Thank You Bissell, Once Again

This morning, while sipping my second cup of coffee, I paced. Living room. Home office. Bedroom. Biscuit room. Living room. Back and forth. I did this for about ten minutes. I leaned over slightly while pacing. I squinted my eyes as I examined every inch of our carpeted rooms. Lisa finally asked what I was doing. Brainstorming? Fitness? Hallucinations?

I'm a writer. She's used to my oddball nature.

In a matter of fact voice, I replied.

"We need a vacuum. Today. This is bullshit."

We purchased our current vacuum, a Bissell, about five years ago. Vacuuming is almost an every-single-day chore.  It's a must. With furry kids and allergies, going more than two days without vacuuming sends me into a hive, runny nose, swollen eyes and raspy voice tizzy.

Not to mention, because I work at home, un-vacuumed floors, messy counters and disorder does not fare well with me and becomes a distraction.

Over the past six months, it's been obvious our vacuum was winding down. After almost five years of every-other-day and daily use, and the fact they don't make products the way they used to, it was inevitable that purchasing a new vacuum was in our near future. Despite my efforts of thoroughly vacuuming the rooms with carpet, I could still see the light colored hairs of our furry kids. Not good. The carpets were starting to look dull.

Lisa and I visited a few stores online. She had seen a vacuum at Walmart a few days ago that had caught her attention. It was reasonably priced and the ratings were excellent. Another Bissell. This brand hadn't let us down in the past.

And, we're not paying $500+ for a Dyson. It's not in our budget.

The price and ratings were enough to convince me. Two hours later, Lisa was putting the vacuum together. I sat on the sofa with Lobo and Sophie. They're both terrified of the vacuum.

This is how we get vacuuming done in our household. One sits on the sofa with fearful kids while the other vacuums. We take turns who does what.

After Lisa vacuumed the living room, I was amazed at the amount of fur and dust and other particles were in the canister. Our old vacuum would have picked up only a mere portion of that after vacuuming all carpets. The carpets looked clean. Bright. Fresh.

Mission accomplished. Thank you, Bissell, once again.

(I am not getting paid to write this. I should though. Oh, Bissell people!)