Easy Pesach cleaning (vent)

amother

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 1:03 am

I think that the Rabbonim who put together the "easy guides to Pesach cleaning" have extemely organized wives.

Of course I could clean (the minimum) for Pesach in a short time if my house was already clean and organized. But if I was that type, I'd probably not find it that much more difficult to just plan ahead and have the house cleaned top to bottom over the month before Pesach.

But the whole reason why I find Pesach cleaning overwhelming is because I already find REGULAR cleaning overwhelming! My house is a mess, I don't wipe down my cabinets/stovetop/fridge on a regular basis. Be happy that I sweep the floor! Checking kids' clothing pockets is a whole lot harder when a significant portion of that clothing is currently part of a gargantuan laundry mountain that never gets smaller because people keep getting dressed! I'm struggling to keep the dishes clean, and this is WITH a dishwasher, and you're telling me how important but easy it is to clean dining room chairs?

The only thing the "easy" Pesach cleaning guide does is take away the guilt for a small portion of the things I'm never going to get to anyway. It doesn't actually make it any more doable.

I told DH today he should become a Rav because then he may be able to offer some more helpful advice to overwhelmed women who call about Pesach minimums, because with a house like ours he'll understand what they're worried about.

Okay, end vent. (For now.)

amother

Lavender

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 1:52 am

It's not the wheat, it's the stupidity.

When you get one of those "easy Pesach prep in two hours" guides from your shul, burn it with the chametz. It's mansplaining nonsense.

I know the difference between dirt and chametz, thank you very much. And if all I had to do was get rid of chametz, yom tov prep would indeed be easy. But there's menu planning and shopping (sometimes accommodating different diets and shopping in a few different stores) and making room for the food you've just bought. There's scheduling haircuts and travel plans and buying clothes (no, not a week's worth of new clothing for everyone, but maybe a couple.of white shirts, a pair of shoes etc.) Oh, and doing all the laundry before yom tov, and making beds and shuffling people around so the guests have places to sleep. And on and on.

Not to mention that all the regular parts of life (including, you know, meals) still have to happen.

These folks have no clue.

amother

Babypink

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 1:57 am

amother [ Lavender ] wrote:

Exactly. Not to mention working full-time, on top of all that . . .

amother

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 4:02 am

amother [ Slategray ] wrote:

To be fair, I think these men are trying to help! Imagine how much worse it would be to have to keep every tiny chumra AND struggle with all the above Surprised

Guess what? Most of the things they include in the "necessities" are ALSO chumras.

My blood BOILED when I saw a Rav who paskened that a woman DID have to pull out crumbs from the cracks in her couch.

bigsis144

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 4:32 am

YES!!! YES!!!!!!!!! You put it into words exactly!!!!!!

It’s so much easier to clean a clean house for Pesach, but my house is both dirty and disorganized.

I really am not trying to “spring clean”, and I’m not a stupid deluded woman who can’t tell the difference between dirt and chametz.

But I’M the one who drives the car that has kids in it and has to spend 3 hours emptying out all the kids’ stuff to even be able to vacuum the car seats and climb around the minivan to spray the sticky cup holders with Lysol to be mevatel the chametz instead of just being able to leave a little sedan til bedikas chametz night to check the glove compartment for a forgotten container of TUMS.

I *know* that there is a slice of biscotti under the break front mixed in a pile with $15 of random lego pieces, broken pencils, dust bunnies, unidentifiable crumbs, the missing dice from a board game and an overdue library book. I really know I shouldn’t be “organizing” before pesach, but I can’t just sweep and be done in 5 minutes.

I don’t have my act together all year, okay???

I would have to radically change my parenting, my children’s personalities, my executive functioning skills, my sleep schedule, etc. ALL YEAR to run a house that I can clean for Pesach in 2 days.

(Not to mention cleaning up in order to have company. I don’t want to conflate that with chametz removal, but I do need to get the mountain of laundry off the guest bed at some point, and ugh I found a few mouse droppings in the guest closet, I gotta vacuum and sanitize back there now...)

Last edited by bigsis144 on Tue, Mar 23 2021, 4:58 am; edited 1 time in total

FranticFrummie

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 4:57 am

bigsis144 wrote:

YES!!! YES!!!!!!!!! You put it into words exactly!!!!!!

It’s so much easier to clean a clean house for Pesach, but my house is both dirty and disorganized.

I really am not trying to “spring clean”, and I’m not a stupid deluded woman who can’t tell the difference between dirt and chametz.

But I’M the one who drives the car that has kids in it and has to spend 3 hours emptying out the junk and vacuuming between the car seats instead of just being able to leave it til bedikas chametz night to check the glove compartment for a forgotten container of TUMS.

I *know* that there is a slice of biscotti under the break front mixed in a pile with $15 of random lego pieces, broken pencils, dust bunnies, unidentifiable crumbs, the missing dice from a board game and an overdue library book. I really know I shouldn’t be “organizing” before pesach, but I can’t just sweep and be done in 5 minutes.

I don’t have my act together all year, okay???

I would have to radically change my parenting, my children’s personalities, my executive functioning skills, my sleep schedule, etc. ALL YEAR to run a house that I can clean for Pesach in 2 days.

Hi twin!

I have a book called "Organizing for the Creative Person." https://www.amazon.com/Organiz.....81640

I found it when I was cleaning. Apparently I bought it a long time ago, and procrastinated reading it. Then it got lost under a pile of clutter, moved with me 3 times, and I finally got around to the box it was hiding in. LOL

About your car, don't you have any bochurim in the area who are looking for some extra money? Usually the yeshivas or shuls organize something like that. Or, you could remove all of your valuables, and take your car to a full service car wash. Sometimes delegation is the better part of wisdom.

amother

Jade

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 7:12 am

True story from this week. We’re away for pesach BH. I made a list of places to clean that I know my kids hide food. My husband asked me why we do so much if we’re going away. “Because last year you said we should”. 3 phone calls to the rav later he tells me we just need to check there’s no chometz mamish in the house. Yes, that’s what that list is.

amother

Saddlebrown

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 7:23 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I dunno, if you have kids, it's totally possible to find whole or large pieces of actual food in the cracks between the couch cushions. And it doesn't take long to vacuum there. And you do sit on the couch on Pesach, unlike boxes of toys that can just be closed up and put away.

amother

Apricot

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 7:43 am

bigsis144 wrote:

Am I a “copy catter” if I repeat what you said???
(Op of making pesach in 2 days)

keym

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 8:54 am

I also have to remind myself that different furniture is different.
Every sefer and pamphlet reminds me that I do not have to take apart my chairs to clean.
But my kitchen chairs (2nd hand for free so I didn't choose) has slats in the back. I can see the cheerios. I can count them. Currently 23 in this chair. But I can't reach them or remove them without unscrewing the cushions of the chair. So now I have to find the screwdriver.

amother

Ecru

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 9:12 am

keym wrote:

Spray them with windex. Or bleach. Now they are not chametz.

dankbar

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 9:13 am

keym wrote:

Even if you see them but if you cant reach with your hands it's fine as you won't be able to reach them to eat on Pesach. Never mind that you wouldn't be tempted to eat those dirty crushed cereal bits.
I know the halacha, but I also like everything clean, come Pesach.
This year, I am going away, my rav called me that I literally don't have to clean for Pesach just remove the chometz food from house like bread/cakes & I am still doing some Pesach cleaning in main chometz areas.

amother

Burlywood

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 9:15 am

amother [ Saddlebrown ] wrote:

Yeah last year the only 2 places we cleaned was the floors and the couch. The couch is a biggie.

amother

Burlywood

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 9:18 am

I don’t think it’s mansplaining.
It’s actually how I clean and not how many women clean.
Maybe it’s organized vs not. (I am average organized.)
And I don’t see why it’s only the women’s job to clean, especially if she’s working and not a stay at home housewife. Why are you guys doing it all? That’s really hard. That’s not the rav’s fault, either.

bigsis144

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 9:58 am

Case in point: I KNOW this isn’t chametz, but it’s not really an optional thing to clean right now 😂

(My toddler excitedly told me, “paint the wall!” and I love her so very very much and BH I’m just laughing hysterically instead of exploding. AT LEAST IT’S NOT CHAMETZ. Some of it, in fact, is toothpaste so it smells great! And I can see spots where she tried to wipe it with wads of wet toilet paper... AT LEAST IT’S NOT CHAMETZ. But goodness gracious, I can’t lose track of her for 5 minutes...)

sub

Tue, Mar 23 2021, 10:02 am

bigsis144 wrote:

A budding Jackson Pollak