Take Me to the Cleaners

Not sure where the time went, but this month marks 16 years we've lived in our house on Blue Jay Drive. Crazy.

While we have done some home improvements with painting – inside and out – a new roof and renovated bath off our master bedroom, one thing has remained the same. All the carpet in the house. (Not to be morbid, but we don't have plans to change it until kitty is gone.)

Occasionally we've gotten the living room and attached hallway cleaned professionally. Since the color is a light blue-gray, it doesn't wear dirt well. Usually, it looks good for awhile after a cleaning and then the high-traffic areas don't take long to look like, well, crap again. When we got the new recliners for Christmas and furniture was rearranged, it stuck out like a sore, dirty thumb. I decided a few weeks ago I wanted to get the carpet cleaned while Jim was out of town as a nice surprise.

Yes, when you're together 20 years, that's what you do for nice surprises. Nod your head if you know what I'm talking about.

As the dates got closer, I realized it would be hard to schedule since I'd have to time it exactly when my nephew would be home from school and work and could be there to open the door. Since I don't have an abundance of vacation time, I didn't want to burn a half day waiting for the cleaners to show up (like the cable guy). So I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I borrowed a little upright carpet cleaner machine thing from a friend, bought some cleaning solution and booked my weekend.

I worked on the long hallway first, but just a little Saturday before my run. Didn't do much later since I was off to the basketball game. That is where my 10 hours of standing up on Sunday came in. You can only go so fast when you have to keep emptying the dirty water and refilling the little tank, and use the carpet dryer, and move the furniture back into place.

I wanted it to look professional. I recalled the cleaner guys had a little carpet rake they used to fluff up the matted down parts to dry. Since I didn't have one of those, I brought in a leaf rake from the garage and used that.

Not kidding.

I also didn't have professional booties to walk on it while it was drying – but those Saran Wrap bowl covers did the trick. I know. Right? Who is more innovative than me?

And while it doesn't really look amazingly different, I could tell it was at least better when I had just one little area left! I also did the carpet in Jim's office and some small sections in the basement where Princess Poops-A-Lot has been most active recently.

In the end, I knew Jim would probably not notice unless I told him. When I asked if he noticed the difference in the daylight, he pointed out that the carpet is really past its prime.

Well, we all are, aren't we? I still take a shower every day! And I'm glad that even though my body was yelling at me yesterday for not taking it easy the day after a long run, I invested some time in a small home improvement project.

Next time, though, I'm probably leaving it to the professionals. They are welcome to borrow my rake and booties.