Being Organized: The Secret to Making the Most of Every Yom Tov

“The secret of making the most out of every holiday is planning ahead.  An organized woman will look forward to every Yom Tov on the calendar – and her family will too.”

–Rebbitzen Esther Greenberg h”e

I love the book Woman to Woman, by Rebbitzen Esther Greenberg h”e.  She gives such a great Hashkofa (outlook) on so many different topics.  Here I’ve reprinted her chapter on Pesach for you.  It’s great, I love to review it every year.

Many women have told me that the following hints on how to plan for Pesach saved their lives.  They might save yours too.

Begin by taking a look at your calendar to see when Pesach is due.  Then, mark the day by which you want to be out of your kitchen.  Also ask yourself: By which day do I want to finish the rest of the house before I get to the kitchen?  A good answer is: by the first of Nissan.  If you work with that goal in mind, your preparations will be much easier – and your children will enjoy being your children.  They won’t feel neglected and sorry for themselves, and you won’t be endangering their lives.  Terrible tragedies can happen to small children when their mothers are so busy and tense over Pesach preparations to the point where they neglect their children.

Begin cleaning with your bedroom, and start with the closets.  Remember:  There’s a difference between “kosher for Pesach” and going crazy.  “Kosher for Pesach” doesn’t mean you have to scrub the ceiling!  There’s no chametz on the ceiling – unless the pressure cooker exploded!  Cobwebs are not chametz and dust is not chametz.  Here too, you have to be smart and know what your priorities are.

The first list to make well in advance of Pesach is the list of house-hold repairs.  Don’t wait until erev Pesach to fix a banging window or leaky faucet.  Get furniture repaired at the same time as well.

Your second list should be of the clothing needed for the entire family, from head to toe.  Buy what needs to be bought and mend what needs to be mended.

Your third list: dry cleaning and washing.  Send out the dry cleaning as early as possible.  Of those items you wash yourself at home, do the heavier ones early so that you won’t get exhausted right before Pesach.  Curtains can be washed in advance, heavy bedspreads as well.  If you start ahead of time, you’ll be able to work gradually. 

Fourth, prepare a list of cleaning materials:  rubber gloves, floor cleaner, etc., from the many cleaning materials on the market.  One of the best tools is a big sponge cut from an old mattress or foam pillow, used instead of rags.  It’s very soft and gets into every crack in the refrigerator.  If you wring it out and wipe down the doors after you’ve soaked it with a cleanser, you won’t need to dry them because it doesn’t even leave water spots.  It’s good for everything.  A chamois cloth, kept in an air-tight container, will make everything shining clean.  Prepare your cleaning materials in advance and get started.  Who says you have to wash windows a week before Pesach?

Keep a special notebook that you use from year to year.  You can’t imagine the amount of worry, money, and extra work it will save you.  Write down everything you buy for Pesach, and afterwards, everything that is left over.  This way you can see what needs to be bought and shop throughout the year.  For instance, if one of your china cups broke, write it down.  Then next year, weeks or even months before Pesach, you can buy a replacement.  With a notebook, you’ll know what you need in advance, instead of suddenly finding you have to rush out at the last minute.

Make lists:  How many people will be at the Seder?  How many during the entire week?  How much wine and grape juice will you need?  How much chicken, meat and fish will you need?  Calculate how many meals you will be serving during the week and how many people you expect for each meal.  Calculate the number of portions you will need and buy accordingly.  If you have a deep freeze, clean it first so that your meat, chickens, and fish can be in your freezer as early as possible before the holiday.

Make a list of grocery items and buy them right after Rosh Chodesh Nissan.  Non-perishable items can be kept in a carton in a place you’ve already cleaned.  By shopping early, you’ll feel less pressured because you’ll avoid the last-minute rush.  You also won’t have to spend hours shopping at a time when the stores are overcrowded.

Remember to buy kosher-for-Pesach cleaning materials, disposable tablecloths and disposable dishes.  From Purim on, don’t let your children walk around with chametz.  Babies and toddlers who don’t know the difference can be given kosher for Pesach matzos so they won’t carry chametz all over the house.  Once you’ve cleaned your kitchen, don’t use regular dishes; if you can, buy pita instead of bread, because it doesn’t leave crumbs.   You can cook in your kosher-for-Pesach kitchen and serve the food on paper plates to eat with pita in another room.  In our family, we like to start cooking ten days before Pesach.

“Reproduced from Woman to Woman, by Rebetzin Esther Greenberg, with permission of the copywright holders, ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, Ltd.”