When do you start cleaning for pesach?

amother

Indigo

Tue, Jan 12 2016, 2:47 pm

We went away for pesach last year but it looks like we will be home this year (B'H, there's nothing like your own bed) Smile

How far in advance do you start cleaning? considering I will probably only be cleaning on Sundays?

mha3484

Tue, Jan 12 2016, 2:50 pm

I like to use my winter months for decluttering and organizing. Come pesach time I want to have clear surfaces that can be wiped down and moved on.

For my two bedroom apartment I do a room a week. So 4-6 Sundays or another weeknight that works for me.

amother

Coffee

Tue, Jan 12 2016, 3:01 pm

I also consider only Sundays...this year is a leap year...so I'll allow myself to start thinking about it in Adar...I usually give myself 12 Sundays (or at least aim for that ) but I only use the last 4 Sundays for heavy duty cleaning....the rest I do leisurely and think of it as organizing and spring cleaning.

Tue, Jan 12 2016, 3:20 pm

We start making sure to use up our flour, processed foods, etc starting at Tu B'Shevat. This is a leap year, so we will start later.

Spring cleaning starts after Purim. Actual Pesach cleaning is the Saturday night and Sunday before Pesach. We never, ever have food upstairs (and rarely outside the kitchen and dining room) so it is just a matter of turning over the kitchen and vacuuming.

sky

Tue, Jan 12 2016, 3:53 pm

I mainly clean Sunday and some evenings.

We don't take any chometz into upstairs or basement (or at least try not to). So I start with there because its the safest.

imasinger

Tue, Jan 12 2016, 4:09 pm

This is a good time to do the planning. List what will need to be done, then work backwards from the last minute tasks. Once you have a reasonable schedule, you are under much less stress, however you handle it. Obviously, a bigger, more cluttered house will take more tme than a small apartment.

I am using the winter months to:

Defrost and clean basement freezer (when it is cold out, I can move everything to the back porch, and it will stay frozen)

Make lists and schedules, including plans for using up things, cleanng plans, and later on, figuring out turnover plans, shopping and cooking plans.

Declutter - go through kids' dressers and shelves, my closet, toys, books, and games, linen closet, bathroom.

Take stock of chametz, and start using up anythng that we have too much of to wait until Purim.

After Tu B'shevat, nobody here (ahem,DH) is supposed to buy large Costco size quantities of chometz, unless I am sure it can get used up on time.

By Adar 1 this year, I will start asking cleaning help to focus on one room each week. This means that at the end, I only have to pay for one additional session in the kitchen, rather than doing everything all at once in our big and messy home.

You can review many other threads on the subject with a search or two.

shabbatiscoming

Tue, Jan 12 2016, 4:12 pm

I clean out the kitchen a week before and cook possible two to three days before. Thats it. I dont do a spring cleaning and we dont have food anywhere else besides for the kitchen so we dont have to go crazy cleaning.
Even growing up my parents never started so far in advance.

amother

Copper

Tue, Jan 12 2016, 4:18 pm

cm wrote:

WOW how do you do that? No food out of the kitchen ever. I start right after Purim and find chametz everywhere. If I'm good and not lazy I'll start organizing and getting rid of things Rosh chodesh adar.