The Tools You Have

Have you ever looked at something and considered it an entirely insurmountable problem?  I know I’ve felt this way, but it doesn’t always have to be so.  Sometimes, there are solutions we just haven’t realized.  We always have tools at hand, but we might need some innovative ideas in order to use them to their best advantage.

Let me tell you a story!

In 2008, we moved to a new (to us) home.  I was working full-time at that point, and my honey wasn’t, so much of the rearranging fell to him (with my instruction, of course).  However, on this date, he was out somewhere – most likely picking up supplies, or perhaps even working.  I was home, and there was still some furniture to be moved around so I could finish unpacking.  One of the pieces of furniture in question was one of those long dressers.  You know, the big one with the detachable mirror.  In order to unpack a second-storey bedroom, it needed to go upstairs.  These stairs were thankfully in two installments – one installment of two steps the next level, and another of about ten steps. 

The dresser was about 7’ wide.  I’m 5’6 ½” tall, and am not superwoman.  The dresser probably didn’t outweigh me, but it was certainly larger than I am. With those basic facts in mind, how was I going to move this thing up the stairs so I could unpack, something I earnestly wanted to do?

Fortunately for me, one of the perks of spending years as a single parent is that you become highly skilled in the finding of alternative solutions!  I picked up one end of the dresser and levered it onto its end.  I then shuffled it back and forth along the floor until I reached the two steps.  (note, you can put a pillowcase or towel under the floor end if you’re concerned about scratches to the floor or furniture).  I then moved around the dresser and tipped it onto one of its flat sides on the new level.  I picked up one end and dragged it forward a few feet until both ends were on the new level, and then stood it back on an end again at the base of the next flight of stairs.  In small increments, I turned the dresser so that a flat edge was facing the next (thankfully, carpeted) flight of stairs.  I tipped the dresser onto the stairs, and nudged it up the first one, continuing this process until more than half the dresser was on the new level.  At this point, it was easiest to lever the dresser onto the new level and push until it was all – or at least most – of the way there.  I then climbed around the dresser to again stand it onto an end.   In hindsight, I’m grateful I was more agile doing this than I am now!

Once the dresser was on the desired level, pushing it close to the desired location and turning it onto the intended side was pretty easy, and the whole process only took about 15 minutes.  By the time my honey got home, I was done unpacking into the dresser and was already maneuvering the matching mirror up the stairs.  Many years later, I still suspect he thinks I magically got random strangers off the street to move it for me!

As ever, there’s a point to this story.  Most of the difficult things we encounter in life can be solved, or at least put into a manageable place.  Sometimes, we just need to look outside the realm of typical solutions to do so.  Your challenge for today – where can you look for creative solutions to make something happen?