Organizing Solutions: The Canada Day Edition

Happy Canada Day to all of our Canadian friends and to everyone else…a happy July 1st.

Canada Day, previously know as Dominion Day has been celebrated “from far and wide” here in Canada since 1867 when the British Colonies came together to become this great country we call CANADA. For most of us it will be a day of beach parties, barbeques, community fairs and fireworks. A real kick off to the summer months.

For this months Watercooler I will be taking you across Canada to introduce some amazing Canadians who have helped shape the Organizing industry and have been a big influence on my life. They are all Silver Leaf members of Professional Organizers in Canada and I consider all if them friends.

British Columbia

Elinor Warkentin of Goodbye Clutter is one of the reasons that I am actually in this industry. Back in 2003 I read the most interesting article about a gal from BC who grew up in a Mennonite community. Her story made me think of all the organizing I had done as a child and to this day I look forward to seeing Elinor’s beautiful smile at conferences. Take a minute to check out her site and to follow her on twitter.

Alberta

Shelly Morrison of Clutter Cutter is  Western Canada’s first Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization. That is no small feat, it has taken Shelly years of education and hands on work to achieve this designation. With this specialized training she works with Hoarders which you have probably seen on the recent shows about hoarding. Not an issue to be taken lightly and people like Shelly are there to help…bravo to you! Shelly is someone I can look at eye to eye if you know what I mean….we are both vertically challenged and I like that about her

Manitoba

Morva Bowman of  Masters of Time and Space has been organizing Winnipeg since 2001. We met at my first organizing conference in 2004 and I immediately fell in love with Morva’s sense of fun. I look  forward to seeing what color hair Morva will be sporting each year at conference. I also had the pleasure of sitting on our National Board together in 2004-05.  Morva has been a mentor and an inspiration to me over the past 7 years.

Ontario

Jane Woolsey of  Professional Organizers.com is the Past President of  Professional Organizers in Canada as well as the 2009 winner of the Harold Taylor Award . Jane is a leader, a mentor, a teacher and a friend. I received my introduction to the world of professional organizing with a 3 day training program that Jane and former business partner Debra Milne offered. It was the foundation for my career and thankfully Jane is still offering this amazing opportunity to others who want to enter the professional organizing industry.

Hellen Buttigieg of We organize U is someone who I have admired from afar for many years. Hellen has been inspiring people to conquer clutter since 2003 as the host of the Gemini nominated show neat and with her recent book launch. Hellen is a busy mom with lots on the go and manages to maintain balance…I think this is why busy mom’s connect with her because they know she has walked a mile in their shoes…thanks for paving a path for the rest of us.

Clare Kumar of Streamlife inspires me with her energy, ideas and creativity. I had the pleasure of a lovely lunch with Clare and another pal Marlo Nikkila on a recent trip to the big city…yes that would be Toronto. Clare is a busy gal with her hands in many organizing pots. She has been on the talk Show Stephen & Chris to share her organizing tips.  She writes for Staples and Canadian Tire and has made her Shopping channel debut. Clare is on my list of Organizers to Watch for 2010.

Nova Scotia

Colette Robicheau of Organizing Anything is my good friend and conference buddy. In 2006 we shared a room, some crackers and lots of giggles at the NAPO conference in Boston. In 2007 we shared a room in Johannesburg South Africa where we both had the pleasure of speaking at the POAA conference. Wow…I still can’t believe that we travelled halfway across the world and had the pleasure of speaking to our peers at the Professional Organizers Association of Africa  Conference. We tried new foods, drank some South African wine and met the most amazing people that opened their homes and hearts to the  Canadian girls.

And last but certainly not least Kim Eagles….my business partner and friend. In 2007 we embarked on a journey to bring affordable organizing help to the market. Through our professionally produced Home Organizing Videos we did just that. With over 60 minutes of How-to videos and 70 pages of worksheets and e-book tips we have created a product that is affordable, easy to follow and available instantly as a download. Want to preview it now

I hope that you find the people I have introduced to be as interesting and informative as I have found them to be.

Happy Canada Day from the Shannon and the Eagles families…enjoy!