Home Organization: A Torah Approach to Bringing Order to Your House

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Home organization and hiring a home organizer are rising trends in our modern world, and in particular, in the frum world. Let’s explore the Torah perspective on home organisation, inspired by two frum home organisers, Ellie Azerad and Rebekah Saltzman as we approach Pesach.

Ellie Azerad – otherwise known by her business name, Frum Minimalism – is a home organiser. When I first heard Ellie speak, I was interested in what made her call herself the Frum Minimalist. When I think of minimalism, I think of Marie Kondo, tightly folded and color-coded sweaters and sophisticated secular magazines displaying wardrobes with no more than 5 sleek outfits, 2 shelves and one picture – perfect potted plant. Ellie is not a minimalist in the typical sense. Her method is not to encourage people to purge all items, but to select what is special and be able to truly benefit from those items with loved ones. As Ellie explains, “If everything is special, nothing is special.” Ellie shared with me that she chose the name because “as Jewish women, we often feel like we must accumulate more – more things, more responsibilities, more expectations – due to the many roles we play.” Secular minimalism glorifies living with the basics but frum minimalism is not about worshipping the decluttering itself. Rather, it is about having enough of the right things so that “our physical space supports our spiritual and emotional well-being.”

Ellie discusses how often her clients worry about bal taschit, wasting. Many of us worry, “but how can I get rid of that jacket/this vase/those shoes?” We feel that it is more in line with Torah to at least store it in some obscure cupboard. In reality, Ellie debunks this myth and demonstrates how if our homes are so heavily cluttered with things we are scared to part from, we may become guilty of the very aveira we are nervous of! We may not be chucking items away, but we waste space. By hoarding items which are not valuable to us, we prevent our shelves from serving their best purpose: holding the objects which we love. Additionally, by clogging our home space, we waste our time because we have to sift through all the clothing which no longer fits in order to find an outfit which does. By holding onto items which we don’t use, we are also stopping the item being used by someone who will benefit, essentially squandering that item’s potential. With Ellie’s Torah approach to organisation, we no longer waste space or time – together with training us not to waste money on objects which we cannot envision using.

By hoarding items which are not valuable to us, we prevent our shelves from serving their best purpose: holding the objects which we love. Additionally, by clogging our home space, we waste our time because we have to sift through all the clothing which no longer fits in order to find an outfit which does. By holding onto items which we don’t use, we are also stopping the item being used by someone who will benefit, essentially squandering that item’s potential.

The Mishna in Avot¹ says “more possessions, more worry.” The more stuff we own, the more maintenance and care is required on our part to safeguard those items. Ellie points out that we can use this Mishna to explain a scientific phenomenon: increased items in our homes raise cortisol levels (the stress hormone). Removing unwanted items from our home will in fact decrease our stress hormone, leading literally to less worry. Home organisation is good for our menuchat hanefesh, for our inner sense of content and serenity. Having less items frees up mental space, allowing us to reflect, introspect, meditate and focus properly on spiritual and emotional matters. Rabbeinu Yonah² wrote that peace of mind allows us to access wisdom and focus on introspection. In a practical sense, if we don’t have as much stuff to tend to in our physical world– less toys to tidy away, less socks to sort and less shoes to polish, it will free us up to tend to our emotional and spiritual world – which truly matters.

Rebekah Saltzman, home organiser of “Balagan Be Gone” constantly weaves Torah themes into her work. The week of Parshat Beshalach, Rebekah expressed that when the Jews left Egypt, they grabbed whatever they could while their matza baked on their backs. There was no time to overthink. Rebekah commented on the nation’s fears and complaints through the wilderness “Will Hashem provide us food?” “What about water?” “Will the manna run out?” Rebekah likened this to the modern-day struggle of her clients who struggle to dispose of items asking “What if I need this later?” To this question, both Rebekah and Ellie answer with one word: bitachon. Part of being a frum Jewish woman means that if in the present moment it makes sense to dispose of an item, we trust that if we need it, Hashem will enable us to get hold of it in the future.

Rebekah wrote beautifully about home organisation during the week of Parshat Teruma, tying it to the construction of the Mishkan. The same way Hashem asked the Jews to make a space for Him through creating the Mishkan, He is constantly asking us to make Him a space, a room in the home of our lives. When our home is full of items which reflect our Torah values, when it is kept in a beautiful, organised way, we truly transform our space into a mikdash me’at. In the days of the Beit Hamikdash, there was a roster of Kohanim who maintained the upkeep of the Mikdash, they too swept and cleaned, with every item in its allocated space, covered by its designated curtains. Ellie explained that when we embark on this mission, of building a miniature sanctuary, when we own our space rather than our space and stuff owning us, we are performing the most sacred job of all.

In Parshat Tetzaveh, we read extensively about the “expert craftsmanship” of the bigdei kehuna. Rebekah pointed out that when the bigdei kehuna are worn and no longer fit, they are not disposed of. Rather, they are repurposed into wicks for the Menorah. In her words, “It’s not just about owning something beautiful, it’s about how we take care of it, how long it lasts and what happens to it when we’re done with it”. The Torah emphasises that only the highest quality materials are used for the bigdei kehuna, yet above all, the Torah demonstrates the importance of intentionality in our ownership. An item should not only be considered for its short term value, but for its “entire lifecycle.”

When I began studying the methods and insights of these two home organisers, I felt inspired. Suddenly, I saw home organisation everywhere. Creation itself is incredibly systematic, with the Torah introducing each new creation pasuk by pasuk, Hashem creating each new entity day by day. Light and darkness, sun, moon and stars, sea and sky – everything was divided perfectly in the ultimate home organisation, the creation of the world. Similarly, the details of the encampments in the desert, each tribe with their designated flag, area of encampment and population is narrated with impressive precision. Each position, each person catered for. I thought about the Avot with their multitude of possessions, and yet Yaakov Avinu realised that he had crossed the river without a single jug, so he crossed back. We see that his possessions were not in control of him, he was absolutely in control and aware of them – designating a purpose for each. In Tehillim³, we say Hashem ‘numbers the stars’ and He calls them all by name. Among the myriad constellations studding the night sky, Hashem has a number and a name for all of them. They all shine with purpose – and so can we, and our homes.

Ellie’s practical advice to all Jewish women is to declutter their homes before they tackle their Pesach cleaning. Of course, if we declutter first, there is less to clean! On a spiritual level, Ellie’s closing message to us is that we don’t need to add anything to our list to become a greater Jewish woman. We don’t need an extra kitchen tool to be a better wife, fancier toys to be a better mother, prettier candlesticks to be a better eved Hashem. What we need is “time to do what you love, with the people you love most.” In Ellie’s words, “By getting rid of the extras, you’ll have the freedom to focus on what truly matters.” As we approach Pesach, the festival of freedom, let’s free up space in our homes, in our hearts and in our souls to rededicate ourselves to Hashem.