Recommended product: Electrolux Pronto stick vacuum. This is a combination stick and handheld (dust buster style) vacuum and is proving to be perfect for my small apartment. I have mostly hardwood floors except for my Flor in the kitchen and the stripe of carpet down the center of my steep, curved front stairs. I tend to do my chores in bursts of work & reward (e.g. now that I have vacuumed the bedroom – including under the bed! Go me! – I will relax with a computer game for a while), so have not encountered problems with needing to empty the basket mid-job. It’s probably not got enough suction for a household with kids or pets or easily tracked in dirt, but it’s been great for me. I got it at Bloodbath & Beyond with one of those 20% off coupons they seem to send out to me about every 5 days and am very pleased with the value for money.

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