Getting Ready for Pesach

The countdown begins! There are six weeks until Pesach, and you know what that means – it’s time to curl up in a ball and cry your eyes out. Just kidding! This year, instead of panicking, you’re going to get ready for Yom Tov in a calm, organized way.  For many of us, Pesach prep is filled with stress and anxiety, making us feel more like slaves than free women. But it doesn’t have to be this way! Follow my week-by-week guide below and greet Pesach feeling like the queen that you are.

Is This Article For You?

Two caveats before we begin. First, I always tell my clients, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If your current Pesach prep works for you, then keep doing what you’re doing. Second, my outline here is not all-or-nothing. If you find something interesting, just tweak these ideas so that they work well for you and your family.

Welcome to Organization 101

The first thing to do is get a binder (about one-inch or so) with dividers so you can keep track of all of your Pesach tasks in one place. Trust me, it will instantly make you feel much more organized, which is a good mind shift. Name the dividers “Menu Planning,” “Food Shopping,” “Errands,” and “Cleaning.” You’ll use the sections to store menu plans, shopping lists, etc. Take the time to make these lists on the computer so that you can tweak and reuse them from year to year. You’ll be so happy you did! This binder will now be your Master Pesach List that will streamline your preparations from year to year.

Food, Food, Food

We all know that Pesach is filled with lots of eating.  For “Menu Planning,” think about which meals you’ll be home for this year. Include the challenging erev Pesach meal and Chol Hamoed meals as well. (And depending on how close Shabbos Hagadol is to Pesach, you might want to prepare differently for that Shabbos, too.) Write a full menu for each of the meals you’ll be cooking, including how many people will be at that meal. Begin with “Erev Pesach,” then continue with “First Seder,” “First Day Meal,” “Second Seder,” etc.

PRO TIP I: This is not the time to go gourmet! Unless you get tremendous satisfaction from cooking elaborate meals, Pesach is a time to be kind to yourself and cook simple, easily freezable, yet still delicious meals. If you can get away with it, double some of your recipes so that you can serve them again for the second days.

Food Shopping

In the “Food Shopping” tab, write down all of the ingredients you’ll need to prepare each dish so you’ll know what to shop for.  For example, if you want to serve minute roast (this is a great recipe, by the way…you’re welcome), you’ll write down something like this:

Minute Roast

5 lb. minute roast

32 oz. ginger ale

3/4 cup ketchup

3 T. onion soup mix

1/2 cup apricot jam

1 medium onion, sliced

Write down exact measurements so that you’ll have a clear idea of how much you’ll need to buy. Keep in mind that many items will be repeated in multiple recipes, so you want a running tab of the total of each item needed. 

Errands

The “Errands” tab will comprise a running list of all the tasks you’ll do to prepare for Pesach. Examples include: clothes shopping, mending, buying paper goods, purchasing cleaning supplies (don’t forget the toothpicks), toiveling new kitchenware, etc. Keeping this list in your Master Pesach Binder will give you peace of mind, knowing that you don’t have random scraps of paper all over your house never to be found again.

PRO TIP II: Delegate as many of the tasks as you can, instead of having them all on your shoulders. For example, maybe your fashionista teenage daughter would love to take the younger ones clothes shopping. Perhaps your yeshiva bachur son can toivel items for you. (Hope my kids are reading this and getting the hint.) You get the idea.

Cleaning Tasks

The final tab, “Cleaning,” undoubtedly causes many balabustas unnecessary anguish and heart palpitations. If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times, but it’s worth repeating – now is not the time for spring cleaning! Remember that the goal of Pesach cleaning is to remove all traces of chometz from your home, not dirt. Simply make a list of each room in your house and any specific areas that need your attention. Take a deep breath because most of these rooms don’t need major Pesach cleaning, just a quick clean.

Short Term Work for Long Term Gain

You may ask me, “Shira, writing all of these lists is a time-consuming task. Aren’t you trying to save me time?!” Great question. The answer is that I’m teaching you the skills of the organized balabusta. This investment of time will be well worth the effort for years to come. (If it really is too overwhelming, just type up one of the above lists this year and see for yourself how useful it is.)

Week-by-Week Guide

Below are general guidelines that I think will be very helpful. Remember to plan ahead and adjust based on your unique schedule and family needs. Here we go!

SIX WEEKS before Pesach:

·         Sort through your Pesach supplies (e.g., frying pans, peelers, etc.) and purchase whatever you’re missing (If you’ve never made Pesach before, there’s going to be a lot more to purchase, but that’s outside the scope of this guide.)

·         Order matzah (if you haven’t already), wine, and grape juice.

·         Review your family’s Pesach minhagim.

·         Create your Master Pesach Binder, as described above, and type up whatever you can for each section.

·         If feasible, sign up your little children for pre-Pesach camps or hire a babysitter so that the week before Pesach will go as smoothly as possible.

·         Book haircut appointments (get ready for sefira).

PRO TIP III: It’s important to schedule times to do each chore in your phone or planner. It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we’ll prepare for Pesach when we find the time. But we need to make the time to stay on task to be fully ready to greet Yom Tov.

FIVE WEEKS before Pesach:

·         Clean out an area (or several areas) where you’ll store the Pesach products that you’ll be buying. It may be an area in your basement, a closet in your guestroom, or a shelf or two in your current pantry. Depending on your available space and personal preference, this area may be permanent or switched later as more of the house is transferred over to a Pesach zone. Don’t forget to clear freezer space as well. The more space you free up now, the more preparing and cooking you can do ahead of time.

·         Beat the rush and buy Yom Tov outfits for the entire family. Instead of having an entire day clothing marathon, break up this task into a few days and nights.

·         Send out items that need to be mended or tailored.

·         Toivel new kosher-for-Pesach kitchenware.

·         Purchase paper goods and cleaning supplies.

FOUR WEEKS before Pesach:

·         This week is a good time to clean the rooms in your home that are virtually chometz free. Have your children create “chometz-free zone” signs with pictures to tape onto every room or individual cabinet that has already been cleaned for Pesach. A visual like that will (hopefully) stop people from bringing chometz into those areas.

·         It’s also a good time to start (if you haven’t already) purchasing many of your kosher-for- Pesach food items. If you wait until too close to the start of Yom Tov, the shelves may be bare, and the grocery stores don’t restock Pesach food once it runs out.

·         Buy Yom Tov and yahrtzeit candles.

PRO TIP IV: Work with your energy cycle as much as possible so that you’ll get the most “bang for your buck.” If you’re a night owl, conquer your to-do list after everyone’s in bed. If, on the other hand, you’re a morning person, try to wake up an hour or two earlier and do the hardest or most time- consuming tasks in the wee hours when everyone else is sleeping.

THREE WEEKS before Pesach:

·         Place meat order with butcher.

·         Divide cleaning jobs among family members (in preparation for next week’s cleaning).

·         Prepare for the Seder. Select divrei Torah and kid-centered fun activities to engage them during the Seder.

·         Talk to your Rav about selling chometz.

·         Check guides for medications and ask Rav any shailos you may have.

TWO WEEKS before Pesach:

·         Clean cars.

·         Designate an area in your home where you’ll allow your kids to eat non-kosher-for-Pesach food.

·         Let the heavy-duty cleaning begin! And by this, I mean the three most time-consuming areas of your home to clean: the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Make it fun and exciting for the kids by turning on music, giving out prizes, or hiding money or tchotchkes in places they’re cleaning. Do whatever it takes to get the job done!

·         Don’t forget to clean out coat pockets, knapsacks, purses, and diaper bags as well.

ONE WEEK before Pesach:

This week is all about the last-minute details that couldn’t get done until now. You’re down to the wire and almost at the finish line. You got this!

·         Cover/lock up all areas that contain chometz.

·         Kasher your kitchen for Pesach.

·         Buy perishable items like produce, milk, yogurts.

·         The cooking marathon begins:

·         Never underestimate the power of crock pots! You only need to clean up a small area (anywhere in your house) to make crock-pot meals, and you can begin cooking as early as you’d like. (Same goes to the lucky ones who have a kosher-for-Pesach kitchen!)

• Assign each day a cooking “theme.” Maybe Sunday is “desserts,” Monday is “chicken,” etc., and cook accordingly. Some women like to start with pareve desserts, while others like to begin with cooking their mains, the meats and chicken.
• Keep in mind that you can also cook on Yom Tov. Do whatever works best for you!
• For those of you who have recipes that don’t freeze well, prepare sauces and freeze them, even if the rest of the recipe will have to wait until the last minute. The same holds true for salad dressings that can be refrigerated for weeks. One less step goes a long way!
• Make sure to label everything clearly so that you know what’s inside each pan and container. For easier retrieval, designate separate shelves in your freezer for mains, sides, desserts, etc. Alternatively, you could try to group entire meals together per shelf. Do whatever makes the most sense to you.

·         Do load-after-load of laundry

EREV PESACH:

·         Finish eating chometz at designated time (Dunkin Donuts for breakfast anyone?)

·         Do biyur chometz.

·         Prepare items for the ka’ara: roast the zeroah and egg, make the charoses, boil potatoes (if that’s your minhag), wash and check lettuce if using as maror.

·         Heat up and serve the erev Pesach meal.

·         Set the table for the Seder.

·         Shower and bathe l’kavod Yom Tov.

·         Take a few precious moments to yourself to close your eyes for a bit, breathe deeply, and concentrate on centering yourself to usher in Pesach regally and b’simcha.

·         Breathe a huge sigh of relief that you’ve made it to the finish line!

POST PESACH CLEAN UP:

PRO TIP V:  By the second days of Pesach, I typically start packing away my pots and pans, china dishes and cutlery, and use aluminum and plastic exclusively. This saves time and reduces the overwhelming post-Yom Tov cleanup.

·         Label one last tab in your Master Pesach Binder called “Review.” Write down which recipes went over well, which were a flop, which ingredients you have left over that you can save for next Pesach, which items you overbought, which items you under-bought, and what you need to buy for next Pesach.

·         Only 346 more days until next Pesach!

Readers are invited to share their favorite tips and tricks of the trade by emailing me at shira@serenehome.org. I look forward to hearing from you! Wishing you, your loved ones, and all of Klal Yisrael a chag kasher v’sameach!

Shira Schachter is a busy wife, mother, professional organizer, and owner of Simply Serene Home Organizing. She is passionate about helping you create more organized, functional, and efficient homes as well as teaching effective time management skills. She can be reached at shira@serenehome.org or 443-560-9216.