Have you ever wondered why housewives seem so excited about cleaning house, new amazing products, etc. After spending a summer as a stay at home mom, I understand. While you can see great progress at times in your children, for the most part your days feel like the same thing over and over. You start wondering what day of the week it is, forget what you've done today because you remember doing it every day for the past week and it's a little fuzzy if you're remembering today or yesterday.
Housework, while menial and tiring, is something that produces tangible results. However short lived, really cleaning something feels productive. As part of my mission to prepare for my husband's return, I decided to do something about the abominable carpet. I thought about calling professionals to clean the carpet, but was not pleased with the results last time.
For about the same amount of money, I could buy our own steam cleaner. So that is what I did. I bought a Hoover SteamVac PowerMax Spin Scrub. It was one of the highest rated by Amazon users and Consumer Reports. It came yesterday. I put it together this morning, and started cleaning small areas at a time.
First I used my Dyson Animal Ball Vacuum to go over the carpet. Then I started steam cleaning. I only did the front entrance and small hallway before taking a break to play with the baby and get her dinner. But my plan was to wait until she went to bed and do the living room (aka baby jail), so it would be dry by the morning and she could play on clean carpet.
Little did I know how filthy our carpet really was. I keep the house pretty clean. I'm not a neat freak (although no one would know, when it's just me, I can let the house go in favor of rest or sanity, much farther than most who know me could ever guess), but I do try to dust, vacuum, pick up, etc. unless I'm too busy or sick. I will always put my relationships before cleaning house, but I try.
My Christmas gift was the Dyson. Right after the baby started pushing up and trying to crawl, I bought a Shark hand steam cleaner to do the baseboards, tubs, toilet, etc. I like clean. If I had ANY idea how dirty this carpet was, I would have wrapped the baby in latex. We own probably the most effective vacuum on the market and use it, but the Hoover made it look like I've been using a lint roller to clean the carpet.
The water was almost black after the fourth pass through the living room. It is 1 a.m. and the carpet looks a million times better, but I know it needs another treatment. I will probably wait until next week to do it again. I have to move furniture, rearrange all Lil Bit's things. But the perfectionist in me wants to do it until the water comes up clean or at least not black and opaque. I did two more passes than I planned because the water was so filthy.
It may not feel like a giant accomplishment, but the room we spend the most time in is much cleaner, and looks amazing in comparison to what it did three hours ago. I may be cleaning house to fill time, feel productive, prepare for my husband's return, but it still feels good to have done something today. I just wish it would have gone a little faster. I'm exhausted, and ready to drop.
Housework, while menial and tiring, is something that produces tangible results. However short lived, really cleaning something feels productive. As part of my mission to prepare for my husband's return, I decided to do something about the abominable carpet. I thought about calling professionals to clean the carpet, but was not pleased with the results last time.
For about the same amount of money, I could buy our own steam cleaner. So that is what I did. I bought a Hoover SteamVac PowerMax Spin Scrub. It was one of the highest rated by Amazon users and Consumer Reports. It came yesterday. I put it together this morning, and started cleaning small areas at a time.
First I used my Dyson Animal Ball Vacuum to go over the carpet. Then I started steam cleaning. I only did the front entrance and small hallway before taking a break to play with the baby and get her dinner. But my plan was to wait until she went to bed and do the living room (aka baby jail), so it would be dry by the morning and she could play on clean carpet.
Little did I know how filthy our carpet really was. I keep the house pretty clean. I'm not a neat freak (although no one would know, when it's just me, I can let the house go in favor of rest or sanity, much farther than most who know me could ever guess), but I do try to dust, vacuum, pick up, etc. unless I'm too busy or sick. I will always put my relationships before cleaning house, but I try.
My Christmas gift was the Dyson. Right after the baby started pushing up and trying to crawl, I bought a Shark hand steam cleaner to do the baseboards, tubs, toilet, etc. I like clean. If I had ANY idea how dirty this carpet was, I would have wrapped the baby in latex. We own probably the most effective vacuum on the market and use it, but the Hoover made it look like I've been using a lint roller to clean the carpet.
The water was almost black after the fourth pass through the living room. It is 1 a.m. and the carpet looks a million times better, but I know it needs another treatment. I will probably wait until next week to do it again. I have to move furniture, rearrange all Lil Bit's things. But the perfectionist in me wants to do it until the water comes up clean or at least not black and opaque. I did two more passes than I planned because the water was so filthy.
It may not feel like a giant accomplishment, but the room we spend the most time in is much cleaner, and looks amazing in comparison to what it did three hours ago. I may be cleaning house to fill time, feel productive, prepare for my husband's return, but it still feels good to have done something today. I just wish it would have gone a little faster. I'm exhausted, and ready to drop.
I have a dyson animal ball too and LOVE IT. I bought it when Wade started crawling! :) We just got new carpet in December in the living room and master bedroom. New carpet comes to the other two bedrooms SOON, I hope before the baby arrives!
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