No Vacuum? No Problem! - Final Update
For those of you who have been following my vacuum cleaning saga, March 2014 marked my one year anniversary of living without a vacuum. For those of you that haven't read my other posts on this topic, my vacuum cleaner broke in March 2013 and I wanted to see (for myself) how our great-great- grandmothers kept their houses clean without an electric vacuum cleaner.
Reading about how our ancestors performed their daily household chores is a lot different from living them! I have a much greater respect for electricity and the convenience it brings to us 24 hours a day. Still, I never, ever want to be dependent on electricity to live. I use it sparingly, and always with the knowledge and skills needed to accomplish the same task without it.
This post took over one month to write. This is because I had to decide whether I was going to purchase a new vacuum or not. I spent a lot of time looking at vacuum cleaners, reading online reviews and going to stores to look at a few different models. I have decided I don't like any of the ones I saw and I am not going to purchase a new one. Most are made of plastic and cost too much money!
Rather than purchasing a new one, I took the old broken one (it had spent the last year living in the garage) to see if I could have it fixed. Well, I wouldn't call it fixed but it now runs. It used to have two speeds, now it only has one that works. And, a good portion of the cord is covered in duct tape. It looks terrible, but I don't care. It runs and I can now vacuum the wall-to-wall carpet in the bedrooms. (Although, I still don't plan to use it often. The area rugs will stay on my wall-to-wall carpet to protect it.)
I also had a little hand held canister vacuum that came as a companion to the large upright vacuum. It was for the hardwood floors. It is beyond repair and finally went out in the trash. I am not going to replace it either.
I also had a little hand held canister vacuum that came as a companion to the large upright vacuum. It was for the hardwood floors. It is beyond repair and finally went out in the trash. I am not going to replace it either.
Instead, I am going to continue cleaning the hardwood floors and area rugs the same way I have been doing it for the past year. Dust mops, brooms and a push carpet sweeper are the order of the day at my house! Over the past year, I have truly grown to love my Hoky Pr3000.
It really picks up Molly's hair on both the small carpets and the floors. It picks up small wet spots (melted ice on the kitchen floor) and heavier things like pennies too. I will also continue to beat my area rugs outside (in good weather). When I beat my rugs, they come out cleaner than they ever did using a vacuum! Try it yourself and see! I really didn't think they would be cleaner, but I am a true believer now. You will need a rug beater to accomplish this task. Much better results than using a stick. Mine decorates the wall when not in use.
I officially declare the no vacuum experiment a success!. I now know that you really don't need a vacuum cleaner to keep your house clean. It can be accomplished the old fashioned way and you can still live a modern life. No one entering my house can tell that I haven't had a working vacuum cleaner in a year!
I can not say enough good things about this carpet sweeper. Even if you have a vacuum, I believe this sweeper should be on the 'must have' list! It will save you from having to bring out the big vacuum for everyday clean up!
You can see the details of exactly how I kept the carpet and floors clean in these other posts:
Hi, Kate. This is really an uncommon article you posted here. Though you took more than one month to write this article, but you have done a great job. Thanks a lot for your nice sharing.
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