A Closet and a Carpet.

It was supposed to be a 30 minute job. It took me 50.

I am a bit surprised it took me that long.
It is a pretty straight forward closet--awkward to photograph, though.

It is, first and foremost, our coat closet.

But it is also our games closet,

and the broom/cleaning tool closet.

it's like those pegs fell out just so I could put that space to better use! The orange Miele bag holds the vacuum cleaner attachments and various mop heads.

oh and it is also our access hatch to the bathroom tub and shower taps and water supply lines.

It took me nearly an hour to clear out some games,

that black bag holds our picnic/backyard snuggle under while there's a firepit going blanket

relocate a few coats, clean the lint off my husband's coat, and vacuum and clean the floor,

and, oh yeah, hang the Ikea bag holder. As you can see, it was hit or miss (and mostly miss) getting the bags into that thing at the back of the closet where I was anxious it would tip through the hole into the basement.

I've been wanting to put a piece of wood up at the back of the closet ever since we enlarged the hole to get access to the pipes when we did the bathroom in the winter of, ahem, 2011-12. I am adding it to the project list.

Just for fun, I looked back through to see what closets I tackled in past cures. In 2015, it was the linen closet.  In 2016, it was the closet adjacent to this, the cleaning closet. Other than the closet in each of our bedrooms, these are the only closets we have. Nice that each have had a turn!

In other news, I continued with the floor assignment.

I borrowed my Mom's Steam vac to clean my living room carpet.

It arrived with an abundance of cleaners.

I watched a you tube video...which wasn't all that terribly helpful so I tried to watch another one. But man, it is boring watching people push a machine back and forth and back and forth and back and....what was I saying? Oh yeah. So I just called my mother.

I vacuumed. Twice.

There were all sorts of stains.

I think this is from hot chocolate? Or maybe coffee?

General dinginess.

see how the white bits of the carpet are actually white over there on the right? They get greyer and dingier  as you go left. Same thing happens at the other end, only in reverse.

I used one of the bottles to pretreat the various spots.

I went over the rug about four times with the steam vac. The first time, I didn't pull the trigger. The second time, I pulled the trigger but didn't use the "spot clean/clean surge" button. The third time, I pulled the trigger and used the spot clean/surge clean button, both, at the same time. The fourth I just went over it without the trigger, again.

This was the waste water.

One of the videos advised me to empty all the water out of the machine, turn off the brushes and go over the carpet one more time. He said that would draw water out of the carpet and help dry it. When I talked to my Mom, she said she didn't bother.

I am so glad I did. This is what the water looked like after being sucked out of the carpet.

Imagine if I'd left that!

I think the rug looks really good--but not as good as new. The specific spots are gone, it's true, but that fade to dinge is still there--though its much less noticeable, to be sure. (At this end of the carpet it goes left, white, to right, grey.) Now that I know how it's done--I want to do it again before the week is over.

I cannot tell you how happy I am to have found a solution to keeping this carpet clean. I love me a good looking rug...and a good sized is next to impossible to find here for what I can afford. This was purchased at Target in 2014 when they were here. The rug conundrum is one of the reasons I was so upset they left.

Tomorrow is the media fast, so catch you on the 12th, I hope.