Has anyone kashered only half of their kitchen

amother

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 12:50 pm

In order to begin cooking for pesach?
I’ve never done this before but I’m considering.
Yes, I wish I had a pesach kitchen …
So when my kids were little I kashered/covered close to 2 weeks before because I always have lots of sleepover guests.
Last few years it was just a week before- maybe a day or two less when I started cooking. My kids are teens and give me a hard time. They want to eat and not be busy hearing about the kitchen- DONT wash your hands in the sink after pizza! No, you cannot toast your bagel now… etc
It was much easier when they were small. I gave them something to eat, put them to bed at 7pm and went back to cooking.
Now they stay up later than I do. And they always want food.
So I’m thinking.. I have 2 sinks, 2 ovens… would it work to kasher one side, start cooking during the day ( I CANT do nights anymore!) and cover the area with plastic tablecloths when everyone comes home? Will this make me crazy having pesach and chometz going on at the same time? Should I just wait until I can do the whole kitchen? I’m a little nervous about all the cooking and wish I could get started. I’m having a large crowd this year and wish I could start.
I do set up a table for my kids outside the kitchen with a toaster oven and Betty Crocker for chometz and even that gets me nervous once I start cooking for pesach.
I’m really not sure what to do…
Would appreciate insights!

amother

Babyblue

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 12:56 pm

ShishKabob wrote:

I think it's too tricky to work like that. I would say not to do this. Just wait until you can kasher the right way.

A drop of chometz on pesach is not simple at all, totally not worth it.

Some people have their pesach kitchen in the regular kitchen and have both going on as well. It all depends how careful you can be. Op, only you know if you can make it work and be 100% careful it shouldn't mix.
I'm not such an organized worker and would never be able to pull it off. I only started when the entire kitchen was ready. You may be more organized and neat.

ShishKabob

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 1:01 pm

amother Babyblue wrote:

Its very different if it's a designated Pesach kitchen in your regular kitchen. The kids are used to randomly putting things down on the counter, reaching ontop of the cabinets to get something a lot of times with stuff in their hands and so on. It's not the same thing at all.

amother

Yellow

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 1:06 pm

do you have another spot in your house tht you can turn into ur “chometz kitchen”. be creative. we use our attic. right before I kasher I move everything up there sharp knives, betty crocker, toaster, coffee machine etc. we have a sink and a small fridge. I put out a table in a room there with chairs and the high chair. we even do shabbos meals up there. do you have any spot where this can work? maybe a laundry room tht has a sink and then set up a table in a bedroom? sure u gonna have to clean it again for pesach after shabbos hagadol but it’s rly just a good vaccum job and ur done. anything like tht would b doable for u? it rly helps me because I also like to kasher early as I have loads of cooking to do and I also like tht the chometz and pesach stuff stay completely separate. it’s on diff floors so it doesn’t bother me and the kids can live normally.

amother

Babyblue

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 1:10 pm

ShishKabob wrote:

She said she's covering it before the kids come home

amother

Crystal

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 1:36 pm

I think if you have 2 of everything and your dairy and meat sides of the kitchen are completely separate it would be fine to make the meat side of the kitchen pesachdik early in order to start cooking for YT a week early and leave the dairy side for chometz and kasher it later. Of course, your kids have to be old enough not to take chometz over to the pesachdik area. This doesn't work for me because I live in an apartment in Israel but I have plenty of relatives with huge kitchens in the U.S. and this works well for them.

amother

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 2:03 pm

amother Yellow wrote:

No, I don’t have an attic. My basement is rented out. Last year I decided to make my dining room into a “chometz kitchen “. I had a folding table on the side with the urn, toaster, Betty Crocker and even an electric burner. Okay, the chometz was in boxes under the table but they really had everything the needed. They still complained. Probably because they had to wash in the bathroom or maybe it’s because everything was different and not what they are used to. Motzei shabbos hagadol I did my dining room. It worked out last year. This year I’m not sure if I want to wait until motzei shabbos to do the dining room because it’s erev pesach right after. But we do need a place to eat on shabbos… not sure what we’ll do.

amother

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 2:09 pm

amother Ecru wrote:

We move our chometz into the dining room. I set up a table with microwave, toaster oven etc so people can cook and make things to eat, without needing the kitchen. And then all chometz is there, and I can make the kitchen pesachdik.

I did that and it really did work out but I think it’s hard for my family if it’s for a few weeks instead of for a few days.

ra_mom

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 2:09 pm

A close family member always did it. She'd do it for one day only and concentrate on cooking all.day.long. Made sure it was a day that no kids were around (took off from work while kids in school).
She would kasher one side, line it with corrugated plastic (without tacking it down) and work, work, work. She accomplished a lot. Then she'd put everything back to chometz. So there was no confusion of one side chometz one side KLP. It was just kosher for pesach for one day and nobody ate any chometz in the house that day.

Last edited by ra_mom on Thu, Mar 28 2024, 2:59 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Blueberry

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 2:14 pm

I live in Lakewood with the big kosher kitchen so I have a milchig and fleishig range and sink on either side of the room. One year, I only kashered the fleishig side so I could continue to make pasta and the kids would be happy. But I was so frazzled about it, that I would never do it again. I do what you said, make a makeshift chometz kitchen in the dining room and leave that for last to clean. I buy frozen foods that they can heat up in the toaster oven. Sometimes the kids do complain but as they get older they understand and are way way better about it, and it was just too nervewracking to do both. Maybe, maybe if I was alone when kids are married, then I would do that. Maybe. But with kids using the kitchen I wouldn't. It wasn't worth it.

amother

Thistle

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 2:21 pm

Im thinking of doing this as well. a few days before kashering the milchig side which is separated by the fridge, not across from everything else and using it to do the baking ahead of kashering the fleishig side..obviously need to be very careful but im seriously considering it

amother

Papaya

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 2:24 pm

I do this and plan to do this again. My kitchen is set up so that one side is an area that nobody needs to go to andnI block it off after I kasher.

Also, the halacha is that chametz can be nullified bdieved before Pesach so less concern with food made before Pesach (not that I've had any chometz end up near my Pesach stuff, obviously one needs to be very careful). This is the reason that not klp milk needs to be purchased before Pesach, so that any potential chometz would be nullified.

On Pesach, however, there is no concept of batul bshisim.

amother

Petunia

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 2:25 pm

What if you do the opposite?
You put up a folding table in your dining room and make some soups, onions, compote in crock pots?
If you get a single burner you can make crepes too.
Do you have a freezer that can be pesach only?

There were posts about it here. I'll try to find it.

here it is

https://www.imamother.com/foru.....35467