This weekend we bought a dresser from a guy off craigslist. This is my kind living. We had our eye on this piece at the store for the last several years, but we didn’t want to pay full price for it.

My husband (also known as my research staff) found this very piece for sale nearby and we jumped. Same day.

It took a little preparation. We’d already figured out the piece would fit in our house beautifully, but we had to make sure it would fit in our new truck. Yep, if we strapped it down.

We gave the man selling it a chance to eat lunch and then we were there.

This very sweet man let us into his home. We climbed the five stepped and entered his front door. Signs on his walls showed us he was a Vietnam vet, bless him. He showed us the piece. It was not band new but it was exactly what I’d hoped for.

Now, one of the reasons we liked this piece it because it was solid wood. It was a big tall dresser and it substantial.

Our new friend the vet had told us he couldn’t help us lift it. It was just us.

He did not want to hand it over. He couldn’t imagine a woman and a slender man could take care of this …300? 350?…pound dresser with success.

I paid him up front in cash. I knew we could do it.

I was used to overseeing people move and install heaving audio video equipment in corporate spaces. I’ve had to oversee teams move multiple 500 pound televisions up serval flights of stairs.

My crews taught me so much. I was not the one humping those boxes up the stairs. But we talked it over and planned every part of the way. All the turns, any tight corners we thought it through ahead of time and made sure the equipment and the people would not be harmed.

But the golden prize that we were reaching for every step of the way, was sharing the load.

A dolly with wheels was our best friend. Smooth moving blankets that let us tilt on the grades and slide it is our friend.

One little guy can do amazing things to lever and slide the load into position.

It doesn’t have to be so hard.

I looked over the path that we needed to traverse and I saw how we could make it happen. First step was getting sliders under the legs so we could push it gently and safely over the carpet to the front door.

Those 5 steps on the porch were a challenge. But laying the dresser down on a moving blanket and then sliding it down the steps onto a wheeled dolly took care of that hurdle.

Then we wheeled it over the sidewalk (Watch out for the bump!) to the truck.

Oh boy. It’s almost 3 feet from the sidewalk to the bed of the truck.

If that were a deadlift, it would not be safe.

But with those moving blankets again, we tilted and slid that bad baby snugly into the truck.

Our new friend was blown away.

It was a chance for me to remember things I forgot I knew.

It’s worth the time and attention to make things easier. There are ways I can lean on the supports around me.

Some people would have given up, but I had the vision. There are forces standing by waiting to be utilized. If I look for it, there are ways to make it easier on myself.

That walkthrough—that planning of each step—it made it all come out so easily.

I always have the urge to charge in. That leaves out the chances to make it easier and in fact faster. It’s worth it to take the time to imagine every piece of the path reveals so many chances to lighten my load. It’s like magic waiting to happen.