How to Clean for Pesach Without Going Insane

There are six and a half weeks left until Pesach (Passover).  Plenty of time.  I know many won’t even begin to contemplate cleaning and preparing for Pesach until after Purim has passed, but four weeks simply aren’t enough for me.  In fact, half of my house is already cleaned for Pesach as I write this.   I start my cleaning about three months before Pesach, usually right after Chanukah.  I know that sounds crazy to some of you, but let me explain why and how. 

My schedule is quite full.  Between doing school work with my kids, running a household, doing design work, and working on my Flipping Houses and Pancakes material, I have pretty packed days.  I used to get very stressed about getting my house cleaned for Pesach because it felt like an enormous task.  Quite overwhelming.  I found that by dividing up the work in my mind, I can remove a lot of the pressure and worry. By the way, this technique works for planning most large events or projects, so use it often. This is how I organize my Pesach cleaning and prep:

1.        I start with a calendar.  I find Pesach on the calendar and count the weeks, moving backwards in time, back to the current week.  How many weeks do I have to get everything done? 

2.       If you are starting well enough in advance, you can consider a few more things before making your plan. For me, since my schedule is so crammed, I like to clean only one room per week.  I also like to leave one week open before Purim, so I can use that time to make my mishloach manos (Purim food gifts) instead of Pesach cleaning.  But if you are starting now, skip this part.  You probably don’t have enough time to spread it out quite that much.

3.       Now it is time to make the list.  I write down every room of my house on a piece of paper.  I consider which rooms are easier to keep clean longer (this is especially important when you have little kids who might drag food around).  Basement rooms and bedrooms will get cleaned sooner than main living spaces.  The kitchen is last space to be cleaned.

4.       Now I compare the number of weeks remaining to the number of rooms needing cleaning.  I start early enough to have 1 week per room, but if you don’t have enough time, consider which rooms you can do in the same week.  Number the rooms in the order in which you will clean them. 

5.       Now I open my paper planner and the calendar in my phone (yes, I use both).  Mark each week with the room or rooms that need to be cleaned. 

6.       This last step is the hardest part.  Clean the rooms that you said you would in the week that you planned.  You have from Sunday morning until Saturday night (or Saturday Night until Friday afternoon, whichever you prefer) to get it done.  Do it all at once or a little each day, but do it.  And here is the part that will help with your sanity.  Those are the only rooms you need to think about.  Don’t think about cleaning any other rooms. And once you finished cleaning the rooms for that week, you are done.  You don’t have to worry about what hasn’t been cleaned yet, because that is already reserved for another week. And don’t start cleaning anything reserved for the next week (unless you really, really, have to).  By breaking the job of Pesach cleaning down into smaller jobs that can be completed each week, I remove a lot of the pressure and the feeling of being so overwhelmed.

Every time you complete a space, make sure to congratulate yourself.  Good job! Whether you clean each space quickly, only making sure to clear away any chometz, or you do a complete, spring-cleaning style scrub down (I like to purge my house every year while Pesach cleaning), by dividing up the work, you can clean for Pesach without going insane.

Cleaning for Pesach Doesn't Have To Overwhelm