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Making pesach at home for the first time. Tips?
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acccdac




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 8:15 pm
get a copy of "The Frazzled Woman’s Guide to Pesach" mrsduby@gmail.com thats the creater's email.

1) have a small notebook or place on your phone and take notes, to keep from year to year.

2) I didnt buy everything immediately I was able to borrow from family. I dont own every appliance, I buy one every year or other year. I only bought my dishes the 3rd year.

3) Before ordering/eating pizza on motzei pesach sit with the notebook and take notes "2 oils were enough" "need 5 bottles of wine if its just our family"
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Dolly Welsh




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 8:26 pm
If your husband is going to want a kittel, get it now. If you want special table cloth, towels, Elijah's cup, plate, little bowls for salt water for everybody, get that now.
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PinkFridge




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 8:48 pm
OK, I'm sure there's going to be some overlap. And don't consider this conclusive; while there's some repetition, I second a lot of the above and won't repeat:
CLEANING - yes, working backwards is always a great strategy. If you don't have regular cleaning help, you may want to line up some, and do it now. Get clarity as far as what you need to clean, sell, etc.
I don't have a huge kitchen or house but B"H there is a lot of practical space. I cram a lot into my lower cupboards and tape them up, and have the upper cabinets and other cabinets cleaned and lined.


WHAT YOU NEED TO BUY FOR YOUR KITCHEN
YMMV. I don't bother unpacking the milchig boxes besides the frying pan (which is one of the hardest working utensils in the house due to matzah and fried cheese), spatula, and one setting of the Corelle and real cutlery for my husband. Otherwise, it's disposable all the way.

I love my food processor. There are inexpensive ones. Essential for horseradish and kugel. OTOH, you can ask a neighbor if you can use theirs for the chrain (it's been our pleasure) and you might be able to get away without potato kugel, believe it or not. (Or hand grate. If you really want to.)

I also love my mixer but manage with a cheap hand mixer for Pesach. And a few stainless steel bowls.
I love my 22 qt. turkey roaster. I do kasher my oven but this is an incredible resource. I can make roasts elsewhere in the house even before the rest of the kitchen is 100% done. Other stuff too. You can stack 3 9x13 pans in it.

Now this is a packing up tip, but when I put Pesach away, the last things, I.e. the most accessible for the next year, are my roaster, which has the peeler, pareve and fleishig sharp knives, and spices in it; and the pareve stuff. So I can make my brownies first thing once we've kashered and feel like I've done something.


COOKING
Keep it simple. If you buy food, buy food such as desserts, tomato sauce, other condiments, etc. Your family will live with the same brownies or one or two easy recipes that work for the duration.
Keep an eye out for sales on items such as disposables (styrofoam, chinette, plastic. Repeat.). Check your closet for KLP food and separate it now. You'd be surprised at what you may have. And if you buy reduced (I.e. dented) cans, also read labels and buy some stuff and put it away.

You are bound to get some marvelous recipe recommendations as it gets closer. You may want to get a folder to print out some of the good ones, or if you're techie, do whatever you do to organize them.
Some things you do now, you'll be able to do for Pesach too. I prep chicken and freeze. Partially freeze chicken cutlets, cut thin and flash freeze. Of course you'll have to have some freezer space ready early.


OK, this is it for now.
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UQT




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 9:08 pm
Sounds silly, but don't do all the cabinets. The first year I diligently emptied and lined all the cabinets, and only used 2-3. Now I turn over the pantry, 2 drawers, 1 cabinet. It's slightly cramped, but way easier than doing all that work!
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UQT




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 9:17 pm
Two more small tidbits,

This works psychologically for me - I do the drawers and closets at my leisure these 2 weeks. Then the week before Purim, I do the bedrooms. The bedrooms are so easy to do once the organizing is done - your just vacuuming, doing windows, linen etc. This way I'm dividing up the chores into organizing and cleaning. I find it easier to do it that way.

Also - when I made Pesach for the first time I bought a cheap hand mixer with a stand (I was spending so much on everything else). However, Pesach cakes are impossible to do using it - egg whites need to be mixed for a long time and since it has very little volume, the bowl did not turn on it's own. I had a full time job as a bowl turner (my kids were too young to help at that time). After 3 frustrating years, I went to Center of Town here in Lakewood and bought a mini-Basch. it's under $200 so it's a bit pricey for once a year - but it's a lifesaver, I appreciate it every year. I wish I had bought it right away instead of spending $60 on the cheaper mixer and then the money on the Basch. Since pesach stuff have no flour the batter always fits perfectly in it.
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PinkFridge




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 9:24 pm
UQT, interesting point about the mixer. It is a pain for recipes with snow. But not all cake recipes need them.
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mille




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 9:41 pm
My biggest piece of advice is not to go crazy. I think a lot of pesach stress that people experience is from driving themselves crazy over nothing, or trying to do more than necessary. Talk to your husband so you both are on the same page about minhagim and how pesach needs to go. But don't panic over hypothetical crumbs in the dark recesses of your home.

I seriously have no idea what anyone else is doing that turning over for pesach takes multiple days... Since we've been married, we've turned our apartment over the night before (when you do bedikat chametz) and then driven to my in-laws and helped them turn everything over (and they have a huge kitchen). So we turn one apartment and one huge house over for pesach in one day.

Like others said, you don't need to go through every drawer and cabinet. I would look at your pesach stuff and see how much room it takes up, then designate a few cabinets to hold that stuff. Empty those cabinets but tape up the rest and just don't use them. Vacuum the floors and do your due diligence in cleaning them, but don't pull your back out trying to move the really heavy couch because maybe a cheerio rolled under there and the little vacuum skinny nozzle doesn't reach that far.

Don't make yourself crazy. It's only 8 days.
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MMCH




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 10:08 pm
We've been making pesach since our second year married, and love it!!

A few tips that I've learned so far
DO NOT EMPTY OUT THE ENTIRE KITCHEN. there is absolutely no need. I do 2 drawers, one cabinet, and my pantry. thats it.
Also, one of my favorite pesach things we've done, We bought plastic drawers on wheels, and keep majority of the cooking/baking tools, mixing bowls, small hand appliances in there, clearly label it, ties it with tape and rope so it doesnt open, and bring it up and down every year.
its amazing.

another thing, starting in march, I start looking for any sort of groupon or coupon, for cleaning services. I do the bedrooms and bathrooms my self, but its nice to get a cleaning service for a discount to come do the heavy stuff (under the couches, all the carpets, the entire refrigerator, ect) so that way the house is really nice and clean for yom tov, and its not that insanely expensive.

good luck!
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UQT




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 10:12 pm
mille wrote:


I seriously have no idea what anyone else is doing that turning over for pesach takes multiple days... Since we've been married, we've turned our apartment over the night before (when you do bedikat chametz) and then driven to my in-laws and helped them turn everything over (and they have a huge kitchen). So we turn one apartment and one huge house over for pesach in one day.



Sorry, can't agree with this one. Yes, washing the floor and surfaces and lining the counters & tables take only one day, but that's if the cabinets, oven, fridge and pantry are done. I find sleeping very important, so I do it over 3-4 days, give it 5 hours a day and make sure to go to bed by 9:30.
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adina2




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 10:22 pm
start early and just relax don't stress out everything always works out at the end
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amother


 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 11:27 pm
Op here.
Thank u all so much for replying! Im getting a little calmer.
For those of u who asked... my kids ages r 6,4 and 3, so dont have babies anymore that will take up my time.
I have a lot of cleaning help so thats not my issue. I can see myself finished with cleaning one week after purim.
I do work part time, but will probably have to put in more hours after purim..
My issue was that I dont know what I really need. Someone mentioned counter covers... it slipped my mind.. what type of ingredients do ineed to buy? (Thanks kollelwife for the heads up) how much matzah do I need to order for my family? What shud my menu look like? (I will search imamother for that. Tx) how do u kasher? (I guess I can leave that for dh) and so on..
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mille




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 12 2015, 12:00 am
UQT wrote:
Sorry, can't agree with this one. Yes, washing the floor and surfaces and lining the counters & tables take only one day, but that's if the cabinets, oven, fridge and pantry are done. I find sleeping very important, so I do it over 3-4 days, give it 5 hours a day and make sure to go to bed by 9:30.


Hey, do what makes sense to you. I just don't see what takes so long in turning over a kitchen. I don't see how washing the floors, lining the counters, and lining the tables takes a full day, or 5 hours of a day, but if it does for you, definitely pace yourself that way. I personally think spreading out the tasks over 4 days would be more stressful to me, but obviously everyone has to do what makes sense to them. That's the beauty of each of us giving advice based on our personal experiences -- OP can decide what makes sense to her and follow that advice. Or disregard our advice entirely and do what works best for her!
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Sanguine




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 12 2015, 2:41 am
PinkFridge wrote:
UQT, interesting point about the mixer. It is a pain for recipes with snow. But not all cake recipes need them.
Not brownies (not fancy and impressive but delicious so it's what we prefer). I actually have a cheap stand mixer. Bought it a few years ago and I love it. It just sits on the counter the whole week. I'm always either making brownies or rolls (gebrochts).

OP - Start out with very little and then build up each year.
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Sanguine




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 12 2015, 2:56 am
amother wrote:
Op here.
Thank u all so much for replying! Im getting a little calmer.
For those of u who asked... my kids ages r 6,4 and 3, so dont have babies anymore that will take up my time.
I have a lot of cleaning help so thats not my issue. I can see myself finished with cleaning one week after purim.
I do work part time, but will probably have to put in more hours after purim..
My issue was that I dont know what I really need. Someone mentioned counter covers... it slipped my mind.. what type of ingredients do ineed to buy? (Thanks kollelwife for the heads up) how much matzah do I need to order for my family? What shud my menu look like? (I will search imamother for that. Tx) how do u kasher? (I guess I can leave that for dh) and so on..
This is my shopping list. It already says 2015 cause I update right after Pesach last year. But - I have 5 big kids (3 boys 17+). So we eat a lot. You'll have to figure out your own quantities. Pesach shopping is expensive!!

My shopping list:

PESACH SHOPPING LIST – for 2015


2 ½ kilo matzoh
10 matzoh meal
3 potato starch
1 cake meal - have
8 bags sugar
2 Big Cocoa
6 bags chocolate chips
vanilla
2 vanilla sugar
Baking soda
Baking powder
ground nuts
raisins
have noodles

3 red jelly
7 bottles canola oil
lemon juice
vinegar
ketchup
mayonaise – 1

canned fruit
apple sauce
mushrooms
tuna
pickles
tomato paste – little too
puree

coffee, tea
salt
onion powder – bag
paprika – bag
Cinnamon
Garlic Powder – bag
Pepper – bag
Petrozelia – bag

soup mix – adif and onion
horse radish

soda
grape juice
small Water bottles

cakes
Potato chips
Chocolate bars


Eggs – 120 (at least 90 right away)
Vegetables
Meat / chicken /hotdogs /chips

Dishsoap
Dishwasher soap
Sponges – 3 colors – may have
Toothpaste
3 shabbos kosher lepesach toothpaste
Toothbrushes
2 Baking paper
Yahrzeit candles
Matches have
Toothpick - have
Papergoods / aluminum foil / big too

½ kg hand shmura
cover pantry shelves with newspaper

Have havdalla candle
clothes pins
scissors
Oven cleaner


Meat
Hot dogs
Chips
3 ½ kg chopped meat
3 kg = 187 meatballs = 2 families
Turkey
10 Chicken backs

Fruit
Soup vegetables x 2
Sweet potato for kugel
Fruit salad or melon
A lot of potatoes – then get more! –– 20 kg


Dairy
8 Shamenet
2 double Gvina Levana
Danis

Make
Reg cheese cake round
Donna’s Brownies
Batya’s kugel
Sharon’s choc chip cookies

Need

Chalavi hand mixer
Chalavi counter cover
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luppamom




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 12 2015, 3:00 am
Sanguine wrote:
This is my shopping list. It already says 2015 cause I update right after Pesach last year. But - I have 5 big kids (3 boys 17+). So we eat a lot. You'll have to figure out your own quantities. Pesach shopping is expensive!!

My shopping list:

PESACH SHOPPING LIST – for 2015


2 ½ kilo matzoh
10 matzoh meal
3 potato starch
1 cake meal - have
8 bags sugar
2 Big Cocoa
6 bags chocolate chips
vanilla
2 vanilla sugar
Baking soda
Baking powder
ground nuts
raisins
have noodles

3 red jelly
7 bottles canola oil
lemon juice
vinegar
ketchup
mayonaise – 1

canned fruit
apple sauce
mushrooms
tuna
pickles
tomato paste – little too
puree

coffee, tea
salt
onion powder – bag
paprika – bag
Cinnamon
Garlic Powder – bag
Pepper – bag
Petrozelia – bag

soup mix – adif and onion
horse radish

soda
grape juice
small Water bottles

cakes
Potato chips
Chocolate bars


Eggs – 120 (at least 90 right away)
Vegetables
Meat / chicken /hotdogs /chips

Dishsoap
Dishwasher soap
Sponges – 3 colors – may have
Toothpaste
3 shabbos kosher lepesach toothpaste
Toothbrushes
2 Baking paper
Yahrzeit candles
Matches have
Toothpick - have
Papergoods / aluminum foil / big too

½ kg hand shmura
cover pantry shelves with newspaper

Have havdalla candle
clothes pins
scissors
Oven cleaner


Meat
Hot dogs
Chips
3 ½ kg chopped meat
3 kg = 187 meatballs = 2 families
Turkey
10 Chicken backs

Fruit
Soup vegetables x 2
Sweet potato for kugel
Fruit salad or melon
A lot of potatoes – then get more! –– 20 kg


Dairy
8 Shamenet
2 double Gvina Levana
Danis

Make
Reg cheese cake round
Donna’s Brownies
Batya’s kugel
Sharon’s choc chip cookies

Need

Chalavi hand mixer
Chalavi counter cover


Wow, this really helps me Smile I have a Pesach file on my computer w/ all of my Pesach stuff, but my computer got destroyed and I lost everything. Your list is putting me on the right track.
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Sanguine




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 12 2015, 3:29 am
luppamom wrote:
Wow, this really helps me Smile I have a Pesach file on my computer w/ all of my Pesach stuff, but my computer got destroyed and I lost everything. Your list is putting me on the right track.
Happened to me once too (I think I cried Wink )
DH does most the shopping which is why my list is so exact which is good cause I really can't remember from last year.
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Aetrsnrady




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 12 2015, 6:51 am
I can't agree more about the Pesach notebook/notes on your phone-both. Keep it from year to year- menus, recipes, shopping lists with product brand names and amounts. What worked and what didn't. I have notes from my rav on how to kasher the kitchen. I have a copy of instructions on how to operate the Sabbath mode on my oven. Make an inventory of what you have and what you need to buy next year. When you pack away your piece of items, put the notebook in the very front so it can be one of the first things you take out.
With young kids, I'll try to finish all the "chametz gamur" cereals and snacks the week after Purim and switch over to kitnios cereal/snacks.
When you turn over really depends on your chumros. We used processed products and I find I can turn over much later.
Keep it as simple as you can- no patchke recipes. uses many disposables as you can. Especially baking pans.
Tovel all your stuff early. Kelim mikvaos are a mob scene before pesach!
Leave yourself lots of extra time for turning over and cooking. I find everything takes longer for pesach. The cooking is an adjustment because you don't have your usual utensils and they are in different places than you usually keep them.
Read R scheinberg on pesach. I think there's a link to it on one of the pesach threads on this site.
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Sanguine




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 12 2015, 6:53 am
Here's a menu - Seder was Monday night. Israel, so only one day of Chag (that's why I'm so calm Very Happy ) . Company. A lot of big eaters every meal (about 15 ppl for each meal)

KEEP IT SIMPLE!!

Monday Lunch
Tuna Quiche
Baked Potatoes w/ shamenet
Cheesecake

Monday Afternoon – 5:00
Hotdogs & chips (cut up)

Seder
Fish
Soup
Corned Beef
Meatballs
Sweet Potato kugel
Salad
Salad
Dessert ice cream

Tues Breakfast
Bought cake

Tues lunch
Fruit salad or melon
Meatballs
Turkey Roast
Mashed potatoes
Batya kugel
Salad
Salad
Dessert

Seudat Shlishit
Matzoh – butter…
Cheese cake
Rolls
Nice salad

Friday night
Soup
Chicken
Kugel
Potatoes
Salad
Ice cream

Shabbat lunch
fish
Schnitzel
kugel
Veg kugel
Salad
salad
dessert

Sunday night
Soup
Chicken
Kugel
Potatoes
Salad
Salad
Dessert
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luppamom




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 12 2015, 7:57 am
Aetrsnrady wrote:
I can't agree more about the Pesach notebook/notes on your phone-both. Keep it from year to year- menus, recipes, shopping lists with product brand names and amounts. What worked and what didn't. I have notes from my rav on how to kasher the kitchen. I have a copy of instructions on how to operate the Sabbath mode on my oven. Make an inventory of what you have and what you need to buy next year. When you pack away your piece of items, put the notebook in the very front so it can be one of the first things you take out.
With young kids, I'll try to finish all the "chametz gamur" cereals and snacks the week after Purim and switch over to kitnios cereal/snacks.
When you turn over really depends on your chumros. We used processed products and I find I can turn over much later.
Keep it as simple as you can- no patchke recipes. uses many disposables as you can. Especially baking pans.
Tovel all your stuff early. Kelim mikvaos are a mob scene before pesach!
Leave yourself lots of extra time for turning over and cooking. I find everything takes longer for pesach. The cooking is an adjustment because you don't have your usual utensils and they are in different places than you usually keep them.
Read R scheinberg on pesach. I think there's a link to it on one of the pesach threads on this site.


Just a warning from me. If it's electronic, back it up in numerous places. I just lost everything w/ my computer crash.
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saw50st8




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 12 2015, 8:12 am
luppamom wrote:
Wow, this really helps me Smile I have a Pesach file on my computer w/ all of my Pesach stuff, but my computer got destroyed and I lost everything. Your list is putting me on the right track.


Use cloud storage like One Drive or DropBox.
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