We’ve all heard of people who start Pesach after Chanukah – and others who don’t get going until Rosh Chodesh Nissan. Which is the better way to do things?
Since I am a professional organizer, I naturally find myself thinking about Purim immediately after Chanukah. My mind then takes no longer than a second to automatically shift from Purim to Pesach!
In reality, there are four weeks after Purim to prepare for Pesach. So, does it pay to start thinking about Pesach so early? Why not focus on Chanukah when it is Chanukah, Purim when it is Purim, and Pesach when it is Pesach? The advantage of thinking ahead is to avoid that panicked feeling of realizing, about a week before, “Oh no, I’ve got to get Purim together!” or “How can I possibly finish everything before Pesach?” So, overall, I do think the benefits of being organized outweigh the pleasures of being nonchalant.
With just four weeks to Purim and eight to Pesach, let’s see what we can do right now to get ready.
Collect, Clarify, Organize
Start Pesach by collecting all the thoughts running through your head about Pesach. Also collect all your paperwork: menus, recipes, and lists, etc., from previous years. Tour the house with a voice recorder or notepad, entering everything that has to be done. You can have fun doing this with your husband and the kids. Have people “call out” when they see something that needs to be cleaned or completed.
Clarify what needs to get done for Pesach. Use checklists. Create your own or use the ones found in my book, Pesach Perfectly Organized, which indicate everything from ordering meat to emptying your purse to studying the Haggadah. Get very clear about what needs to get done.
Organize. Decide when you will do all of the tasks you’ve clarified. (For example, cleaning out your bedroom closets happens during the first phase of cleaning. [See sidebar.] You could be doing that now!) Transfer the tasks from your list to a calendar with a daily, weekly, and monthly view, so you can easily see where they fit. Then transfer the tasks to your regular calendar.
You can even make a countdown to Pesach with plain computer paper. Staple 31 sheets of paper together and number the bottom with the date. Write tasks on post-it notes and insert them throughout your countdown. Rip off each piece of paper as the days progress and the tasks are finished.
The Family Meeting
After collecting, clarifying, and organizing, hold a family meeting. This is a great first step for getting everyone into the Pesach mode. What is this meeting all about? Its goal is to bring you together as a family around this major project of the Jewish year: what tasks need to be accomplished, who is available to assist, and any requests or opinions that family members have.
Is there anything different this year for your family? For example, if you have a wedding or a birth before Pesach, you may need to start earlier than in other years. If you are caring for an elderly family member, you may want to cook chametz until the last possible minute. Or, if you have a Pesach kitchen in the basement, you may be able to start cooking well before you’re finished cleaning. These are all aspects of Pesach that are personal and unique to your family.
If you have school-aged or teen-aged children, let them help you make a master list of tasks. (Identifying very clear tasks is an absolute critical step to being productive.) When children participate in the planning, they are usually more willing to do the work. Ask them to check off the tasks they will do, along with the timetable for doing them. Now is also the time to clarify who needs new items of clothing for the holiday and when you will go shopping.
You can discuss at the meeting any family that is coming from out of town and where they will sleep. Will any of the children be displaced? Do you need more beds? More linens? Will you be asking neighbors to provide sleeping space?
Talk about when Pesach falls out; it’s Monday night this year. Does this have ramifications for your job or your husband’s? Can you afford cleaning help? If so, will it be your regular cleaning lady? A professional service? Or specialized help, like oven or carpet cleaning? Will you need to arrange for a babysitter so you can clean? Do you want to do any renovation or decorating before Yom Tov? Are you going to budget money for eating out during the last week before Pesach?
Stay Positive
Sound easy enough? The truth is, you already know how to plan and be productive. You got the kids to school this morning, right? You cooked for Shabbos last week, right? You collected your thoughts about the project, identified clear tasks that needed to get done, organized, and then did them! The jump from non-Pesach to Pesach can be a tough one. Let’s transition ourselves gently before Purim – before the panic sets in – so that we know exactly what has to be done and do it early on.
Rivka Slatkin is a professional organizer and author. Her web site is www.jewish-life-organized.com.
Sidebar
Eight Weeks to Pesach
by Rivka Slatkin
This suggested checklist gives you eight weeks to prepare for Pesach. Feel free to modify it to your own situation.
8 Weeks to Pesach
? Review notes from last year
? Look over the calendar and fill in your cleaning and shopping schedules
? Hold a family meeting
? Work on completing house purchases and renovations
7 Weeks to Pesach
? Complete major household purchases
? Set appointments for carpet cleaning, renovations, other work dates
6 Weeks to Pesach
? First phase of cleaning: bedrooms, closets, basement, storage areas
? First phase of clothes shopping
5 Weeks to Pesach
? Look over your Pesach kitchen inventory
? Order matza
? Create a pantry for Pesach food. Include storage for non-perishable foods, frozen foods, and matza.
? Move your chametz foods out of this newly assigned Pesach food area
? Accumulate your kitchen inventory (i.e., pots and pans, cutting boards)
A Freilichin Purim! 4 Weeks to Pesach
? Continue to build up your kitchen inventory and non-perishable Pesach shopping
? Buy paper goods, kitchen lining supplies
? Order meat, wine, fish
? Make personal appointments
? Clean dining room breakfront
3 Weeks to Pesach
? Clean fridge and freezer, designating one chametz area
? Begin giving kids Pesachdik snacks
? Complete clothes shopping
? Clean other rooms (laundry rooms, office, hallway, bathrooms) and tape up areas
2 Weeks to Pesach
? Clean cars
? Create your meal plans
? Shop for perishables
? Clean the kitchen, including appliances, cabinets, chairs, countertops, floor, garbage, highchair, oven, phone, sink, stovetop, table, windows, table, etc.
? Kasher and make your kitchen Pesachdik: Line countertops, kasher oven, sink, etc.
? Think about how you will eat challa on Shabbos
1 Week to Pesach
? Cook!!!
? Prepare for Seder
? Vacuum everywhere
Adapted from Pesach Perfectly Organized. Many more checklists and countdowns are available in the book, which can be ordered at www.jewish-life-organized.com.
