Lawn removal

[dilaplume]

Is it bad to ask for advice on how to remove my lawn at a website that helps people take care of their lawns? I hope I'm not offending anyone by doing so. Anyway, my husband and I are new homeowners, and we would like to remove the lawn from our front yard in order to plant a desert landscape. I called around to find out how much this procedure costs, and it's hundreds and hundreds of dollars! We can't afford that. How can do we it ourselves? Is it really horrible, time consuming, and not worth the tears for novices? What equipment is needed? How long would it take me? Are we stuck with our useless lawn? I searched google and aj and came up with close to nothing. I also searched the homeowners forum here and didn't find anything. I hear from others that it's nearly impossible to keep grass from coming back, but also that if one uses tons of pesticides it will then affect the soil, and hence plants that you plant after you've removed the lawn. Any advice for us? I need A to Z. Thanks in advance.
Di LaPlume, Long Beach, CA

[Lombardi]

How many sq. ft. is your lawn? If it isn't to big, rent a sod cutter. It will cut out strips 14"-18" wide. Then roll them up and dispose of them. Then apply Preen and cover with your favorite desertscape.