Meet the Pixies
How Kelly & Katie McMenamin Became Professional Organizers
Frustration is often the mother of invention and this is exactly how our personal organization business, PixiesDidIt!, began. It’s an outgrowth of Kelly McMenamin spending 30 odd years trying but failing to get her older sister, Katie, to be more organized like herself and the countless fights that ensued until we had an idea … what if there is more than one way to organize?
Growing up, we were always two very different peas stuck in the same pod. Kelly had to walk through her sister Katie’s bedroom everyday and it was a Disaster — capitalization intentional!
Katie’s bedroom looked almost like a warzone with clothes, toys and dirty dishes strewn everywhere.
Then when Kelly safely got to her room, she’d open the double doors to almost angelic music of tidiness ringing in her ears. Stuffed animals all perfectly lined up in her made bed with clothing put away in drawers and on hangers.
Katie went to bed late, Kelly early. Katie slept in, Kelly rose with the sun. Katie was chatty, Kelly reserved. Katie got her MFA, Kelly got her MBA.
Kelly tried for years to get Katie to be tidier. When Katie first had children, Kelly even helped get her organized. But to no avail, it was quickly a mess again. Katie told Kelly that’s because she wasn’t a “professional” organizer.
Then Katie hired a professional organizer and got REALLY organized for quite a few months. Kelly thought there might be something to this professional organizer magic.
But then one day, Katie couldn’t find an important document. AACK! Kelly helped her find it in her filing cabinet. Katie’s brain had never thought to look in the filing cabinet because that’s where the professional organizer had thought to put it. But it didn’t work for Katie.
The point of organization is retrieval and if someone can’t find something, no matter how nice it looks, they’re not organized.
This was our eureka moment and genesis of our business.
Professional Organization Your Way
PixiesDidIt!® shows you how to organize according to your personality type. It’s not about us, it’s about you.
From entranceways and kitchens to resolving conflicts with the people who share living space with you, pixie dust can help! We give you the key to create systems for keeping stuff orderly and keeping the peace!
We all know life isn’t easy but organizing it should be! Organize Your Way.
How are we different from other professional organizers? No one else gives you organizational advice based on your personality type.
It’s In Your Personality
From Plato to Jung — personality type theory showed us that we weren’t bugging each other on purpose — our brains were just wired differently. It not only prevented us from killing each other, it helped us to become good friends.
Eventually, we used our knowledge of personality type to help people organize their homes and lives in a revolutionary, easy way. Your way.
Different People Need Different Solutions
From our years as professional organizers and personality type experts, we’ve worked with a wide range of clients including:
- multi-millionaires with household help and piles of mess
- neatnik financiers with a hidden mess behind every immaculate drawer and door
- stay at home parents just trying to stay ahead of the bunny-like multiplying toys
What we’ve learned: You can’t be organized if you’re pretending to be someone you are not. Different people need different solutions.
We help you learn how to organize your way.
Before this idea, Kelly was working as a research analyst in hedge fund land. Meanwhile, Katie was a stay at home mom working on her novel and failing to keep her busy home organized.
Our parents have long referred to us as “The Pixies” — because our gossipy banter reminded them a bit of Tinkerbell — so Katie, came up with the name PixiesDidIt! and lo and behold, a miracle happened. Kelly left the hedge fund world, Katie happily procrastinated writing her novel to do something fun with her best friend, and we started our organizing business.
We kept the name “PixiesDidIt” because like the mythical characters, we’re helpful and annoying. People who give advice for a living are always a little grating even if they’re funny. Plus, when we help clients transform lives, it feels like magic.
A little bit about us today: we spend the bulk of their time organizing for clients, writing for our website and giving talks on how to organize according to your personality type.
Kelly lives in NYC with her husband and three sons. Katie lives in their hometown, the Land of Champions (aka Cleveland, Ohio) with her husband and three daughters.