As you know, recently I finally met up with my two blogging besties, Franca from A Moment with Franca and Maria from Suburban Mum on a trip to London. After talking online and via WhatsApp for so long, it was amazing to finally meet them both together at the same time. So when I found out that Franca had nominated me for a gifting challenge with AO.com I was so pleased.

The Challenge Should You Choose to Accept It……..

To pick a product from a specific list from AO.com for this challenge. I had to pick something I thought Franca would like to receive. It would then be delivered as a surprise to see how well we know each other! Would she like what I would pick? Did she know me enough to pick something that would be a hit in my life?

As soon as I saw the list, I knew exactly what she would like based on a conversation not so long ago between the 3 of us. But I’m not telling!

You will have to visit Franca’s blog to find out what I chose for her! 

My item got delivered whilst I was at work. I was so careful all day not to check the tracking and give the game away! I’m not good with waiting for surprises at all but when I got home I couldn’t have been more pleased with what she had picked for me. Thank you, Franca!

Introducing my new Dyson v7 trigger

Yes, I am at the age where I do get excited about things like a new vacuum cleaner! The Dyson v7 trigger is a handheld vacuum and EXACTLY what I need in my life. Let me tell you why………

Since getting my car, it has been a struggle to keep it clean, kids+car=mess. But my issue is, I can’t park outside my house thus making cleaning it a little awkward, especially when it needs a good vacuum! Up until now, I had been using a good old dustpan and brush but the Dyson….. well this is a game changer! For the car and for the home too!

No more lugging my big upright vacuum downstairs for little messes, the Dyson is small enough to keep downstairs ready for when I need it. Perfect for my new sofa, stairs and even my mattress for those crumbies when we eat in bed! Never have I voluntarily rushed to vacuum up before.

Using the Dyson v7 trigger handheld vacuum

The Dyson v7 trigger needs a full charge before first use but does come 20% charged. So I plugged it in and got on with my morning. Roping in my niece to help me clean the car and dispose of her sister’s old car seat, it’s been there a while so god only knows what was lurking underneath! You also get 3 tools to go with it but you can purchase other tools separately.

As I mentioned above, I had been brushing the car seats and floors by hand so there was plenty of ‘mess’ to give my new toy a good testing out! The v7 trigger was a little heavier than I imagined but not too heavy to be an issue for me. That was insignificant however when I put it to use in my seriously neglected Honda Jazz.

I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t too noisy, similar to a hairdryer and really easy to manoeuvre around the car. I had to keep changing the tools – they just pop on and off with a simple press of the button – until I found the right ones for different areas but I got there in the end. Emptying it is also simple – you just press the red button on the top and it lifts up and releases the base to empty it out!

But then it stopped!

I had to pop back in to check what was going on and the handbook told me there was a fault, so I removed the attachment to get a closer look. I had emptied it already so I know it wasn’t full. Unbeknown to me, there was a rogue screw lurking in the car and I accidentally sucked it up! Oops! But as soon as I removed it, we were back to full working order again. Good to know if anything gets stuck, or there is a problem it will just switch off. I really liked this feature.

You get 30 mins cleaning from a 3.5-hour charge.

This is plenty of time for those little jobs around the home. After I had given it another full charge, it literally took me a minute to go over the stairs on my way up. No more heaving my heavy vacuum up and down. I can’t believe how much easier it’s going to make things for me.

I can’t wait to use it around the house!

I know I will have plenty of running time to get all the little jobs done at once. Look at the difference it made in my car in the picture above. It would have taken me a long, long time to get this look by hand.

I am so pleased Franca picked this as my gift. I must have mentioned at some point how awkward it was to clean my car and she remembered.

The Dyson v7 trigger is available from AO.com for £199. Have you used AO.com before? What would you pick if you took part in the gifting challenge?

*disclaimer: i received the dyson v7 trigger for purpose of this review. all thoughts and opinions are my own*