We just moved from a three bedroom house to a two bedroom apartment. In our rush to downsize, we left our vacuum behind. Perhaps it was a Freudian slip, a tangible sign of a new life with a clean slate. However, without a vacuum, that clean slate will soon be a cruddy mess.

In a very lucky coincidence, we were grocery/linen shopping at Walmart while they were setting up their Black Thursday items. I couldn't help but notice the stack of boxes crowned with a sign that read $36! It was a display for the Bissell PowerForce Bagless Vacuum. Since our abandoned model cost $100 and wasn't all that special, I made sure we got this vacuum. I sent my poor husband back to Walmart on Thanksgiving Day to snag it before the someone pepper-sprays him for the last one.

My mob mentality fears were a little over the top. According to my husband, the store wasn't busy at all. Within an hour of his leaving home, I had my new baby in front of me. We had to first confront the assembly process. There is a bit of irony I must confess: my husband, though he has a near doctorate and can recall facts about esoteric historic events that most people envy, cannot assemble anything. He's not mechanically inclined at all. I'm the one who assembledeverything -- bicycles, cribs, dressing tables, beds, etc. Yet, I'm also the one in the wheelchair now. This curtails my ability to assembly anything that requires real strength, standing, or getting down on the floor. Why the confession? I want you to know that when I say I was able to assemble this without any real help, you also know that this was really easy to do. There were only two screws to deal with -- they had these hybrid heads that work with either a Phillip's or flat-head screwdriver -- in order to attach the handle. The hose clipped in relative ease. The extension wand fits on the side of the body and the crevice and brush tools attach at about knee level in the back.

The minute it was set up, I had to vacuum the living room. There was a layer of dust in the carpeting, partially from the boxes we unpacked over the previous month. The rest comes in with my chair when I come in from outside (my tires are magnets for crud). Because the vacuum is bagless, I could see the dirt cup fill up after one or two passes from my wheelchair. Yes, I can propel the Bissell from my chair. I've got to be careful not to run over the cord, but that's trivial compared to the ability to vacuum an emergency mess when my husband's at work. Trust me, emergency messes are frequent in a home where multiple sclerosis is present.

The tools are equally easy to manage. We have vertical blinds on our patio door and horizontal blinds on the bedroom windows. The brush tool, combined with the extension wand, makes it possible to keep up with the dust that accumulates on them. The crevice tool will be perfect for all the future cobwebs (I've seen a spider or two, it's just a matter of time).

Because the body is clear, it's easy to see when the dirt cup is full. All that's needed is to remove it and dump the dirt in the garbage. One more job I can do by myself. "Easy" is the operative word with the Bissell PowerForce. It picks up everything without repeated passes or other hassle. It's important to remember to pick up bigger things that might choke the hose or attack the motor on the way to the dirt cup. This is a fact of life with every vacuum, except maybe shop vacuums. Even the laziest among us should pick up toys, errant flatware, and other junk prior to vacuuming.

The Bissell PowerForce also has washable filters. While these are not the anti-allergen hepa-filters advertised on expensive models, it is another plus to have filters, especially those that can be washed for a longer life. I've saved our manual for the time when we need to do that.

Allow me one more interruption: After 33 years of marriage, we must have lost and/or accidentally destroyed hundreds of owner's manuals by cramming them in the infamous junk drawer. The moment the document is lost for all time, we need it desperately and spend an eternity searching for it online. When we moved in, I realized there is no junk drawer, just a series of small drawers next to the dishwasher. I chose a lower drawer for those things we would need rarely, but were still important -- power strips, for example. This is the place where I now keep a Ziploc storage bag filled with all the manuals for any electrical item we use. What a relief to be able to look for and find a manual in 30 seconds or less!

Note: I'm probably the last person to discover this. After all, I am a reformed slob. Please don't humiliate me by telling me that you've been doing this for years. It might put me over the edge.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 36