You may not be rich or famous — but you are an influencer!

It doesn’t matter if you make the evening news or the front-page headlines. You change your corner of the world by the decisions, choices, and actions that you make every day. You can make decisions that bring chaos, confusion, and frustration or you can make decisions that bring peace, contentment, and joy.

Having a measure of order and efficiency is not just reserved for a chosen few. It is available to anyone who is willing to accept change and a fresh perspective. Too often we settle for the way things have always been. We replay failed attempts and mistakenly assume that future attempts will automatically be the same. That simply isn’t fair or true.

My one my favorite childhood memories was watching the yearly replay of “Cinderella” on TV. This was before VHS and DVDs! I loved singing “in my own little corner, in my own little chair, I can be whatever I want to be!” And even as an adult, I still sing those words. I can make small changes in my corner of the world that enable me to live the life I want to live.

 

I can make changes so that I am an organized person.

I can make changes so that I am a dependable person.

I can make changes so that I am a generous person.

I can make changes so that I am a productive person.

I can make changes so that I am a gracious person.

 

One way to change your corner of the world is to significantly reduce the quantity of items in your home. We tend to use 20% of our stuff 80% of the time. In other words, a lot of stuff is simply hanging out, taking up room, demanding your space, time, and energy. Just last night, I pulled about 20 books from my shelves that simply were no longer relevant in my life. I enjoyed the satisfaction of being able to acknowledge that while these books had served a purpose in my life, I wasn’t obligated to keep them forever! I’m glad to pass them along for someone else to use. As a bonus, I changed up the arrangement of the remaining books and enjoyed the extra space. I changed a corner of my world!

I once helped a client change the arrangement of almost everything in her laundry room. We emptied every shelf and drawer, tossed the items she no longer used, and rearranged the remaining items into zones according to their use. It was refreshing to see how these changes made the room easier to use!

It became easier to sort and fold the laundry. It became easier to find particular items. It became easier to know exactly what she needed to purchase at the store. She changed a corner of her world!

I helped another client change an extra bedroom that had essentially become a storage area. We worked through each pile making decisions about keeping, donating, selling, or trashing the items.

We put the remaining items together in labeled bins. The exciting part was when we saw that the lovely daybed was clear and empty and ready to be used for overnight guests. She changed a corner of her world!

Each one of these success stories creates momentum for more change. Once you realize that you are pleasantly surprised by the change, you have the courage to step into another area of your home and make another change. Once you get started, it is easier to keep moving!

That Pareto principle applies to your clothing, too. You tend to wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time. Deciding to have less clothes will immediately bring very pleasant results into your life. You will spend less time doing laundry, you will spend less mental energy deciding what to wear every morning, and it will be easier to put clean clothes away.  It might be interesting to put together your favorite 5 work outfits, 5 dress-up outfits, 5 jeans, 5 casual tops, and 5 sweaters—or whatever amounts and categories make sense for your life. Box up the extra and set in the garage for a month. Less clothes just might mean less stress, less chaos, and less work. What a lovely way to change your corner of the world!

When you intentionally change your corner of the world, you create more time for enjoying your family and friends and for doing what matters most to you. You are being an influence for good for you!

 “You can’t go back and change the beginning, 

But you can start where you are and change the ending.”    C. S. Lewis