I started doing the 929 program a few months ago, when it started for the second time.
In case you don’t know, 929 (https://www.929.org.il/lang/en/today) is how many chapters there are in all of the Tanach. (Torah, Nevim, Ketuvim.) From Sunday- Thursday you are supposed to study one chapter a day, Friday and Saturday are built in as catch up days.
I took on the obligation to do this, some days I make it, some days I don’t, but, I always catch up.
This week we are up to the story of the Jews leaving Egypt, in particular the Jews receiving the Ma’an.
Of course, I studied this in school, but going at my own pace with my adult perspective on life, I saw something I never saw before, here, right in black and white, is G-d telling us, take only what you need for today, count on me, I will provide more tomorrow.
Are you wondering how this relates to organization? Well, it does, because, so much of what I see, or rather what I hear people tell me is this: “This might come in handy.” or they say “I might need this in the future.” or “I’m worried if I get rid of this I will need it as soon as I get rid of it.”.
All of these are valid feelings. Not only that, I have seen it happen that after people purge they regret one item, or an item accidentally got mixed in and got discarded.
Even though the worry is valid, you shouldn’t let it hold you back when you declutter, even if you don’t believe in G-d because look around you, you have more than what you need. You have acknowledged that you already have too much.
Organization and decluttering don’t have to be a sprint, they are a marathon, it took you time to get into this situation, it will take you time to get out of it, pace yourself. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, but it does need to be something.
Have a little faith in yourself, in G-d, in the universe, in Karma, whatever you believe in and see that you really do have everything you need.
It is a good idea to think about vacation, what do you pack when you go on vacation and how much do you actually use of what you have packed?
When you have too much stuff it creates extra work for you, like the client I talk about in the podcast who had a mold issue and needed to spend lots of extra time washing the clothing that was stored in the basement, and chucking out the items she bought in bulk.
What I love about 929 is that I am relearning what I had previously learned, but am seeing it anew, and I think I have a deeper understanding.
It isn’t too late to join in. You can join 929 also, just start from where they are at today, doing something is better than doing nothing, just like with decluttering.
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