i've been holding off on getting a new vacuum, thinking that if i just waited until next paycheck i might be able to afford a nice one (bissell!! sigh). but this weekend i realized that the state of our (already old and ratty) apartment carpet was beyond bad, and i couldn't wait any longer. still didn't have the cash in hand for anything spiffy, so i took a stroll around BB&B looking for some kind of good solution.

et voila! i found the vx3 cordless floor and carpet cleaner. it's not actually a vacuum at all -- there's no holding tank or bag or anything like that, just a base with a small compartment. but i have a lot of faith in shark ever since finding the steam mop on the side of the road, taking it home, and finally getting rid of those grease stains on the tile under the stove (hubby likes bacon!)... so i figured, why not. plus, the pictures on the front package of it vacuuming spilled dirt made me think it might be able to handle the ever-present litter problem (our cats are diggers, and i haven't found a solution for this yet aside from constant sweeping and vacuuming). brought it home, and immediately loved the swivel and cordless action. and it sucked up stuff that our old vacuum definitely never got -- litter, cat hair, people hair, dust, you name it.

so, all in all, i'm thinking this is a great buy for small apartments with both flooring and carpeting. granted, i've only had it for a day. i'm hoping that due to it's not-vacuum-nature, it won't lose suction over time. anyone else out there have one of these and know for sure?