Wednesday, July 22, 2009

A slightly unorthodox way to remove cat hair

Snapper's mad...very mad. How do we know this? Because he is not sitting on his favorite chair. And why not? Because I hauled it away.

Now why would I toss a perfectly good, not very old, extremely comfortable chair? (You may remember it from the impromptu open house last fall.) For the same reason I hauled off the mother of all area rugs underneath it – I hate my vacuum cleaner.

See Snapper's chair? He wrote his name all over it in cat hair.

In a house-cleaning frenzy over the weekend, I had a vision – a vision of a living room that would be easier to clean. A living room that didn't need to accommodate seven adults. Hello! I live by myself! An open, airy living room that wasn't a cat hair repository!

Deets helped me move the chair into the garage, where its fate remains unknown. Anybody need a chair? It's free and freshly vacuumed – just come and get it. The rug is rolled up and awaits its fate on craigslist. And the living room looks like it lost a couple hundred pounds. After almost four years, I finally figured out I had too much furniture in there. As an added bonus, I feel like a new person, having taken major strides in resolving the dysfunctional relationship I have with my vacuum cleaner.

The only one around here who isn't happy with the new arrangements is Snapper. As he reflects upon his predicament, I'm certain he'll come to realize that he still has a pretty good life, even if it doesn't include a big, comfy chair to call his own.

26 comments:

  1. There is a sign plaque in many catalogs with one single word on it "Simplify". Guess that's what you've done and if it makes things more open and easier for you (not the cat) good for you.

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  2. Aaaah, but Snapper has the cowhide to lay on ... it can't get much better then that!

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  3. I need to simplify. Guess I'll have to get our daughter over here for some fung shui. It's not our cats, but the dogs, that hang out on our furniture!

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  4. Oooh...I want Snapper's chair. I wish I didn't live so far away...drat!

    Funny the ways we set our lives up to follow unspoken concepts of the way things should be done. Good for you for taking steps to set things up the way you want them to be. I'll bet you experience unexpected residual effects from this simple decision to open your place up.

    Snapper is a cutey pie, even with a slightly feisty look in his eye. I have to confess though, he was slightly upstaged by the lovely pitcher on the shelf behind him....I don't know why, but I'm really drawn to pitchers....I wonder what deep rooted psychological meaning that has. ;o)

    BTW, do YOU have a favourite chair in the house, because, by the look on Snappers' face in the last shot, it kinda looks like he's eyeing it up...

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  5. I love the look Snapper is giving you in the first pic. That's Boomer on a good day, lol!

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  6. Carolynn, Snapper knows better than to sit in my favorite spot, at least while I'm sitting there, because Smooch won't let him!

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  7. Too funny! I am in the middle of the same exercise. I asked the cleaning ladies if they wanted my sofa thinking I had until the weekend before it disappeared, but they took it with them when they finished on Monday! So now, I am going to have to HIRE two guys to come in and move my furniture around and up/down the stairs for me.

    I don't even want to admit to the amount of dog hair I found behind the couch!

    Have fun with the redecorating.

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  8. LOL - "living room looks like it lost a couple hundred pounds" Best laugh I had all morning!

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  9. Snapper looks like the king of the house! I'm sure he'll get over his missing chair in time...cute post!

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  10. "As he reflects upon his predicament"
    Love it!!!
    Cats are so funny about change... I'm sure he will adjust in time.
    Always feels good to "simplify" heh?

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  11. Snapper looks so confidente and comfortable!

    Your living room is beautiful!

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  12. It's amazing how stuff just accumulates - my house could do with simplification too - your post just might motivate me! There's the couch in the living room that's only used by the dog, the ratty living room rug . . .

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  13. The look on Snapper's face tells me he has designs on whoever it was that removed HIS chair. It may not happen in a day, but soon you will learn what it is he is dreaming up...for whoever removed HIS chair. Great post. Love Snapper's sweet stare.

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  14. I love your house Carson. It has lots of light and lots of lights to turn on when it gets dark. I never understood how people could live with subdued lighting (atmosphere I suppose) but you can't read a book anywhere. Hats off you can read at your place.
    Snapper will soon find a nice spot to curl up in. It only takes a couple of days to adjust.
    I hear there is a new cat brush that gets right down to the under hair and really keeps cat hair in check. I don't have one but maybe I'll get one. Way too much at my place too.
    Always, Sandra

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  15. I would be very careful if I were you, that last photo definitely looks as though Snapper is working on his plan for revenge!!!!!

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  16. Love that cowboy chair. Don't throw it. It'll be a great addition to a tack room. (And Snapper can use it there.)

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  17. I have just spent quite a few hours here looking around and clicking on post after post...Sonia sent me an email saying how much she loved your blog and she thought that I would, too!
    SHE WAS RIGHT! It is truly wonderful in every way. The Animals---ALL of them----So Very Loved by you....It warms my heart.
    I found it very healing and I thank you for that....I will be back, for sure!

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  18. Love it. Snapper blends so well with the hide. I once ordered an office chair for work to match the pet hair in my home.

    My cats don't really want to sit in my lap, they just want that spot on the couch. And it doesn't work if I sit on either of them.

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  19. Oh you have a "Stewart Little" cat too! We raised 3 kitties born in my neighbors barn....one of them looked like Stewart Little hence the name, the only difference is YOUR Stewart Little is skinny; mine is a chub!

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  20. I second the word: Oreck.

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  21. Blech...
    As the owner of an 18 pound, long haired cat, I know exactly what you are talking about. There have been several times over the past four years when I have asked myself why I made him an indoor/outdoor cat. :)

    Still, he is worth it....

    PS-Nice chair by the way!

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  22. I love getting rid of stuff. It feels great!!!

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  23. Yikes! Is Snapper laying on the last kitty who left cat hair all over a chair? Nah...

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  24. I've been doing the same thing. Fewer chairs to sit on but we don't entertain anyway and we like it better. Somehow, it all feels cleaner and the house lighter!

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  25. WHAT?!?! I love that chair, maybe even more than Snapper does. Wow..change...hmmmm, not so sure I like it! lol

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