The Lazy Mom's Life-Changing Vacuum

The Shedder

Anyone who knows me knows that I am NOT fond of cleaning. I'd rather have root canal, without anesthesia, than clean.  Life is just too damn short to worry about dust and there are far better things I could be doing (like writing or Tweeting) than tidying a house that, with two kids, is going to look like a typhoon hit it 5 minutes after it's been cleaned anyway. Plus I've got a cat that sheds fur balls the size of hamsters every time she jumps off the couch. I mean, why bother?

Hubby, who likes a clean house (what is WRONG with that guy?!), tends to do the heavy-duty vacuuming on the weekends. I supplement with a lightweight Red Devil, which picked up the aforementioned fur balls and potato chip crumbs, just to keep bugs at bay. I swore I'd never use our big, clunky, main vacuum until pigs fly. Still, when the old vacuum started to smell like the fireplace (can you say “upcoming explosion”), we decided it was time to get a new, primary vacuum. After a good amount of research, we headed over to Walmart to buy (drum roll please)..

 The Shark Navigator Lift-Away!

This sucker (pun intended) is only 12 pounds, so it weighs two pounds less than the damn cat! It swivels, which is convenient, yes, but it makes it remarkably easy to maneuver. With a flick of a switch, you can go from floor setting to rug, unlike the Hoover we returned because you basically needed a degree in Engineering to figure the bloody thing out. With our previous vacuum I used to use earphones to protect my hearing from the deafening motor; this one is loud, but not unpleasantly so. It even picks up cat hair like an over-caffeinated, crazed Mother-In-Law.


But the BEST thing about the Shark Navigator Lift-Away is that it comes apart in many, many ways. Why is this important?

• I can take the canister off the main part (see photo – that's not me) so I can vacuum the stairs without dragging the whole thing up and down.
  
• I can take the canister off, take it outside to the garbage, and then empty the dust cup via an upper trap door or lower one. In other words, it's EASY to dump the dust without making a mess!
• The attachments can be connected at any number of points and work really well to clean the couch of potato chip crumbs and even more cat hair (she may be going bald).

There are only two cons to the vacuum so far: 1) The non-retractable extension chord. Yes, it's a 25 foot chord, but a retractable one is more fun. 2) There's no place to put the attachments. There's a pedestal for one, but when I put one of the brushes up there, it still fell off. I got a boo-boo on my foot.

Still, this vacuum is a PLEASURE to use! I put the Red Devil away and am using this sucker a few times a week just because it's fun. Reviewers on Amazon had said that you don't know how dirty your house is until you get the Shark Navigator and I believe it! It's picking up stuff I didn't know was in the carpets.

Take a look at it here on Amazon, but check out the price at Walmart where it was much cheaper. Seriously, again, I am cleaning the house much more often because the vacuum is fun to use. Apparently pigs do fly! 

Thanks for reading!   My daughter has decided she wants a voodoo doll.  It's still playing out, so please check back in with me.  This should be interesting, folks!