Hooray!  Despite having a number of changes to our cleaning schedule the last couple of days, the top two floors of the house are almost done being cleaned for Pesach!  That means all of the bedrooms, the attic, linen closet, and kids’ bathroom.  All that is left is part of our room and bathroom, both of which I should be able to finish off within an hour tomorrow afternoon.  

Don’t think this was due to just my efforts – all of my kids are involved in cleaning, and that’s why we can go so quickly.  I see Pesach cleaning as a team effort, and it’s so much nicer like that for us all, since no one has to feel overwhelmed by how much they have to do.  My ds15 has finished his closet, and it looks great.  The boys still need to do a final sweep, but ds10 is having a sleepover tonight with a friend, so I’ll wait until his friend goes home tomorrow to ask him to finish that up.  My dd12, when she heard me mention that I was behind schedule, decided to surprise me and clean the baby’s room, linen closet, and bathroom (it’s her month to do the bathrooms, and she didn’t think it was a big deal to clean it more thoroughly for Pesach) while I was upstairs organizing the attic.  That was a very nice surprise!  And she enjoyed doing it. 

I got the major organizing of the attic out of the way, which isn’t exactly Pesach cleaning, but I don’t like knowing there are bags of clothing waiting to be sorted and packed away.  It’s like mental clutter, knowing that it’s there and needing to be done, and it takes up some of the space in the back of my brain.  So I’m glad to have it taken care of, and it looks much neater now.  Plus while I was at it, I pulled out some Shabbos robes, dresses, and outfits for the girls for Pesach. 

Next week my goal is to do the basement (Sun – storage room, Mon – laundry room, Tues – main area and bathroom).  The following week I’d like to do the main floor and turn over the kitchen (Sun – living room, Mon – dining room, Tues – kitchen, Wed – monthly shopping, Thurs. April 2 – finish kitchen and turn over). 

Then I’ll have the few days before Pesach for laundry, cooking, and last minute shopping.  There you have it, my simple Pesach cleaning schedule.  That’s my secret to sanity in preparing for Pesach and enjoying yom tov – plan ahead, don’t schedule too much at one time for anyone, work together, leave more time than you need to get everything done, and remember the goal that you’re working towards. 

Avivah