I'm in Love...with a Steam Mop

A couple of years ago we owned a home. There was wood flooring throughout the whole home. Silly-no kids yet-wood floors are so cool and different- me thought they were such a great selling point...until about two weeks after we moved in. I felt like I had to clean then ALL THE TIME! We live in the southwest, so there is just constant dust coming in from the outside and after about three years there I thought I was going to lose it!

So we moved into an apartment...with nasty carpet...and I longed for my wood floors again.

We moved AGAIN into this condo at the beginning of the year...and there are wood floors throughout. Can you see the pattern I am in?

So, I hate them. Yes, I know hate is not a nice word, but basically if wood floors never existed in my life again...I would be totally OK with that. Everyone comes into our place and says, "Oh, wood floors are so nice!" and I kinda wanna punch them...or hand them my Swiffer to clean up the dusty footprints they just brought in.

So, after using wet floor wipe after wet floor wipe, only to still have my socks be dirty after cleaning...I gave up hope of ever having truly clean floors...then I ran into this:

(source)

I was at Target (trying to get away from my dirty floors) and saw this guy on clearance from $60 down to $15!! I figured I could give it a try for $15 and brought it home. At first I was very annoyed to find that it had an electrical cord. I know...how did I think it would make steam without it being electric? But still, the happy model girl in khakis doesn't have a cord!

The first few uses were annoying. It didn't "wow" me at first and my floors were kinda streaky afterwards. Then I realized my floors just needed another go around with the steam mop to get off all the nasty soapy junk from all my wet floor wipes. THEN the floors looked SO good! Best of all, they FELT so good!

Here is what the pad looked like (after dry dusting the floors before use):

That's after I had already used a dusting cloth on them before using the steam mop! All this time I had been just swishing the crud around on my floors and paying $3 (per pack of wet wipes) to do so!

So, being the really cool neat freak that I am...I poured some water on the floors and wiped it up with a paper towel to see just how clean they really were...and the paper towel came up totally clean!

So, yes I really just made this whole long post about a steam mop. And no I wasn't contacted by Shark to give a good review on this product:) I rarely buy products like this. The whole "as seen on TV" thing kinda bothers me...but when I find a product that really works, I like to share it:)

This isn't a perfect solution for every day messes. It takes a little bit longer to clean the floors now and it doesn't clean up stains like the box suggests...but I'm finding I only have to do it about once a week downstairs and every other week upstairs and that is a HUGE difference to the almost once a day I was doing before. I still wipe up things really well as soon as they spill, but knowing that my floors are truly clean is wonderful!

Best of all, I am saving money on wet floor wipes, saving my trash from piling up so quickly, and I know that my floors are clean without cleaning chemicals all over them.

So, am I the only one that hates wood floors? So many people love them...is there anyone like me that isn't a fan?

My Best Friend in the Kitchen

I have been the laziest blogger lately! Not just a lazy blogger...but a lazy person as well.

A lot has happened in the last two weeks. For starters I turned 25. Yes...25. I am no longer in the fun and cute 18-24 category, but whatevs. I like who I am now rather than who I was 5 years ago:) For starters I couldn't cook a meal to save my life when I got married 5 years ago. It was bad...very bad. So, one thing I know I will pass onto my children is how to make their own meals at home...and meals from real ingredients...no boxed junk. That's not food.

I'm also heading into my 9th week of pregnancy and the last 5 have kicked my butt. I am still SO grateful to be pregnant...it's just not always easy to remember how grateful when every smell makes me want to puke. The morning sickness is FINALLY getting better! My family is happy because I can start making them meals again without weird faces when I bring it to the table;)

So, allow me to introduce my very best friend in my kitchen. It's small, inexpensive, but by far one of the best kitchen appliances out there. The GT Xpress 101:

No, I haven't time warped back 7 years ago when this info commercial was on...but I did really want this when I saw it on TV for the first time. My mom and I actually almost bought them off TV when they offered the "buy one get one free" offer in the next 30 seconds...only to find out that it would still have been $80 for two of them...uh no.

So, time has been on my side and eventually these gadgets made their way into the thrift stores. I scored my first one a few years ago at a vintage shop and it still had the tags on it for $10. Once I got it home...I was in love.

This thing is beyond versatile, but my favorite thing to do is make breakfast with it. The pancakes come out super fluffy, and there is no watching or flipping involved! I just close the lid and go on my merry way. Its also great for customizing each item. My husband likes sausage in his pancakes (thank you Man v. Food) and I was having a major craving for some chocolate chips in mine. In three minutes we were both satisfied!

Yeah...it was amazing:)

I also love cooking eggs in this. I just beat up two eggs and pour them into the wells. Then I add whatever each person wants. So, for these I added some more turkey sausage, diced frozen onions, and some shredded cheese on top. Close the lid and I have fluffy eggs in 5 minutes! Best of all...no dirty skillet and no egg smell! Hooray!

I know this is a random gadget to own, but keep your eyes open next time you are at your local thrift store. This thing is definitely worth the money. It doesn't require me to heat up my stove top or burn my already freakishly large pregnant belly by standing by a hot range. I make so much stuff in it each week and its such a time saver, plus it doesn't heat up my house like my oven would...and that's helpful when we get up to 118 degrees in the summer.

The downside to this product? Everything comes out in the shape of a half-moon, or a "butt" when you put the two pieces together (you can thank my husband for that reference)...but (no pun intended) I don't care;) It makes preparing breakfast for the week SO easy. I made 16 pancakes and 2 eggs in 25 minutes! Breakfast is done for the week and all I have to do is pop these in the toaster when the family wakes up:)

What's your favorite kitchen gadget or secret?