This was written last Iyar, but is as relevant as ever this
Nisson.
1. When cleaning for Pesach, remember: Everything takes
three times as long as you think. For example, having
scheduled a two hour timeslot to clean a particular closet,
remember that six hours is a more accurate estimate.
2. Just as when Tom Sawyer painted the fence, certain pre-
Pesach jobs become more appealing when a specific child is
given the privilege of carrying them out. Automatically, the
others want to get in on the act. [Ed. Especially when it's
painting!] Remember this at window-washing time.
3. Remember how sharp your Pesach knives are! Be careful!
4. Happy is the baalebusta who manages to use up her very
expensive Pesach ingredients but still has enough. Last year
I was overjoyed at having JUST ENOUGH shmura matza
meal for that last batch of kneidlach and cake. Lists
from previous years do help, but remember the variables: the
number of people catered for each year does change, along
with their appetites [size?], the ratio of Shabbos to
chol hamoed meals etc.
5. Don't be too creative. If you try too many new Pesach
recipes, your children will ask, "Why didn't you make the
Banana Nut Ice Cream this year?" And for the life of you,
you won't remember the recipe and what went right...
6. Remember how good your food tasted on Pesach? It was in
honor of yom tov, of course. The fact that everything
was fresh and in a more natural state probably had a lot to
do with it, too.
7. Try to make an arrangement such as we have been lucky
enough to have with our neighbors for years. Invite their
family for a seventh day yom tov meal and be guests
at their home for a meal on the first Shabbos following
Pesach. This is an ideal arrangment; we both think we are
getting the best deal. [Ed. This wouldn't work in many homes
where "we don't mix on Pesach", as a matter of strict
tradition. Not that one home is more stringent than the
other, but that the stringencies are SO varied that they
don't mix-and-match and one is best sticking to one's own.
How about Succos? Or any old Shabbos?]
8. Prepare yourself mentally and realize that it will be a
while until things are back to normal in the stores. They
need time to restock from the manufacturers. It might be a
good idea to have supplies not necessarily chometzdik
waiting in your pantry for the week after, like rice. You
will surely need time to get everything back into its place
in your kitchen, too. Some things seem to show up in the
oddest places after Pesach - like toothbrushes in the
microwave.
Next year we hope to be eating korban Pesach at the
Seder. Will we still have to clean? A good question to
ponder on when plunging hands into the soapy pail...
[And a must from your ed.: Keep that hand cream by your
bedside for the last thing at night and first thing in the
morning. Treat those boo-boos acquired in cleaning. Eat
well, sleep well. Keep the lively music on and the good
humor flowing. And take your breaks with Yated.]
