Every woman should go to the seder calm, relaxed, joyful and excited. Often even the thought of cleaning the house is stressful.
I have created this blog post to share some practical advice/tips to help you prepare your house for Pesach while losing the stress.
My first piece of advice, is that perfect is the enemy of done.
Yes, fulfilling all mitzvot associated with Pesach is important, but it is an important distinction that things need to be correct and not necessarily perfect. Going crazy trying to make everything perfect is time consuming and adds a whole lot of stress.
The second tip, get the whole family involved.
Focus on what needs to be done, and let everyone pitch in and help. Model for your children that cleaning for passover is not only a women’s job by getting your partner to partake in the cleaning and preparation as well.
Sit down with your family, talk, and make a list about what needs to get done and have each member of the family be responsible for one – or a couple of tasks. Use my Pesach workbook to help organize your to-dos and jobs assignments.
Also, I have created the expectation that my children, who are a little older, to help out or help themselves while I am cleaning. They do this finding ways to entertain themselves and to feed themselves while I am busy getting ready.
In addition, I give each of my children specific tasks to do, and I assign tasks that I know they are good at, and that they are capable of completing independently. My children do not eat in their rooms, so typically there is no food in their rooms, but I will go in after them to do a final clean. (First, I work together with them to de-clutter their rooms. By losing the clutter, the cupboards are emptier, and there is less to clean.)
Tip number three is – set clear expectations.
This goes for spouses as well but I’ll focus on children since they need the most direction. Never say to your children “Clean your room, kids.” This is too vague, and often you’ll find that your version of clean and your child’s version is extremely different!
Give them specific tasks to do. For example, give them a broom and say sweep the floor; make a pile of dirty clothes to put into the washer; or pack all your toys into the toy box,etc. Each task should be small and easily achievable.
When you give specific instructions, which are easily attainable, your children will feel less overwhelmed by the task at hand. Be clear in your expectations, and be sure to compliment your children when they complete each task. Will they do the job perfectly? Possibly not. But, you are teaching them responsibility, and it will bolster their confidence when they realize that they too can help in this important mitzvah.
The last and probably most important tip I will leave you with is – Never panic! Team work, team work. Do it together. Focus on what you have accomplished, and not on everything that needs to be done.
Yes, it is a lot of work to get ready for Pesach. Yes, it can get overwhelming and stressful. But, remember you have been on this journey for a long time! Feel good about how far you have come and how far you have to go! Trust in Hashem that you will reach your destination wherever that may be. Focus on the mantra “Hashem Keeps Me Organized”.
You got this! Pesach Samach!
Looking for a detailed plan to get you de-cluttered and ready in time for Pesach? Join my Painless Pesach program for 36 days of challenges to get you ready for Pesach painlessly! Don’t forget to get the whole family to join you too 🙂