IKEA furniture

I haven't blogged in a while - we have been very busy lately.  Since my last post, we have completely redecorated our living room!

We moved into our house 5 years ago.  It has a formal living room and a family room.  Since we combined two houses into one, we didn't need to buy furniture.  I had an old living room set that included a queen-size sleeper sofa, a large armchair, a coffee table, small entertainment center, and two end tables. The tables were bought for cheap at Value City Furniture (about $250), and the rest of the furniture was hand-me-down from a friend.  It was nice furniture, but I knew when we bought the house that I wanted something nicer and less 1980's than what I had.

Fast forward 5 years and 2 children later. Mama needs a "peaceful place", but the budget doesn't allow for expensive furniture.  I also couldn't see spending a lot of money on furniture that could get ruined by toddlers.  I discovered IKEA!

IKEA has a line of furniture (Ektorp) that is inexpensive and comes with removable, washable covers sold separately - which is also convenient for redecorating in a couple of years when I get tired of the color.  They also have a set of solid wood furniture (Hemnes) that includes tables and bookshelves. It is actually quite sturdy.  We bought a bookshelf for $180 a couple of months ago to try it out, and we were immediately impressed by the look and the quality.  So last week we went back and purchased the rest of our living room furniture. 

I was able to reuse the curtains and lamps from our old living room.  I didn't think they would work initially, but when we set up everything, it looked like it was meant to be!  To add space, we bought a loveseat instead of a full-size sofa.  Only 2 people usually sit on a couch anyway, so we couldn't justify taking up so much space with a sofa. 

Thanks to IKEA, I have a brand new peaceful place that fits nicely into our budget.  The 1% credit toward the next purchase for using our debit card will help us get another bookshelf and chair eventually. I LOVE my new living room!

Oreck XL Platinum Pilot - a review

(See beginning of this story 2 posts ago.)

Our new vacuum cleaner arrived on Monday.  It was quite a surprise to see it on our doorstep 5 days after we ordered it.  We were expecting it to take up to 2 weeks.

It came in a relatively small box, and I remember thinking, "Is that IT?"  It only took a couple of minutes to finish assembly.  Then I started vacuuming.

I LOVE MY NEW VACUUM CLEANER.  At first, it felt flimsy because it was so light weight, but this vacuum really sucks!  ;)  It is very quiet.  Compared to my old Hoover Wind Tunnel, it is as light as a feather.  It took no time at all to vacuum the whole house, including the stairs.  It used to take a couple of days to vacuum my house (multiple-story house) because it would exhaust me to lug the old vacuum cleaner around.  I was even able to vacuum the stairs with it - with the old Wind Tunnel, I had to use the upholstery attachment for the stairs, and it was heavy and difficult to maneuver.  To get close to walls, it works best if you aim the vacuum cleaner toward the wall (it was best to go parallel to the wall with the old vacuum).  My husband noticed the carpet looked much cleaner with the new vacuum cleaner.  The swivel head is nice, and the head is small enough to vacuum between the legs of chairs. As an added bonus, you don't have to stop the vacuum to change the carpet height when switching from carpet to rugs; the Oreck self-adjusts.

The only part I miss about the Hoover is the convenient on-board attachments for the vacuum cleaner.  The Oreck comes with a separate hand-held canister vac for more detailed and above-the-floor cleaning.  I tested it today, and I would rate it a B-.  It can be quite heavy, and the cord is a pain in the neck.  The attachments do not stay hooked to the vac, so I will need to find a separate bag for storage.  I will probably use it twice a month to clean corners and ceilings, so I can deal with the inconvenience.  The plus side is that it has some serious vacuum power!  I  have never had a hand-held unit to suck so much.  ;)

I would highly recommend the Oreck XL Platinum Plus.  It is going to save me so much time and energy, and it cleans the carpet very well. 

The Easiest Beef Stew ever

We tried this over the weekend and it was delicious!

1.5-2 pounds stew beef (found ours marked down at the grocery store because it had to be sold by the next day)
4-5 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 onion, cubed
4 potatoes, cubed
1 green bell pepper, cubed
1 bottle Russian Salad Dressing (weird, I know, but it gave it the most wonderful flavor!)

Crock pot on Low for 8-10 hours.  We served it over rice with grain bread on the side. 

Vacuum Cleaner delimma

Our vacuum cleaner broke last week - it just blew up and quit sucking dirt.  This is the third vacuum cleaner we have had since we have been in our house.  We usually have to replace our vacuum cleaner every 2 to 2.5 years because we really USE IT A LOT for everything.   We usually buy a Hoover Wind-Tunnel Self-propelled bagless model, because they clean very well and the attachments are convenient.  The bagless feature made it attractive to us because it is easy to empty the "trash cup" and we don't have to pay for bags.  The only thing we didn't like about the Wind Tunnel is the weight - it weighs about 20 pounds. 

We made a decision last week to purchase an Oreck XL Platinum Pilot.  It comes with a 10-year warranty with yearly check-ups included in the cost.  It weighs 10 pounds.  As a bonus, it comes with the Ultimate Hand-held Vac and an Iron.  It looks like it really kicks booty with the swivel head, and everyone we know with an Oreck loves it.  You can read more about it here: http://www.oreck.com/Platinum-Pilot-Pro-Series-Vacuum-Cleaner. 

So WHY did we spend $550 on a vacuum cleaner?  Let's do the math: we were replacing our current vacuum cleaner every other year for $200-250.  Which means in 10 years, we would spend about $1000 on vacuum cleaners.  I would much rather spend $550 on a vacuum that lasts 10 years, is reliable, light-weight, high-quality and will WORK for the entire 10 years rather than having our vacuum cleaner blow up every other year and spend twice the amount of money over time.    It didn't hurt that it came with the Hand Vac and Iron.  We already have an iron - so we might sell it to help cover the cost of the vacuum cleaner.  We'll see.

$550 for a good vacuum vs. $1000 for crappy ones over 10 years seemed like a no-brainer.

I should get my new vacuum cleaner in about a week.  I have 30 days to love it, or I can return it free of charge.  I don't see how there is any risk.  I'll keep you posted...

After Halloween Clearance Sales!

Yesterday the girls and I stocked up on dress-up clothes.  They now have 3 sets of butterfly wings and 2 tiger ocostumes, plus some Halloween socks that my kids will wear year-round because they are not plain white.  We spent less than $10. 

Now is the time to head to your favorite retailers for incredible markdowns on Halloween stuff.  Costumes, decorations for next year and anything else that was marketed for Halloween can be bought at great discounts.  There were plenty of boys and girls costumes that they can play in year-round. 

STOCK UP!