What is the bare minimum?

amother

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 3:58 pm

I, like everyone else, is extremely stressed about pesach. I am a BT and pesach and I do not get along very well. Many people have told me to just do the "bare minimum". What exactly is the "bare minimum"? I know spring cleaning has nothing to do with pesach cleaning, but how far does one have to go to be considered ready for pesach? I am a bit confused.

black sheep

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 4:00 pm

anything that touches food needs to be cleaned and kashered or lined. all chometz (actual chometz, not crumbs,) needs to either be thrown out, burned, or locked away in a cabinet to be sold. basically, THAT is the bare minimum.

greenfire

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 4:04 pm

yup ... clean the counters & table & sink & oven & fridge ... close the cometz cupboards - cover it all & now you can put your matza matza matza atop & be kosher kosher kosher l'pesach

try not to lick anything in between I.e. the floor ... your computer ... your phone ... your shoes/boots/chucks, et cetera et cetera et cetera

EmesOrNT

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 4:07 pm

I clear out my cabinets and wipe down the fridge and freezer. Self clean the ovens, line the stovetop and line the counters. I make sure the floors are swept. Thats it.

acccdac

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 4:33 pm

Spray with windex type spray and whatever was food is now, not food.

If someone has it, there was a very good "article" about pesach cleaning in the mishpacha, it had questions and answers of what is or isn't okay.

You need to line counters if they can't be kashired. Fridge shelves do not need to be lined. Some hold even stainless steel needs to be lined

Depending on your house, some areas do not need cleaning. If no one eats in bed , no need to lift matressess to clean under.

Some find it easier to separate what they need for yom tov and close out the rest so you don't have to check.

MrsDuby

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 4:39 pm

oh im so happy you started this thread!!!

Might I ask -- the first person said to clean / put away all chomatz - but not crumbs? Arent crumbs chomatz?

I think everyone should understand whats necessary and whats extra. I have no clue whats considered a must and whats considered extra.

flowerpower

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 4:41 pm

Whatever may have chometz needs to be cleaned and washed. If you have little kids its smart to check their drawers and pull away beds. Ive found a small cookie under my dd pillow-these things happen....

seeker

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 5:37 pm

Some time ago someone posted a link to guidelines by Rav Scheinberg ztz"l, they were excellent - clear, concise, halachic, bare minimum. He held very strongly that reducing stress is more important than any chumras. Maybe someone still has the link. I would love to read it again myself.

black sheep

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 6:06 pm

MrsDuby wrote:

crumbs on the floor is considered hefker and batel. crumbs on the counter or fridge or pantry where it can touch food, that needs to be cleaned.

if you store food anywhere besides for your kitchen, for example your kids backpacks or the playroom, then you should check it to remove actual chametz, for example a package of bisli or oreos. oh, and check your secret chocolate stash to be sure there is no chametz chocolate.

monseychick

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 6:08 pm

Clear a space large enough for you and your husband to sit on floor... Sell the rest of apt.

Sit down and eat matza and butter, and sing it Yippee I am so happy its Pesach ... Surprised

greenfire

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 7:49 pm

flowerpower wrote:

that is why we nullify the chometz ... and it surely is not the 'bare minimum' if you do this type of cleaning ...

seeker

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 8:17 pm

greenfire wrote:

that is why we nullify the chometz ... and it surely is not the 'bare minimum' if you do this type of cleaning ...

Actually I'm pretty sure at least according to some, if you have little kids you are in fact required to check random places for chometz. You don't need to scrub under their beds but you do need to look for cheerios because with little kids all bets are off, it could be anywhere. (you still would not have to check the top shelves of your storage closet that you are quite sure contains no chometz, just places that have a reasonable likelihood... like any place your 2-year-old can reach) Excluding places you can seal off and sell any chometz therein.

AYLOR but that's what mine holds. And we are the kind who favor leniency and doability over chumras and stress.

black sheep

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 8:38 pm

there is a difference between cleaning and checking. you only have to "clean" anything that comes in contact with the food you will eat on pesach. basically, kitchen counters, sink, oven, fridge, pantry, etc. you can seal up and not even clean or check pantries and cabinets you will sell the contents of.

now, the night before pesach, you have to "check" for chometz basically everywhere that you can get to. so if you are not sealing off a room, area, whatever, you have to check it for chometz. not clean out the crumbs, check it for actual chometz. some people spend hours on bedikat chometz night. in fact, aside from your kitchen, you can ignore the rest of the house and just check for chometz on bedikat chometz night.

that is the bare halacha.

I think the minhag not to eat anything that falls on the floor came from way back when, when people did not go so crazy to get rid of every crumb from their house, so there could potentially be chometz crumbs on the floor.

5*Mom

Wed, Apr 09 2014, 12:52 am

There are a few issurim with regard to chametz on Pesach. The first is "bal yera'eh u'bal yimatzei"--it should not be seen or found in your possession--and the minimum for this is a kezayit. Anything less than a kezayit is batel.

The second is the issur of eating chametz on Pesach, but with regard to this issue consuming even a "mashehu"--a crumb--is considered to be eating chametz.

So, in non-food areas you are looking for large chunks of chametz; anything else is batel. Also, anything sprayed with bleach is no longer fit for consumption and is batel.

In food areas you must remove every last crumb so kitchens and dining areas need to be thoroughly scrubbed with bleach or covered. Some appliances need to be kashered.

imaima

Wed, Apr 09 2014, 1:30 am

EmesOrNT wrote:

I clear out my cabinets and wipe down the fridge and freezer. Self clean the ovens, line the stovetop and line the counters. I make sure the floors are swept. Thats it.

iam sure you keep a very clean house throughout the year. Not like me, who has just found that a desk in the study is covered in spills from gd knows how many months ago and I have no idea what it was and how it happened...

Ruchel

Wed, Apr 09 2014, 2:00 am

Not going to enter the controversy, but you can find articles and videos on bare minimum, from MO rabbis and from charedi rabbis, even with a timing like "3 hours for the kitch".