I bought a robot vacuum months ago and I finally got around to setting up last week. Spoiler alert: there really wasn’t much set up needed. I got it out of the box, plugged in the base, let it charge, and connected it to the proprietary app. Then I set it up on my Google Home because I am addicted to voice activating things.
At first I was feeling like it was a waste of money… my floor is generally always covered in toddler toys due to the rampaging two-and-a-half-year-old who also lives here. As soon as I pick up after her, she’s pulling things back out, and I had learned to live in this stasis of clutter… but it’s the cat hair that bothers me. We also have a Maine Coon roommate. He’s very handsome, but he leaves clods of fur everywhere. Cleaning up toys, as they’re being pulled back out right behind me, then dragging the vacuum out and vacuuming the carpet for 10-15 minutes was becoming a dreaded, but necessary task.
This is where the robot vacuum had an unexpected side effect, I learned. If I began to pick up while telling Google to start up the vacuum, the toddler would quickly hop up on the couch to avoid “the circle,” as she calls it. That means no more toys being pulled out as I worked on picking them up before the vacuum got to them! Then, the best part is that I could sit down after clearing up the clutter and enjoy the floor being vacuumed without having to lift another finger. Also, not going to lie, racing myself against the robot to get toys picked up is kind of fun. The kind of fun I hope to introduce to my growing toddler some magical day… Ahh, “the circle” of life.
TeaSVG - A Crafter's Tale 