The Cleanse: Week 2 - Is A Vacuum Supposed to Suck?

Marital Disagreement #57: Opinion 1--> It is better to clean the car before a road trip to lessen the disaster cleanup following the trip...Opinion 2 --> Why waste your time cleaning the car before the trip when you know it will just be a huge disaster cleanup following the trip?

Guess which opinion is mine?

I guess I understand Breck's point that it is nice to have a freshly cleaned car when packing up and heading out on a 3-hour drive; but has she forgotten that usually about 37 seconds into the trip our 2 year old will spill her entire bag of goldfish crackers down between the seat cushions?

Oh well, we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. As long as we split the before and after cleaning duties between the two of us I guess we'll never really know who's method is better.

Yesterday, following a fun and relaxing 6 days in Bear Lake, UT and Star Valley, WY our sunburned bodies returned home in a filthy car to a weed-filled garden and a dead front lawn. Because Breck was busy, you know, mothering our children, I was tasked with car wash duties. After returning home from a high-pressure rinse to clean the exterior of the car I began the daunting task of cleaning out the spilled crackers and marshmallows along with the interwoven-into-the-upholstery dog hair.

When the vacuum abruptly shut off about 3 minutes into the task I discovered something: our vacuum sucks! Er, I mean, our vacuum doesn't suck. Whatever...our vacuum does not work. I guess this was more of a re-discovery since we knew this old vacuum was on it's last leg after essentially burning up it's motor from years of almost daily dog-hair cleanup. It had long since been banished to the garage only to be used for really dirty jobs and been replaced by a much better, much lighter, much more attractive Dyson. (wait, did I just refer to a vacuum cleaner as "attractive"...oh crap, what has my life become?)

So the old vacuum essentially worked it's way right into The Cleanse by giving up the ghost rather than making a futile attempt at removing piles of crumbs from the carpet of our car. It also made sense in the spirit of The Cleanse to get rid of 1 of our 3 vacuums. 

Who needs three vacuum cleaners? Maybe a household with 2 large dogs, a toddler, and a new baby? Even so, I suppose we'll survive with just two.

Full disclosure: Because we have been out-of-town and didn't get a chance to put our garbage can out on the curb last week, there wasn't room inside the actual garbage can to fit the vacuum. So it is sitting patiently to the side of the can waiting for it's journey to suck up that big dust bunny in the sky.