Do you need a step up?

I am relatively tall for a woman and have always been able to reach things in kitchen cupboards without any problem.  In our RV we have some upper cupboards I can reach into, but I am an inch or two too short to get everything in the cupboard.  When I want something from a cupboard over the sofa, I have to stand on the sofa.  Tom has an inch of height on me so he can usually get stuff but sometimes he has to pull out a chair. We have now lived in our RV for 21 months and we love it as much as we did when we started, but getting into those cupboards has been irritating.

One of the areas we have problems is with the microwave / convection oven.  We have to keep it unplugged or the electrical gremlins that live in the RV make it beep and change screens during the night.  We plug it in when we want to use it and unplug it when we are done.  Tom can reach the plug but I can’t get to it unless I stand on something.  This usually isn’t a big deal, although I hate having to ask him to plug in the microwave when I want to heat up something.  I’d rather do it myself (that two-year-old mentality coming out).  So I have been wanting to get a stool.  Because space and weight are at a premium in the RV, I just wanted a little light stool that I could fold up when we aren’t using it.  I only needed a few inches to be able to get to everything without climbing on the furniture.  Tom thought it was unnecessary.

But last week when we went to Camping World, the exact stool that I wanted was on sale for less than $10.  The E Z Foldz Stepstool:  Light, foldable, but holds up to 300 pounds.  Perfect!  Tom must have been in a generous mood that day because he decided we could get it.

In the last week I have used the stool to get a knitting book out of the cupboard over the sofa.  I have used the stool to find a South Carolina map.  And today I used the stool to plug in the microwave to make oatmeal for breakfast.  Oatmeal is the perfect food for a cold, wet morning but I haven’t made it since we have been in the RV because I didn’t want to wake Tom up to plug in the microwave.

I feel empowered!  Using the stool is so convenient and I don’t have to ask Tom for help to reach things.  I can do anything now that I can reach all the cupboards!  All it took was a step up.  I wish everything was that easy.