Golf is outlawed. Golfers have to serve 1 year mandatory in reforestation work camps.
You could only mow it on the longest setting. Cutting grass short weakens the root system meaning it needs a lot more watering. Mowing it only on the longest setting reduces the amount of mowing needed and watering required.
Alternatively arm yourself, buy a tent, and declare your family's lawn an autonomous zone.
declare your family’s lawn an autonomous zone.
but then I'd have to put even more effort into taking care of it
Let it grow wild and have comrades join you to work it and claim it for the people.
https://learn.eartheasy.com/articles/how-to-establish-a-clover-lawn/
If you have to have a fucking lawn, I'm a fan of invasive species that will out-compete all of the exotic bullshit grasses (Bermuda, fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, etc.) that people plant in their yards and require constant treatment and fertilizing to keep alive. Depending on where you live, buffalograss might be an option. It doesn't grow very tall -- something like 4 inches before it curls over on itself, typically -- and once it is established, it is extremely drought-resistant and shouldn't even need watering. It also spreads fairly aggressively, so before long, your neighbors will have buffalograss spreading into their precious lawns.
It's a bitch to grow from seeds, though. Supposedly pre-soaking them for a few days is supposed to help.
Lawns are objectively bad, grow local flora instead. If that's too difficult, grow veggies or flowerbeds or something.
While I think its a good idea in general to grow something useful rather than a lawn, are you ready to also put the necessary care for it? Cause it will require a lot more effort than mowing the lawn and you will still have to water it....
Cause it will require a lot more effort than mowing the lawn
interesting effort > mindless drone work
Convince them to let you turn some chunks of the yard into mulched areas. Elderberry is a really easy thing to grow. It takes a good bit of work to set this up but is mostly hands off once you get it going
Mulch it, grow mushrooms in the mulch, and next season plant flowering bushes like raspberries, roses, blueberries, along with a perennial nitrogen fixer like fava beans and a soil breaker like carrots.
Seriously though, you might not have much luck getting them to totally kill the lawn and start over with native plants or a vegetable garden, but you might be successful if you leave them a small lawn. If you're looking for low maintenance, planting native species is the way to go--they don't require much care, since they naturally thrive in the area, and they're good for native butterflies, bees, etc. What you do is going to rely heavily on where you are though, so this isn't a lazy way out of chores--you're going to have to do some research to figure out what will thrive in your area. Luckily, there are lots of people who are passionate about this, so there are resources online. I'd start with the website for your state. Search for "native plants" and they should direct you to useful resources for your area. Good luck!
This is also a good time to plug a youtube channel I enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz9I2YwmV8M
I live in an apartment so I can't vouch for it from personal experience but check out food not lawns.
