A solid leaf cover and a robotic pool cleaner are your best investments.

Yes, you will have constant leaves. No way around it if you have trees. But you can cut the work way down.

First, a mesh leaf cover for when you aren’t swimming. Don’t get a cheap tarp — get something that breathes so water doesn’t pool on top and breed mosquitoes. A good cover saves hours of skimming.

Second, a robotic pool cleaner. Not a cheap above-ground one. Spend a few hundred on a name brand that climbs walls and handles debris. It runs on its own, scrubs the bottom, and catches leaves before they turn into sludge. I like the Dolphin series, but any well-reviewed robot beats manual vacuuming.

Third, run your pump and skimmer baskets daily during heavy leaf season. Empty the baskets every day or two — that’s the only part you can’t automate.

The combo of cover + robot ≈ 80% less manual work. The remaining 20% is just life near trees.