Friday, January 25, 2008

Swiffer SweeperVac- where have you been all my life?!

It all began sometime in early November when I entered an online promotion to test out a Swiffer SweeperVac. Months went by with no sign of the gadget, and to be honest, with the holidays and other craziness happening in my life it hardly crossed my mind. Then one day in mid-January it appeared on my doorstep complete with refills, a gingerbread man & recipe, and Shrek the Third (hence the gingerbread man reference)!

Still not convinced that the device was going to induce some life-changing experience, I waited to open it until my husband prompted me to a few days later. Even after opening it, the SweeperVac sat charging in the corner for close to a week. Then one day as I was faced with an exceptionally large mess on my kitchen floor (Roman had been having lots of fun with a bowl full of uncooked rice!) I decided to give my new machine a whirl. To my surprise and great pleasure, that sleek little marvel of modern mechanics did a better job than I ever dreamed! Along with picking up the entirety of the rice mess, it proceeded to collect everything from the dirt left by my husbands shoes to the edamame my son had dropped during lunch! Not only is it simple to use and incredibly effective, its slim design makes it convenient and easy to store. Another added bonus is the rechargeable feature- simply plug it in, tuck it away and you never have to worry about buying expensive batteries every other week.

Now I find myself reaching for my Swiffer SweeperVac to conquer even the smallest of crumbs! Yes my dears, this is one mama who will not be bending over to use a broom and dust pan any longer! I have been liberated! Typically I am not the type of person to invest in "expensive" cleaning products. Considering that I mostly make my own cleaning solutions and find them to be very cost effective, family friendly and powerful, a Swiffer SweeperVac would be a fairly large purchase for me at around $29.98 through most retailers. However, this is one cleaning accessory that I would recommend to anyone- especially mothers of small children!

The one down fall I can see is the continual need to buy the actual Swiffer pads, but upon further research I have found some wonderful ideas for making your own, washable Swiffer pads. Some of the most popular ideas include knitting or crocheting your own or simply using microfiber washcloths. Here are some of the best links I found for homemade pads:
Thrifty Fun
Knitting Stuff and Going on And On
Mothering Dot Commune- lots of great links included in this one!

So all in all I give it 4 1/2 stars and I think that all of you should run out and get a Swiffer SweeperVac just as soon as your budget allows- you'll be glad you did!

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