Passover (Pesach) preparation can be somewhat daunting, but
I’ve learned that if I start my planning 4-6 weeks out, I don’t have the anxiety
that often comes with the last minute house cleaning de-leavening fiasco.
I started laying out my Passover preparation this week. This is my Pre-Pre-Planning Week!! Next
week is my ACTUAL PRE-PLANNING WEEK! Giving myself a planning week gives me a
chance to get myself in gear and have a strategy all mapped out. That includes updating my cleaning regimen
and creating printable lists that can go in my Happy Planner…which, of course,
I’m sharing. J This is the week that I assess our Holy Day
outfits and plan for purchases I need to make to complete them. This is when I get a tote out and start putting
chametz into it as I come across it the next few weeks in the kitchen. I also assess other supplies that might be
needed (new church notebooks, special Passover week foods, etc.)
I’ve learned to start planning my preparation by working
backwards from the week of Passover to layout my cleaning schedule. I like to leave the week before (or the week
of, if starts late in the week) pretty open so that I can do last minute chores
and not feel a hectic rush to get it all done!
Since Day 1 of Pesach is on Tuesday, April 11 this year (starting Monday
night at sundown) I’m using the week of Apr 2-8 as my “1 Week Before”. This is when the goal is to RELAX and finish
last minute tasks like cleaning out the vehicles, last minute vacuuming (and
cleaning out that vacuum!!), sweeping, mopping, and making the matzo!
Depending on how large
my home is I may need to start cleaning 5-6 weeks out (right now I have 2
bedrooms on an upper level that aren’t used, so I can shut the stairway door
for the week of Pesach and not worry about it.)
This year, 4 weeks is plenty for me to get everything done and not be
stressed about it! However, since I was
making new stickers anyway, I went ahead and added extra weeks of planning for when
I might need it.
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| After printing them out, I put the applicable dates next to that row and Passover dates at the top! |
5 Weeks Before I have set aside
for the extra rooms such as children’s bedrooms, guest bedrooms and extra
bathrooms.
4 Weeks Before I start into the part of the house where WE
live, but where guests (and children) can be kept out of most of the time for
the next couple weeks! Yes, I know, this
isn’t always possible, but it’s a good
time to implement the “nothing but water bottles” rule for the house! I clean the master bedroom, the master closet
(2 in our room!), the office, linen closet, coat closet, and the big open space
of the basement—if you have such a space—I do and unfortunately, I can’t close
it off for the week!
3 Weeks Before I move into the
workhorse of the house. I attack the
laundry room, main bathroom, family room, back porch (sun porch, etc), and the
basement bathroom (if you have one).
2 Weeks Before I’m still in full
swing finishing the workhorse part of the house with the living room, dining room,
and the kitchen—which I allotted a couple solid days for (maybe three!)
To download my THP Passover Planning, click the link below and download it directly from dropbox. 😎 Remember to link back if you share and send me instagram pictures of how you use them! #myharrydlife
The Happy Planner Passover Planning Squares
Keep in mind that my lists are NOT all-inclusive cleaning
lists, they are reminders of key things for each room. Of course, things like cleaning INSIDE the
trash can and not just emptying the trash are not included, but these are more
of a reminder list than anything since I’ve been doing Passover cleaning my
whole life! I’ve also learned that I
come up with extra chores for myself as the weeks go on, so I’ve included extra
lines and extra stickers. I’ll probably
be updating this printable next Pesach with my notes from this year! Just in case someone needs anything extra, I
included a yellow row of completely blank lists!
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Pesach!
