Shira Gill

Shira changed my life! Now, that may sound like an overstatement but she actually helped me modify the natural and engrained hoarder/​hider tendencies that I’ve had my whole life. She helped me tackle our dining room (which also serves as our entryway by default), kitchen, and my closet. Every space she influenced actually brings a smile to my face each time I see it now. Not only did she help me get rid of the unnecessary things that were bogging me down, but she also implemented organizational systems that I’m actually sticking to months later. I want to put things away now because they have a place. It’s deeply satisfying! I’ve always loved fashion and putting together different looks but I had let my closet get out of control and filled it with impulse buys. Shira’s philosophy is so simple yet so good and I find myself thinking about her parameters before buying anything new. It’s actually made getting dressed so much easier and fun — no more opening my bulging closet and feeling as though I have nothing to wear! I would hire Shira again in a second for organization, styling, life coaching, and just to hang out if that weren’t super weird and creepy to pay for a friend — ha!

If you are looking for an organizer, look no further. Shira is OUTSTANDING! She is not only an amazing organizer, but a joy to work with. As I approached my 30^th birthday, I realized that I had clothes and belongings, accumulated over 10 years, that needed to be sorted through. For some reason, I found myself struggling to organize my space. When Shira arrived, the first thing she wanted to do was learn more about me, so that when we cleaned my apartment i would be focused on cultivating that image and person. From there, we went through my entire apartment and donated/​threw away everything that no longer fit within my life as a 30 year old.
I have never felt so light. Despite getting rid of so much stuff, I feel like I actually have more because I truly enjoy everything in my apartment. Also, i now have time to enjoy the things I really love — for example, instead of spending time searching for clothes, I spend time putting together cute outfits. :)
Thank you so much Shira for changing not only my apartment, but my life!

Shira is absolutely amazing! She has come to my house twice-​so far-​to help me organize and declutter my closets and garage. She was so helpful. These were not small tasks-​I knew it had to be done but couldn’t face it on my own which is why I contacted Shira after a friend told me how wonderful she was.
We managed to do my coat closet, dressers and clothes closet in one session which resulted in many, many bags of donations and closets that I now show off to my friends when they come over! We also were able to clean out my really messy garage in another half day session. My garage, which among other things, had moving boxes that hadn’t been unpacked since a cross country move more than 11 years ago is now whittled down to ten plastic tubs worth of stuff. She is truly worth every penny and has transformed my home. Shira has also transformed my buying habits. I now think twice about what I purchase because I don’t want to clutter up all of the work that Shira and I have accomplished!

Shira is fantastic! She helped me clean and organize my closet /​wardrobe and I couldn’t be happier. I had been holding on to some clothing items for over 15 years and I happily let them go, with her encouragement. I now open my closet and can actually see what’s in there, and select from a well organized set of clothing.
I also took Shira’s 3-​month Goal Setting workshop. Shira really helped me focus on narrowing down my goals. I set small business goals and a couple personal goals to start. After the first meeting, I noticed I was much more aware of how I was spending my time and whether It was productive or not. Shira is very positive, encouraging and a good resource for all things.

Shira is the type of person who truly walks the walk. She is passionate about living with less, and super thoughtful about her approach towards that application. Whether it’s simplifying a space, helping with reorganization, or working to hold you accountable, the process feels effortless and the results always brag worthy.
I had the pleasure of participating in Shira’s «new year resolution» group, and over the course of three sessions, felt continuously inspired by Shira’s simple guidance and encouragement. She is a wonderful facilitator and an endless resource. Themes organically emerged within our meetings, and Shira always had the appropriate reference or story that helped to motivate our goals and create real action items.
Shira is an absolute pleasure to work with, and tackles hard issues with ease!

Shira is at the top of her game. I discovered her through the «Go Ahead and Declutter» article in Oakland Magazine.
I was a little reluctant to pay for an organizer, but it was completely worth it! The half day session was transformational. The session was quite efficient and I was very happy with all that we decluttered. It was amazing actually. My living room had a peaceful feeling.
The transformational part was that when I saw what could be accomplished, it motivated me. In the following weeks, I got an amazing amount of organizing and de-​cluttering done. I didn’t know it was possible. With Shira, I was able to get about 2 or 3 times the amount done compared to working alone in the same amount of time. I may book another session with her. I’m glad to have that option. The great thing is that I feel empowered.

I had previously had Shira in my home to bring order to my out-​of-​control closet. Our short afternoon together a few years ago continues to help me keep that closet (and many more parts of my home) in good working order with only things that I use or love.
When Shira offered a 3-​month Goal Setting workshop I jumped at the chance to participate. I have a small business that was functioning as a «hobby on steroids» and I wanted to take it to the next level. As a mom of two young children I’ve been watching the things that I want to prioritize sit on the backburner for far too long. This intimate group of women meeting a few short hours a month has helped me hone in on small changes that I can make to reach the larger goals that I have set for myself and my business. I’ve learned how to motivate myself to achieve the goals that I want and how to turn small successes into the momentum I need to achieve the big picture goals.
The last three months have been way more productive, fun, and satisfying than the previous years trying get my business rolling– I know what I want and I have a plan to get there thanks to Shira!

Shira has been a delight to work with. I have always been an organized person, but now with two working parents of two busy girls, the piles of «stuff» get too big too fast. We’ve had two sessions with Shira and have worked through all of our closets, cleaned up and transitioned from a «play room» and have gotten our bedroom and our 9 year olds brought into the present. Our first session, which was just clothing, shoes and other closet items, we donated 11 bags to charity.
Shira has taught us to focus on «fewer, better things» and just keep what really fits well, is good quality and only a few items are necessary in a given category. We are still working through the house, but are well on our way to living with less clutter and we’ve been able to maintain the systems she’s put in place. Our daughters have even really gotten into it and have been able to shed some items, which I never thought possible.
Highly recommend Shira!

I attended a recent 3-​month Goal Setting Workshop led by Shira and I am shocked by how much it’s changed my life and influenced my thinking since starting it three months ago.
I expected to have the opportunity to get specific about my goals for the new year and gain some accountability in a group setting, and those expectations were certainly met… and went *so* much further. By sharing our goals and experiences in the group I have learned an enormous amount –about my own techniques and feelings about productivity– and have gained so many new insights about structure, motivation, and workflow from Shira and the group. And what a group it is! A truly communicative and supportive group of powerful women!
Shira is a masterful guide and facilitator, and her exercises and questions bring out the best nuggets of wisdom and honesty amongst us. I have been pursuing the goals I outlined in January with ease and determination, and am thirsty for more knowledge about the mindfulness and productivity work we talk about it in our sessions. It’s changed my daily output, and my outlook on life.
I could not recommend more highly!

I have been participating in Shira’s «new year resolution» group for the past three months. We meet monthly with a group of lovely women who are diverse, but share the common goal of improving their own lives.
With Shira’s guidance and encouragement, I have been able to successfully get better in the areas that I have chosen to work on. Her thoughtful questions and frameworks about personal goals and actions have made my resolutions attainable. Thank you, Shira!

My husband and I highly recommend Shira for all of your home organizational needs. She has an outgoing and friendly personality that makes her easy to work with. She has great recommendations on how to clean thru spaces and a detailed list of places to both give your donations and to buy organizational items.

Shira is amazing, and her work has changed our lives!
I felt like we were fairly organized before we had kids, but things spiraled out of control in the last few years. Shira has brought us back into order, and our lives are less chaotic for it. (My husband is a bit of a hoarder, so having a third party in the middle was invaluable!)
Shira looks at how you live in your space, then helps analyse how to use the space efficiently and easy ways to maintain an orderly existence. We did most of the house — we didn’t get through paring everything down in the time we had (we did three, 3-​hour sessions), but she gave me ideas for the spaces we weren’t able to tackle together. We’re going to do the garage soon, but that’s a whole separate beast.
The feel of having my family of four in a space that is organized and easy to maintain is amazing. She has an amazing design eye. We all seem more serene, and our home looks great.
I used to think that I could do this type of thing on my own but having a third-​party guide us (and keep us on track) has been terrific.

Working with Shira was truly amazing.
I want to start by saying I had never done something like having a session with a personal organizer, and wasn’t sure what I would get out of it. I knew I had too many clothes, and that maybe some of them weren’t the hippest, but I wasn’t really sure how Shira could help and what the whole process was going to be like emotionally.
However, in one session Shira helped me clear out bags of clothing, firm up a sense of what I wanted my style to be, and gave me a very short list of items to buy (within my budget) to transform my wardrobe with guidance on where to go. It was incredible how these few items she suggested have pulled my outfits together and I am feeling so much happier and more put together. The other thing that blew me away is how much fun the whole process was. I had a blast working with her, I found her to be fun, nonjudgmental, and very efficient. I was floored how much we accomplished in a short period. Shira has a gift for the work she does! I could not recommend her more highly.

Shira is AWESOME!!! My husband gave me 3 sessions with Shira as a birthday present and I couldn’t have been more pleased with my entire experience. .. even if it was a present that made me work! ha! :) My husband knows that I always put myself last, so he did this for me to help my daily ‘sanity’ and I am SO THANKFUL!!!
Thanks to Shira, I have a BEAUTIFUL office that is organized, functional, pared down and so pretty. .. and has stayed that way! I went from tripping over piles of ‘to dos’ and a completely inefficient way of working (around my kids art work no less) to a serene, productive and very happy space that is all my own. My productivity has gone up and I smile every time I walk into my new space.
Shira also helped me organize my daughter’s tornado of a room and create a whole new ‘creative space’ for my girls so that their arts and crafts are organized, easily accessible, easy to clean up and best of all, out of mommy’s office!
And as a BONUS, Shira designed and help me organize a packing and shipping area for my business as well as an improved inventory management system so that I can now do triple the work in the same amount of time.
Shira has an incredible eye for serene design, has taught me invaluable organization skills and overall, is a total joy to work with. I loved every minute of it (even the ‘editing’, which I continue to do). :)
Thank you for bringing peace and serenity into our home, Shira! We all LOVE our new spaces!!!
For all of you ladies out there saying «I can do this on my own» and «I’ll get to it», do yourself a favor and just turn it all over to Shira. She’ll make your space (and the experience) better than you could ever imagine!

I hired Shira because our living/​dining space really needed some freshening up and to feel more like our «own.» She came up with very attainable plans that were easy & affordable to really transform our space. With her lead, my husband & I took her ideas to be able to create a space that feels updated, fresh and new! Shira’s honest, spunky & friendly personality make her a pleasure to work with.

My husband and I both brought a lot of stuff to our marriage. All of it good, but maybe a little too much. We worked with Shira for five three-​hour appointments and agree it was one our best-​ever investments.
To begin, Shira is lovely, super sweet and fun. It’s a very intimate space to have someone come in and go through years worth of your stuff with you. Shira made that space very comfortable. We started with the kitchen, which we’ve easily maintained and enjoyed. For our second session we organized our bedroom and closets. Third session, a bar area/​closet and our office, fourth session our guest bedroom and fifth session medicine, makeup/​bathroom closet. I’m hoping Shira posts pics on her site (maybe without saying whose house :-D!) the results were amazing. The transformation has been incredible — with less clutter, I’m more relaxed, I can find things and realized I don’t have to buy any more soaps or lotion. But those that I have, I can easily access.
Yes, we had a lot to organize, admittedly! However, Shira made it fun, interesting and honestly, easy.
Overwhelmingly, people (my husband BEFORE we met Shira) often say «can’t you just clear out and do that on your own?» My response is — not the same way.
Shira’s awesome — and if you have ANY need for help or support or need someone to walk you through the process and transformation and laugh about it with you, call Shira. As a result, I have become more organized and maintained our clearer space and clearer mind.
Thank you, Shira!!!

I had high expectations, and they were more than met. I could not be more pleased.
I hired Shira to help me organize my 7 year old daughter’s tornado-​prone room. She did that gloriously, with humor and calm, and the most perfect balance of gentleness, non-​judgment, sound & novel advice, and firm encouragement. What?! How does someone master all that so well? I don’t even get it.
In 3 hours, she skillfully led me step by step through every single item in my daughter’s space. She managed the time perfectly, and helped me fill 2 large bags of donations, 1 of trash, and 1 of recycling. We found homes for everything that remained, and re-​designed the space to capture all the categories of my daughter’s Life of Stuff: Science, Art, Imaginative Play, Toys, Secrets (so clever!), & the brilliant Art Gallery. All like items are now together in labeled spaces, and my daughter can less painfully clean up within a couple minutes (it’s so clear where everything belongs!). She is surrounded by just the things she loves, and Shira taught me all kinds of ways to focus on the positive and teach my daughter how to care for & maintain a space. My hoarding prone daughter is happy & I’m hopeful I can better manage this with her going forward.
I’ll definitely be hiring Shira again.

I realized I needed help when I couldn’t get any work done in my office/​crafting area because I kept needing to clean before getting to any projects. So I called Shira.
O-​M-​G
I expected her to help me get rid of things since that’s much of what I had read about. I did not expect her to completely re-​configure and design my space so that it is not only 100% functional and makes sense, but it looks AWESOME. I now love walking into the room– I feel like I have a new house! Somehow in 3 hours she managed to transform a junk-​pile nightmare into something that looks like it could be in the pages of Dwell.
I thought I needed an interior designer to help me– but apparently all I needed was Shira.
Shira is very to the point and precise about every step of the way, she uses a timer, she uses gentle but firm (and funny) guidance, she keeps it upbeat and focused. She leaves you with a trunk load of bags to donate (of things I will not miss at all), and a list of «homework».
It’s only been a couple of days since she left, but already her voice has popped into my head many times, and I am continuing the «editing» process on my own. That said, I will definitely have her back to help me sort other areas of my home. Oh yes.

Shira is a lifesaver. I was midway through a diy re-​design project and had hit a wall. Nothing was quite looking right and I was questioning every decision. In swoops Shira with all her simple, clean, and stylish wisdom and before I knew it my living room had been transformed into what I knew it could be.
You would be lucky to have Shira on your team for any project!

I hired Shira to help me do a closet edit. I had 10 years/​worth of clothing to go through and Shira was great. I was nervous that we would have a different fashion sense but when she showed up, I loved how she was dressed. Casual but put together, which is what I aim for. Great sweater, drool-​worthy ankle boots, skinny jeans. My uniform essentially.
It was like having a friend with a great eye and fashion sense help me get rid of the things that weren’t working for me or had seen better days. Shira was funny, patient, firm, and absolutely right about every recommendation she made. She took away 2 of those blue IKEA bags filled with my discards and I haven’t missed one.single.item. She left me with a list of things I could buy to round out my wardrobe (I needed very little) and also talked to me about buying better quality items that will wear better. She also told me not to buy anything that isn’t on my list so that I don’t find myself with a packed closet again. And I haven’t, which has been very liberating for my wallet :)
Now, when I walk into my closet, I don’t have to wonder what to wear as everything looks good on my and is stylish on its own or in conjunction with some other great piece she left for me.
I am dying to go shopping with her, is that silly?