**REVIEW** Moosoo Cordless Vacuum 13kpa

When you have enough dust or debris, you'll pull out the big boy vac, right?

Big, bad Blue!

But if you have small amounts of debris, you don't want to wait for it to build up enough to pull out the big vac. At least, I hope you don't. 

What if you had a vacuum that was as light and easy to use as a broom? Would you spot-vac every day? Several times a week? If you had the Moosoo Cordless Vacuum, you could vacuum easier than you can sweep.

Neither the Vac nor its box are very

big (compared to box of Kleenex)

 This is what's inside.

Takes about 10 minutes for a smart person to put together.

It took me 30 minutes.

I love this vacuum. I think of it as an electric broom because it's so lightweight and easy to use. It's actually easier than using a broom because, well...

Preach!

The hardest thing about this little vac is getting used to holding the handle so it doesn't twist loose. Once I mastered that, I fell in love. In LOVE.  Let highlight the Pros:

Lightweight/Easy to use

This thing is so freaking light that it feels like I am handling a broom handle minus the brush. That was the first thing I liked. My Bissel is a beauty but it's a pain to pull out of the closet for things like cleaning up the area around the writing desk where there might be some eraser shavings. Or whipping out to go over the sofa after I been eating bread there (like an animal). Because I have a lot of plants, I am always cleaning up tiny specks of potting soil. And I won't even bring up the shedding that my poor fern is doing since the weather can't be consistent.

Most days, I spend sitting either at the writing desk or on my bed. On my bed days, I tend to keep everything in reach - water, snacks, medicine, reading material, mail - and you can tell. The carpet next to my bed and the desk are the two places that get vacuumed the most. I know just keep the Moosoo next to wherever I am.

It comes with two types of cleaning heads - one for the floor and one for crevices and tight spots. I tend to use the floor head several times a day. I use the crevice tool when I am getting ready to mop the floors or when I need to get in between the couch cushions.

The tube is retractable so in the shortest position, the vac stands from the tip of the handle to the base for the attachment about 34 inches. It can be extended to stand about 43 inches.  I use it in the fully extended position to clean the carpet and then switch it to mid-length to deal with crevices. The machine maneuvers very smoothly and, as I mentioned, just don't twist the handle lock and you will be fine. Again, that is the only thing I had down as a negative until I trained myself!

Oh, and this is super easy to clean. You just pop the debris basket from the hand and dump it.

Suction power

I have no idea about "kpa" and all that  (and reading the page at that link gave me a brain shivering headache) but I know that this vacuum picks up the crumbs and loose grime from the kitchen floor and it easily gets up any loose hair from the bathroom tile. The Moosoo runs at 2 power levels - low and high - and the power button is right at the top of the handle so it's easy to find.

The biggest thing I deal with for the kitchen in spilled coffee grinds or crumbs from the toaster. The Moosoo has no problems with that. It even picks up the bigger crumbs from crackers and chips. Now that I have the vacuum, I pretty much just sweep crumbs from the countertops onto the floor!

For the other areas of the house, the only thing I had to roll over and over to get up was some hair that stuck to the carpet fibers after I trimmed my hair and dusted my shoulders in the bedroom. Still, the Moosoo didn't have to spend much time even on that. The section is dang decent. My brother told me he is going to borrow this to clean out his truck because it has so much more suction than his handheld.

For this video, I sprinkled down some small pieces of styrofoam and some kind of white debris from a small packing box I was throwing out.

The vacuum sounds loud because of the way I was holding the phone while recording but, to be honest, I have run it at night in the bedroom and I don't think it was that loud. I would never run the Bissell in the evening out of respect for the neighbor on the other side of the bedroom wall.

Space-saver & Recharges

A lot of people have very small apartments like I do. Even folks with plenty of room will like how little space this takes up. Like I said, I tend to keep mine near me during the day just because it's so small. It does come with simple installation so that it can be stored against a wall.

 I keep mine in the tiny, tiny entry-way closet with the big vac and other handy items.

This charges via a little wall adapter. It charges fairly quickly and then it lasts a long time. I didn't time it, but I was using this every day for 4 days after it first charged and it worked at full power. I haven't let it die all the way down so I can only say that it does last and last.

Now, I saved what I think of as the best for last. This uses a HEPA filter. A washable  HEPA filter. And you might get a goodie in the box that helps you score a spare filter.

Maybe by now you realize why I love this vac. It comes with a 1-year warranty and the people are really super helpful (I had questions).

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Cosco 2-Step Steel Folding Step Stool with Resin Steps

A ladder might not seem like a big necessity to a lot of people, but this one has been a lifesaver for me. And I'm a little scared of ladders if they are more than 5 feet high.

My place is very small and so storage is at a premium. We tenants do each have a little cubby in a room off the hallway in which to store some things, but it's a locked door system and best used for things you don't need often. I personally keep spare decorative items and suitcases in mine.

I needed to be able to use all the space in my kitchen, bath, and bedroom. In the kitchen, there is a lot of room overhead the cabinets and fridge. That I can't reach. Same for the bathroom. The bedroom has a wonderful closet with a built-in rack but the top shelf is too high for me to keep anything I might need more than once every blue moon. Until now. Now, I have this cool and cheap (super cheap) little stool and I for a little surprise because of a mishap between Walmart and FedEx. More on that later.

When I first ordered this I was thrilled because of the $18.97 price tag. (I had almost opted for this one. Glad I kept looking because I didn't want to spend that much money.)

I was only a little worried that I would end up sending it back for quality issues because... well, that price. It seemed almost too good to be true. On the other hand, I was having to borrow a neighbor's scary-tall ladder every time I wanted to store something up high. Once, I had a panic attack while I was up on that ladder and was fear-frozen at the top, trying not to cry. It took me about half an hour before I could slowly ease my way back down off that thing. Never again.

I waited a week after I ordered before I started to wonder where the heck the stool was. Walmart is not as fast as Amazon for shipping, but they don't slouch. Usually. Finally, I tracked the item and saw that it was stuck in  Mahtomedi, Minnesota. I never even heard of the place but my stop stool had been sitting there for about 3 days. I googled and found that it was less than 3 hours away. And that's where the stool stayed for another 3 days. I contacted Walmart and FedEx. Walmart said they would send out another step stool asap and FedEx said they would "investigate".

The replacement ladder arrived in around 4 days and I was SO glad to see that is wasn't a bad item (I almost said "crap" item, but with "stool"...).

It's very sturdy and I love how it folds up to almost nothing so I can store it in the closet without taking up a lot of space. Right away, I started putting it to use. Now, all that empty and previously unreachable space in my kitchen is...

All that room overhead!

The very best thing - and I mean this seriously - about the step stool is that it's not so high that I have to worry about falling. Now, I can't use it on certain days when my balance is off, but I can use the heck out of it any other time. I do have to make sure I am close to a wall or appliance so I can hold myself steady, but this thing has made such a difference.

Okay, I have not finished hanging the rest of the drapes yet because I have to wait until my balance evens out, but you see what I mean. (By the way, I got those "drapes" aka loose fabric free from a giveaway table in the common room.)

I feel like I gained another half of kitchen space. I love being able to use that above-fridge space that some giant designed to frustrate average sized people.

Just when I was getting used to having the step stool around, a few days ago, FedEx showed up with... the missing one!

I emailed Walmart to let them know about the second one. Since I haven't heard back yet I suppose I get to keep the twin stool for free. Now I have one stored in the closet up front and the other in the bedroom. Perfect.

By the way, here are a couple more photos showing latch, the height, and front/back.

I''m telling you, for less than 19 bucks, you can't beat this ladder.

Peace
--Free


P.S.: By the way, the same stool is available via Amazon as a Prime item for the same price.