Shannon McGinnis Certified Professional Organizer
Shannon McGinnis has been organizing all of her life. “Growing up, I was called the ‘White Tornado’ because I would come home and ‘whip’ the house into shape.”
McGinnis became the organizer in her family because she, her sister and their mother moved 6 times by the time McGinnis was in the second grade. All of the house-shuffling called forth a deep yearning for order in Shannon’s life. Shannon’s mother was a collector of many things: birds, books, bells, elephants, unicorns, candles, crystals which covered every horizontal surface in their home.
Guess who had to dust?
Yes, McGinnis picked up each item and thoroughly dusted. It was no surprise for ANY family member or friend when Shannon’s obvious love for organization became her life career and a successful business.
“My professional organizing career began at the age of 12. My mother hired me to help organize her best friend’s home shortly after she had her second baby. In four days, I organized everything from the linen closet to the laundry area as well as all three bedrooms.”
After high school, McGinnis left New Jersey and went on to get her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology. She knew that she wanted to be a teacher but wasn’t sure if academia was the right career path for her. After working for a pharmaceutical company for a year, McGinnis decided to leave Biology behind and moved to California in 1998.
Shannon’s desire for simplicity translated into living out of a backpack for 5 months when she traveled to India and Nepal between 1999-2000. Shannon had just 1 pair of shoes and 4 outfits: 2 for hot weather and 2 for cold weather. “I don’t remember once during that time ever wanting another pair of shoes. It’s so ironic today since I rarely wear the same shoes 2 or 3 days in a row.”
While in Asia, Shannon was introduced to Tibetan Buddhism and had the privilege of attending teachings with His Holiness the Dalai Lama for nine days. Once she came back from Asia, Shannon wanted to continue to be surrounded by this tradition and worked as a cook at Vajarapani Institute in Boulder Creek for three years.
In 2003, McGinnis ventured out, developing a business around her passion-organizing. Shannon’s business “Organized 4 Success”offers clients expert advice on a variety of topics such as space management, time management, and organizing principles.
“This is my true calling. This is how I am able to make a difference in people’s lives every day. Some of my clients call it ‘Shannonizing,’ instead of organizing. After working with me, clientstend to know what it is like to think like an organizer. They start to ask themselves what I would recommend to them, even when I’m not there! This is my goal, to share my gifts with others making their lives easier because of our exchange.”
Shannon has a sense of humor and grace when dealing with her clients’ possessions. “Organizing shoes or clothes or anything is about defining clutter (something you haven’t made a decision about) and threshold (how much space you have for certain items). If you have enough room to store your shoes in your closet properly, than keep as many shoes as you want to.
“Chaos comes from having too many items in one space and not making decisions about what to keep and what to get rid of. You can organize your shoes in about 10 minutes if your goal is to only keep the ones you love and that are comfortable. Asking yourself: Does it FIT? Does it FUNCTION? Does it make me FEEL like a million bucks?” Yes, just these 3 questions can help you pare down your wardrobe quickly and easily.
Feeling that she has been called to share her organizing skills with others; Shannon has created instructional CDs, a 30-day organizing workbook and a 75 minute instructional DVD. Shannon’s New Book, The 10-Minute Tidy: 108 Ways to Organize Your Home Quickly, is the next logical step in her already successful career as a Certified Professional Organizer.
Readers of McGinnis’s book will be able to create their own “White Tornado” by taking just 10 minutes to tidy a room, a closet, or even the kitchen junk drawer. Shannon offers simple organizing solutions for areas of your home from closets and garages to papers and finances.
The 10-Minute Tidy: 108 Ways to Organize Your Home Quickly is a small book, modeled after the Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff series, that is packed with tips and tricks that a woman with a lifetime of organizing experience shares with both common sense and a dash of humor. Shannon provides remedies for unmatched socks to unwanted email; kids’ stuff to craft areas. There is something for everyone in Shannon’s book, so that even the most organized person can learn how to eliminate more junk mail.
Shannon continues to excel in her field, by becoming Santa Cruz’s only Certified Professional Organizer in April of 2007. She qualified with this designation among fewer than 200 other Professional Organizers in the nation. This accreditation places Shannon McGinnis in the top 5% of her profession.
The professional organizers Shannon trains at Organized 4 Success work directly with clients, in their homes, offices, garages, storage spaces and more. For those interested in free monthly organizing tips and ideas, her electronic newsletter, “Strategies 4 Success”, is available to subscribers.
In addition to being a national speaker, McGinnis teaches classes, seminars, and workshops on organizing and is available for speaking engagements.
Shannon McGinnis not only organizes her client’s homes and businesses, she transforms their lives; opening the door for more clarity, prosperity, flow and fun.
To schedule an interview with Shannon McGinnis please call her directly at 831-566-0497