suburban lawn with her push mower. When I suggest she move downtown she always claims she loves mowing so much she wouldn't want to give up moving her lawn! Sigh.

We had a reel mower when I was a kid - worked just fine as long as the blades were sharpened and the machine was properly oiled (Every house on the US Air Base in upper Michigan where I went to grade school had one as standard issue)

Later when we moved to Central CA, Dad bought us (me really, since I was the one doing the lawn work) an electric mower and electric Edge trimmer with a really long extension cord that I'd plug into a socket that I'd screw into the front porch light fixture - and this was in the late 70's/early 80's! Never even cut the cord!

I had high hopes for mine, but found even on my postage stamp-sized lawn, I found it never really cut very close or neat (maybe it was too cheap, got it from Home Depot). I ended up getting an electric (like bepsf), perfect!

Another eco option is to borrow your neighbor's mower. This works particularly well if you both have small yards, then you can just take turns doing each other's lawn.

Funny this post should show up today because I just ordered the Sunlawn mower shown above yesterday.

I wish I had grass to cut.

I have a push mower, but I got it at Home Depot so it cost much less than these models. It was only $80-90, in case anyone is looking for a cheaper option.

And tallguylehigh is absolutely right about the twigs. It takes longer to collect those than it does to actually mow.

I've been scouting these reel mowers online, too, lately.

I'm looking forward to the very tolerable decibel levels, lol

I bought a reel mower made by the American Lawn Mower Co. (still made in the US for the time being). It's reasonable (I got mine for $99 at Fred Meyer), light weight, and takes up the tiniest footprint in the garage, all major considerations when I decided to make this purchase.

As for its performance--simply astounding. Because the machine is so small and lightweight, it's incredibly easy to maneuver, pushes far more easily than most behemoth mowers, slices through grass like butter, and is so, so quiet (another major consideration for me).

I'm a 5'7" female in less than average physical condition, so if this thing is a piece of cake for me to use, I imagine it would be for most people. I think everyone should try one before deciding to buy a power mower--it's the best purchase I've made in years.

Wow. We have one of these two and I wish my experience with it had been as simple and rewarding! Of course, here in Texas, it's hotter than Hades during the summer, so any outdoor activity is ill advised!

Our yard is very small but quite hilly. I think it would be much easier on a flatter lawn. I also agree that it doesn't cut very neatly and gets stuck on the smallest twigs. Also, if you have runner type grass, like St. Augustine, it gets stuck on the runners. It's doable but I think we're going to go for an electric, until we're able to rip out the grass completely!

On the plus side, you can feel like the suburban badass while your wussy neighbors ride around on their tractorbeasts!

We have used a push mower for our yards for the past 10 years. The last place we lived had a miniscule lawn (like maybe 400 sf, really!) and it took about 5 minutes to cut it. Clearly not worth the noise and effort of a gas or electric mower. Now we've got maybe 2000 sf of lawn and it takes on the order of 20 minutes. Yep, gotta watch out for those twigs.

This spring our mower clearly needed a little help--wasn't cutting so well anymore. I inquired locally about finding someone to adjust and sharpen it, with no luck. Someone steered me to some web pages with do-it-yourself instructions (google "sharpen push mower" and you'll find 'em too) and I did it myself, no problem, in about half an hour. Would have taken less if I'd known where all the screwdrivers were at the outset!

You don't have to buy a kit or any expensive "sharpening compound" from online suppliers. My local big-box hardware stores didn't carry this stuff, but I found it at my local auto parts store, sold as "valve grinding compound". $14 for two pots that will last me til the end of my lawnmowing days.

A little adjustment, a little sharpening, and my little lawn is looking great. Don't be afraid to DIY!

My husband was just outside mowing with ours. The only major problem he's had with it is having people stopping him to ask him where he found one since they hadn't seen one in years.

I had a push-mower for a few years, and while it was the only choice for us, I was never really happy with the results. Twigs and any off-level spots seemed to confound the thing, and the catcher was a piece of junk. Plus, it had an annoying habit of missing some of the more vigorous plants that I wanted to cut, so I had to go back and clip the dandelions by hand... even when it was brand new and sharp.

That said, I love the sound of a reel mower, and there's no way I'd get a gas one again (unless I move to a farm!).