Said no woman EVER! Although my mom may have… she HAD to have a clean house.

For me, I have a list of 80,000 other things I’d like to do BEFORE doing housework.

I will admit though, after NOT having a way to get rid of the creeping crud for the past 6 weeks, I was actually a little excited that this all showed up.

I ordered all of these from Walmart (yes, I could have gone to the local store but I hate driving when I’m not working).

First, the vacuum. My mom was a Sears die hard. No, she wasn’t an actual battery! She just always trusted Sears Kenmore brand because they were built to last. And I know this because my Economy Professor in college laughed at me when I told him how long we’d owned our appliances (all more than 18-25 years).

Needless to say (because we typically do what our parents did) when I bought my first home, I went straight to Sears and bought a Kenmore Canister Vacuum.

That was in April, 1999. It just stopped working for me a month ago. Fifteen years for a $360 vacuum and the replacement bags along the way? I’ll take it! Thanks @Kenmore!

Let’s See if I Can Buy a Vacuum That I Don’t Have to Go Out to Get

Well, this time I decided to see what I could find online. I wasn’t in the mood to drive to Sears. And I wasn’t in to the mood to spend $400 on a vacuum. This could be either one of my best or worst decisions. Only time will tell (and since it’s still in the box, I don’t even know for sure if it works!).

But the thing is, it was super NOT expensive AND, had lots of great reviews. I’m one of those people who believe that most products have their own annoyances. But what annoys one person, may not even phase another.

I personally was looking for how well it sucked (hmmmm…. sort of an oxymoron there), how light it was, and whether or not it would be difficult to maneuver around things. (I don’t really have a ton of “gotta get under there” things).

After doing my usual research (aka obsessively figuring out the best bang for the buck), I bought the Bissell PowerForce Bagged Vacuum.

I’d considered getting a bagless one, but the reviews about the dust, mess and time… um… no.

Here’s where you’re gonna think I’ve lost my mind. Not only did I get a vacuum, but because of the price, I got a carpet cleaner too. Yep! (Because you KNOW I wanna vacuum AND scrub right?.

Well technically, I bought the Bissell PowerForce PowerBrush Deep Cleaning System but who the heck wants to say all that?!?

The thing is, I get those occasional well worn areas or someone (including “work me”), who shows up with something on their shoes and mucks up the carpet. And I’m just too damned lazy to keep getting down on hands and knees and scrubbing a spot at a time!

I promise you, “homemaker me” will NEVER use this appliance to clean all the carpets. When I decide it’s time to move, I’ll pay the professionals to come in and do the heavy lifting! In the meantime, I’ll spot clean.

Now, here’s the really cool part. When I ordered the carpet cleaner, they had a couple bundle options available. I chose the Bissell 3-in-1 Stick Vacuum.

I know… “but she already bought a vacuum!” Yes. I. Did.

But THIS one… ha! … this one is for my NON-carpet floors and my furniture. – Again, it’s not out of the box yet, but I believe you can break it down to a dust buster level

(now we’re talking old school right?… Go ahead. Take a minute and go ask your kids if they know what a dust buster is. I’ll wait…)

How’d that go? Are you still laughing as they stare at you wondering if they should consider a home for you in the near future? It’s ok. WE know what they are. 🙂

So this one is gonna let me stay on top my bathrooms, my kitchen, and my furniture without having to drag out the full-on vacuum. It says it can be used on carpets too, but I’m guessing it’s got less suck power than I want for the deep sweep.

But for those “oh shit” moments when you trip on the way to the couch with the bowl of popcorn so you can relax and watch a movie… it’s probably gonna be great!

Well, I’d tell you I’m off to test out my new toys, but that would be a lie (and no, I don’t do those). I’m off to bed for now. I’ll get back to you on how these pan out later.

Until then,
Debi

p.s. Do you enjoy housework or is it just a necessary evil at your place too? What’s your most hated chore? Let me know in the comments.

For me, I always hated dusting… I made my brother do that when we were young and I scrubbed the toilets… yes, I hate dusting THAT much! 🙂

p.p.s. If you’re looking for JUST a vacuum (like normal people usually do), you’ll definitely wanna Bissell PowerForce Bagged Vacuum check out the reviews on this one. When I looked, there were over 150 of them, and it was still rated 4 out of 5 stars. Not too shabby for a vacuum that costs less than $50! 🙂

It would be PERFECT for those of you who have kids going off to college! It’s cheap enough to not cry over damage done to it, and will work well enough that you’re not walking on “college” carpet when you visit!