Smoothing the way - The Parable of the Chest of Drawers

Every year around the start of the cold damp weather, I have a drawer that keeps sticking. It's in a tall boy I keep in the attic, very close to the skylight so I guess on one of the many times I forget to close the skylight, some moisture gets in and warps the timber a bit.

This year it was my sweater drawer. At first, I just tried to yank it out with force. I brace my foot against the base of the unit and force it out with two hands,jiggling it until it gives. Then i tried a quick fix with a bit of candle wax rubbed along the draw runners and more yanking. When this became impossible so I got around it by pulling out all the sweaters one by one and put tights in there. Then I could just open it and then pull the tights out of the small opening. Of course it eventually reached the point where I didn't know what was in there and I kept running out of clean tights. Not useful. I went back to force.
Eventually, after falling on my back one day with the drawer still firmly wedged in the dresser, I decided it was time to do something.

So I got my trusty Black and Decker Mouse mini-sander and some smooth sand paper and removed all the drawers with force, and stacked them on the bed.
First, I did an analysis of the situation, running my hands up and down the timber where I discovered the single plank that had warped inwards, ever so slightly. It ran the length of the dresser so one drawer was going to become all of them if I hadn't finally done something. Further reducing my access
So I sanded that down smoothly making the situation a lot easier for everything.

Then I had a little go at fitting in each of the drawers slowly working out where the resistance was. Turns out that some were an easier fit than others so so rather than force them where they didn't want to go I put them where they were most comfortable, the easier option. I still had to do a little bit of smoothing and preparation but I was no longer having to force things.

Finally I had all the drawers back in place and I began to rearrange my clothes into where I wanted them, adapting them to suit my needs Undies etc are on the top, tight next as I need them every day in this weather, then my make-ups st seat height as I have just set up a dressing table beside the bureau (luxury!) and then my sweaters and tees etc.
Jeans and combats are in the bottom drawer as I won't need them until Spring and all my shorts and sarongs are packed away in a storage bag. Why take up time and space with something that doesn't matter for me, at the moment?

Gracie came in halfway through my putting away and she began to help me, bringing over armfuls of tights and sweaters. You see, she really appreciates order too. In her room she has all her clothes organised into different drawers with a pecs picture of the garment stuck on the front.

And this is where the parable is explained. You see Gracie never used to dress herself for school. She was capable of it as she would come downstairs in amazingly put together outfits with tee shirts on backwards inside out leggings, when She Wanted To Go Somewhere.

But for school I would have to just dress her myself with her passively sitting there ignoring my verbal instructions. If it was not a school day, and she did not know where she was going, I would dress her against her will, forcing the clothes on as she objected.

I could see by her daily school reports that she was doing well with her dressing skills task, so I decided to do what they did and introduce some visual supports.

First was the analysis - what steps did I need to include? I knew she had the skills to put on clothes, but she needed support with putting them the right way round, in the right order. So I got her a large dresser and made sure each garment group had its own drawer where everything was clean and the right way round.

I printed cards with the Grace App clothes pictures on them, laminated and velcroed them to each drawer. Yep, I still use laminated physical pictures.

I also adapted Gracie's wardrobe to suit the season. She has a simple uniform of a longish dress over a long sleeve tee and leggings for winter with socks, boots and a hoody for warmth on the really cold days. Why make her fuss with accessories and jeans with zippers etc when it doesn't suit her needs?

Then I put a corresponding schedule on her iPhone using the same graphic pictures from the
Grace App which included her final grooming tasks like brushing hair and putting in a bobbin.


Every morning I pick up her iPhone from beside her bed; where we charge it overnight, and open the schedule with her, using her finger to point at each step while we say it together.

She opens the right drawer, and then gets to choose which pants or which tee-shirt from the selection. Okay, I do steer her away from bad color/print combinations but she still feels in control of the choice. 

First, Then App from Good Karma Apps €7 or $10

The difference is incredible. With each point she gets the garment from the drawer and puts it on. I forwards or backwards chain the minimum of support, which just means helping her get started, or finish it off the right way, according to the skill the garment requires.

Without the schedule she is like a stopped clock, waiting for me to do everything.

With the schedule she can almost dress herself. On weekends and outside of school times she still does dress herself, appearing downstairs in the signature Gracie ensemble, fully accessorised with hat and coat. (Grace thinks a hat will prevent me brushing her hair)
I would post a photograph but she might be able to read this blog one day and would never forgive me.


With the schedule, the scaffold and the choices, Life is much smoother and everyone is happy

xx