My mother uses one of these little Eureka's for quick cleanups. It's rechargable and has a powered brushroll you ocan switch on or off. It's about the size of a dusbuster with a handle sticking out one end and the floorbrush on the other..very light. You can remove the handle and floorbrush and use it as a handvac. She's very happy with it. It will not replace a full size vacuum but for a quick going over on the carpet or the kitchen floor it's great.
They cost anywhere for $40 to $60 depending on what store you find it at. It's also available with a power cord instead of battery pack.

Here is a link that might be useful: eureka vac

Thanks! I checked out the link: at 5 lbs that sounds really good! It looks like quite a few stores carry it, like Best buy, Kohls, TArget. (though I could not select the actual model in the search menu) Any idea which has the best price?

How about a robot? There are several brands manufactured now each with different features. They are perfect for just staying tidy! If you can resist 'watching them' help finish your chores, they can save time, I have too much fun watching them work but the job is done!

Oh, I forgot about the robots! I looked into those maybe a year ago and decided to wait for "improvements".

If you don't mind a barrage of questions: (maybe I should start a thread and find out from others too)
How long have you had yours? Do they break easily? How do they handle different surface heights? I have carpets laid on top of wall-to-wall in several places. Thanks!

I do not mind at all! I got the Dirty Dog shop vac, the Roomba Intelibin and the Scooba in December and would now hate to ever be without. The Dirty Dog is the least expensive and is a good option to replace broom sweeping. I even use it outside. The Roomba does more maticulous vac'ing and is extra fabulous for fetching from under beds and tables, etc. those odd places not so easy to get too. Scooba is the Star in my home as we have all hard floors, no carpet. The Clorox cleaner is wonderful, in my opinion. My floors seem to get cleaner and cleaner the more I use Scooba. It amazes me such a small amount of cleaning solution can clean so very well-AND the floor is dry. I'm wearing white socks around our home and they stay clean and white. My Hubby is not housebroken but I no longer resent him tracking in, knowing when he goes out, my IRobot cleaning crew will help me clean up again to the way I like my home. He found a Zoomba at the flea's for $25.00 and it has a dust pad! They are all a round design so they do not fit into corners so I still do the wall edges. I also have a Hoover Floor Mate, I use it when really a big mess but it is more work for my old back than robots, did I explain my Hubby isn't housebroken? Anyway, ask away if you still have questions.