Cleaning & Organization

Bissell CrossWave 1785 Review (Should You Trade in Your Steam Mop?)

November 5, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

In this Bissell CrossWave 1785 review, you will learn all about how it cleans rugs and hard floor surfaces. You will also learn how it is to operate, clean and store.

My Bissell CrossWave purchase was on a whim (which is pretty much not like me). Normally I would research, compare and study reviews before purchasing a device like this. But I was fed up.

I felt like my floors were never clean. Especially my hardwood floors and tile which is basically my entire downstairs. So I threw my steam mop in the closet, bought the Bissell CrossWave 1785 on the Target App and picked it up a couple of hours later!

Find out the good and bad in this Bissell CrossWave 1785 Review.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Bissell CrossWave 1785 Review

I bought the Bissell CrossWave vacuum and mop combo a few months ago. In this Bissell CrossWave 1785 review, I will share the things I love and the couple of things that I don’t.

Does The Bissell CrossWave Really Work?

It does! So the one major problem that I had with my old steam mop was that I felt like if I didn’t sweep or vacuum really well before mopping, that I was really just spreading dirt.

And it didn’t seem to matter how well the Roomba vacuumed ahead of time or my attempt with an old school broom, there were always some crumbs, dirt or leaves lying around when it was time to mop.

The Bissell Crosswave solves that problem by sucking up any dirt and debris while also mopping. And you only have to get out one tool & go over it one time. So you turn a 2 part job into a 1 part job, saving yourself time and energy.

Check out this Smart Watch Trick to keep your house sparkling clean in no time.

Is The Vacuum Powerful?

No complaints from me on the pickup power. It does a great job picking up small debris (think the box of Nerds candy that your kiddo spills). Very large debris are the only thing that I have had issues with it not picking up.

And let’s be honest, when you see something like a lollipop stick or a toy piece, you should pick it up by hand! I don’t but you should! But overall, the vacuum portion works really well.

It even does a good job getting dirt that is really close to the baseboard.

What I’ve Seen It Pick Up

Just to give you an idea of things larger and small that I’ve seen it pick up on my floor.

Pumpkin Seed (thanks Halloween)
Glitter
Hair (our dog doesn’t shed so it is my long hair but I’m assuming it would grab pet hair too)
Leaves
Food Crumbs
Dry Dog Food
Cereal

How does the Mop Work on Hard Surfaces?

Great! I did a comparison the other day. I knew the Bissell worked well to clean because I have seen the dirty water tank after my cleaning job is complete.

But I wanted to see if it picked up things from what I used to think was a clean floor. For my test, I ran the Roomba in a small entry way area of my home. Next, I steam mopped the same area.

After that, I used the Bissell Crosswave over the same area that had just been vacuumed and steam cleaned. The result was pretty shocking. Before I got the crosswave, all I did was vacuum and steam mop.

And look how dirty my floor still was. This is what the crosswave picked up after I steam mopped.

You can see the particles and there was actually glitter that the Bissell Crosswave 1785 got that the Steam mop spread around.

The picture above was just from a very small section of my floor. This is what it looked like after I mopped my kitchen and living room (and it had just been mopped the week before).

Look at all that gunk that it cleared off my floors.

So gross but I feel good about getting that up and off the floor so that when my 3 year old is rolling around (and lets be honest probably licking) the floor, I know it is cleaner than it was before.

How Does the Bissell Crosswave Clean Rugs?

I have used the Bissell on two rugs. One is an Indoor/Outdoor Rug that I have on my porch and the other is just a simple bathroom rug.

A Refreshed, Clean Rug

After using the Bissell on the rugs, they look refreshed, newer and cleaner.

Stains on Rug

On my outdoor rug, I have some type of mold or mildew on the fabric from it getting wet and not drying out quickly enough outside I guess. The Bissell helped to lift the stains some but not completely.

I want to try pretreating the stains with a carpet cleaner and then running the Bissell on the rug setting after that to see if it would remove the stains.

I will update when I try that.

Anything Bad About the Bissell CrossWave Mop?

Overall, I really like the vacuum/mop combo unit. However, there are 4 things that I don’t love.

Cleaning the Unit – It really only takes a couple of minutes to do but it is a bit of a pain. You need to empty the clean water tank, empty and rinse the dirty water tank and take the roller brush and cover off the bottom portion. After rinsing each component, you should air dry.
Holding the Lever to Clean – If you want to dispense the water and cleaning solution you must hold down a lever the entire time. If you have a lot of floors to clean, it will make your hand tired after a while.
The Bissell Cleaning Solution – I did like how the solution smelled. Other than that, I just find it a little annoying to HAVE to buy a certain solution and it never fails that I forget to pick it up. *NOTE* Before I tell you this, note that doing what I am about to tell you voids your warranty. So now that we have that out in the open, I use cleaning vinegar instead of the Bissell brand. I’ve had no issues. Some people will disagree about using vinegar on hardwood but it works for me (I think because it is so diluted). Proceed at your own risk.
Stuck On Dirt – As I said, I think the Bissell Crosswave 1785 mop actually picks up and cleans better than my steam mop. The only exception is for really stuck on dirt or spills. For example, after my kids eat waffles with syrup for breakfast. If I don’t find the pile of syrup on the floor for a couple of days, even after going over it with the Bissell a few times, it may not come completely clean. I either use my fingernail to loosen any problem areas or I use my steam mop. Note – I have 2 little kids and a dog and this is something that I do pretty infrequently & I assure you we have plenty of messes around here. Most of our messes come up with a swipe or two of the Bissell mop.

In this Bissell CrossWave 1785 review I describe a few inconvenient design issues, but overall I really like the product. I think it cleans better than my old steam mop and cuts the vacuum/mop time down as well.

I’m happy to use it every week & would personally buy it again.

Using the Fitbit to Keep My House Clean

September 2, 2018 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Learn a simple trick that will get your house tidy and clean in small, 10 minute increments. Read about how I use the Fitbit to keep my house clean.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

I asked for a Fitbit a couple of years ago for Mother’s Day. I wanted it to help me lose some baby weight and to just keep me more active. Little did I know that I would also be using the Fitbit to keep my house clean!

Like many of you, my job keeps me in front of my computer for 8 hours a day. My Fitbit brought me a wake up call when I realized that without intentional exercise, I often would not clear 3,000 steps on a work day. I wanted to use my new fitness tracker to lose some weight that I had gained during my pregnancies. But could it also do more?

I quickly found a method for using the Fitbit to keep my house clean. It is a small time commitment every day, allows me to tidy or clean an area of my house and gets me off the couch. A perfect way to make the most of your fitness tracker!

My Fitbit Routine For A Clean House

You know that vibrating buzz you get on your wrist 10 minutes before the hour is up urging you to get in some steps?I have developed a simple routine for using the Fitbit to keep my house clean using that ten minute reminder feature.

When you are at home and the buzzer goes off, find a small cleaning task that you can start and complete in that ten minutes.

Cleaning Time

If you are home from 6 pm until 10 pm when you go to bed, that is 40 minutes of cleaning time every day. Even if you do nothing else, that is more than 3 hours of cleaning that you can get done during the week in small increments. 40 minutes a day may seem unreasonable but when you break it up into those small 10 minute segments, it is much more achievable.

These small increments of cleaning really add up when it is time to do a thorough cleaning on the weekend. If you spent time keeping up with small tasks all throughout the week, your weekend cleaning will be much easier and faster.

I also like to make the 10 minute increments that I create with the Fitbit to keep my house clean as productive as possible. With this I mean that I want to extend my cleaning time without having to do more work.

Here are a few examples:

– start a load of laundry so that clothes are washing after your cleaning time has ended, you can fold it in your next 10 minute increment.

-Start the Roomba to get your floors clean while you are cooking or bathing your kids.

-Start the dishwasher, unload it in another 10 minute segment

-Soak stove burners or grates, pour cleaner in toilets, spray cleaner in showers or sinks. Any task that you do that needs to start and then sit for a while.

What Can I Really Do in 10 Minutes?

A lot! I have been using my Fitbit to keep my house clean for months and love it. You will be shocked at all that you can do in just ten minutes.

Kitchen

load or unload the dishwasher
wipe down countertops and kitchen tables
sweep or mop the floor
remove any items that don’t belong (homework, shoes, toys and jackets are some things that end up in my kitchen)
Clean out the coffee pot or Keurig and refill the water
Sanitize the kitchen sink

Living Room

remove items that don’t belong (shoes always show up in mine)
organize toys (if your kids are young and you allow toys in the living room, tidy those up)
vacuum carpet
sweep hard surfaces
dust the furniture

Bedroom

Make the Bed
Put dirty clothes in hamper
Remove any cups and place in kitchen
Dust furniture
Sweep
Mop
Tidy bedside table

Bathroom

put toiletries and makeup in cabinets
wipe down countertops
empty waste bins
sanitize the toilet
clean the shower
sweep/mop the floors
remove any toiletries that are old, expired or not being used
place dirty clothes/towels into the hamper

Playroom

pick up toys and put them in their proper place
put broken toys or toys with missing pieces in the trash
start a donation bag for toys that are not being used
dust furniture
vacuum carpet

Office

remove papers or mail that you no longer need
organize or tidy any office supplies
wipe down or dust desk, keyboard and mouse
sweep/mop/vacuum floors

Garage

tidy anything that doesn’t belong (am I the only one that sets backpacks and other things in the garage when getting kids out of the car and then forget to go back for them?)
sweep out leaves and dirt that have accumulated

Car

remove things that don’t belong – I often joke that I could live for weeks in my car between all of the kid’s clothing for warmth, snacks, reading material, and toys. You can get everything out of your car in 10 minutes. Try it!
wipe down the dashboard and other hard surfaces to remove dust/debris
vacuum carpets

Try Using Your Fitbit To Keep A Tidy Home

I encourage you to use these tips like I do using my Fitbit to keep my house clean. I use the Fitbit Alta and really like the slim design of it. I have owned mine for a little over two years and haven’t had any problems.

I really like the fitbit app which allows you to join in with friends and family for challenges to keep you engaged and encouraged. It also tracks your progress so that you can see the weight that you have lost and your activity over days and weeks.

And if you prefer a larger face than the Alta, there are lots of different Fitbit models to fit your individual preferences. Let me know how using the Fitbit works to get your home cleaner!

How To Make A DIY Family Command Center

September 29, 2018 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

A DIY family command center will help you organize your family’s important documents, mail and schedules. My simple layout helps make the family command center area functional and cute.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

With school back in session, I thought a quick post on our family command center would be a fun way to show how we stay organized during this busy time of year.

Just so we are clear on how “together” I have my life, check the date on the calendar. I am writing this in September 2018 and I took that picture today. My littlest babe was born last October and apparently that is when my organization stopped. Oh my. How has it been almost a year!? I am going to update that calendar today!

DIY Family Command Center

While I was searching for organization items for my command center, I found lots of ideas on Pinterest but a lot of them did not tell me where to buy the products. I don’t know about you but I need an easy buying guide (particularly one that I can get online). Because two kids at a retail store, ain’t nobody got time for that! So I decided to show mine with links to where you can purchase the same or similar items.

I actually added most of these items to my Amazon wish list and asked for items for Christmas one year. If you are needing things to put on your Christmas or birthday list, consider something like this. I love all the different price points so it makes it easy for someone that is looking for a small gift for you or maybe a slightly larger one.

Here is a list of items that I have included in my DIY family command center.

Wire Document Rack with Chalkboard Labels – The wire document rack has a chalkboard label on each basket. I use these to separate my items and my husband’s. We put mostly mail in the bins and I save coupons in mine. I plan to get some cute file folders to clean this area up a bit. If you wanted to keep a file per child with permission slips etc. this would be a good place to do that.

Magnetic Chalkboard – I use this for all kinds of things. The magnetic board uses magnetic clothespins to hang schedules, display permission slips that need to go to school and reminders. The chalkboard is used to write notes or reminders to myself or other family members.

8×10 Frame – I use the frame for the monthly calendar (you know the one I haven’t changed in 11 Months). I can’t believe I admitted to that! I type up every event that I know of on the printable calendar. Then you can do one of two things for last minute events. Leave the glass of the frame off so that you can write on your paper calendar with a pen or put the glass on and use a dry erase marker for your last minute changes.

Picture Frame with Clip – I love the clip feature because it makes it super easy to switch out photos. I love to change out pictures of the family according to the seasons or holidays. It adds a personal touch to your family command center and they are the reason that you need this organizational tool! Right?

Monogram Letter – I added this as a decorative filler to square off the space. If you don’t love the monogram, you could do a small clock to keep you on time to all your events.

All Because Two People Fell In Love Sign – A friend of mine gave this to me but I found a similar item on Amazon. I just love the words on this. All this chaos that I am trying to organize is all because two people fell in love. Such truth.

My family command center looked exactly like this for more than a year. It is located on a wall that was bare before leading from our garage to our kitchen. The perfect spot to collect mail when you walk in the door or grab a permission slip off the magnet board before you leave.

The item on the top is most definitely my favorite item on this family command center wall. It captures a glimpse of our family in a whimsical way (see all those girls I told you about in the About Me section). An artist local to me creates these on large pieces of wood. The rustic look of the wood combined with the fun character drawing of our family perfectly completes this wall. I even love how she put that huge bow on our 4 year old daughter’s head – that is so realistic. She doesn’t go anywhere without a larger than life bow! We are in the South after all, the bigger the bow the better the mama (or so they say).

If you have any questions about this easy to set up Family Command Center, write me a comment below! I hope this helps you get ready for the new school year.

If you need a way to get your bathroom organized from all the kid toys, read this bathroom organization hack.