Chizuko Ishii
Resident of Osaka Prefecture

I was born with a visual impairment. I basically read and write by having text read aloud or using Braille, but I can distinguish colours and shapes with my eyes if they are close by.

These days, various smartphone apps and useful products are being developed, allowing me to live a comfortable life, even with a visual impairment, by making a few ingenious adjustments. I began living alone last year. Being able to take life at my own pace is the positive side of living alone; on the other hand, I have to do housework every day. In this article, I will introduce some minor adjustments that I have made to my daily household tasks.

I will start with adjustments in preparing meals. I have always been interested in cooking, and when I was living in my family home, I tried my hand at cooking on my days off or when I had time. I want to eat things that I have made myself, however simple, so I cook something almost every day since starting to live alone. I will introduce two indispensable items that I use frequently.

The first is a convenient item to make sure that the rice does not spill out when I pour away the water after washing it (Photo 1). I bought it a few years ago in a 100 yen shop: by simply attaching it to the pot, you can wash the rice without spilling a single grain. Since spilling rice is wasteful, I was always careful not to do so, taking a lot of time, so this is also a time-saving device which comes in very handy.

Photo 1

The second is a compact chopping board (Photo 2). It is 20 centimetres square, so I cannot cut large ingredients on it, but I use it when I want to cut small items. What is convenient about this chopping board is that it has a border on two sides. When I am cutting, ingredients often fly off the chopping board without my noticing, and I only realise that they were lost when I have finished cooking and am clearing up. However, having a border prevents this. Moreover, part of this border is mesh, so I can drain the board: this is a great product.

Photo 2

Neither of these items are made for visually impaired people, but they are reassuring partners which help me when I prepare meals.

Next are some adjustments when I coordinate my outfits. The combinations are what bother me when I put on my clothes. Even if I know the separate colours and designs of my top and of my trousers or skirt, I worry because I cannot look in the mirror to check whether the two match. When I buy a new item, then, I pair it with the items I already own and ask my mother to check, then take photos of the results. Thanks to this, the trouble of running round choosing clothes before leaving the house and the worry of going out wearing odd combinations have been eliminated. With just a little effort, I am able to feel confident and enjoy fashion.

I have introduced just some of the ingenious adjustments that I make here, but they are indispensable things that make my everyday life comfortable. In addition, adding one small touch gives me some mental leeway, allowing me to live a full life. From now on, I intend to continue not to begrudge a little ingenuity and effort in order to make each day seem a little bit more fun.