Pre-Pesach & Pesach Logistics help Needed

Platinum Member Joined: Nov 17 2008 Posts: 5047

This year, my family is all coming to me before Pesach through the first days and everyone is leaving the first day of chol haomed (including DH & myself).

Some are coming as much as 1� weeks before YT, some a week before, some before Shabbos HaGadol.

We're talking around 14 adults and I think 13 little kids (oldest is 5).

I have a big house and enough sleeping space for everyone. I've got cleaning help and I have a basement Pesach kitchen where I can cook in advance.

In the past, I always cooked well in advance in the Pesach kitchen (but then I was making a full YT for around this number of people, not just 2 days worth), and then the day before erev YT, I kashered and turned over my upstairs kitchen, both milchigs and fleishigs sides (some times I left the milchig sink/counter area available for chometz through the morning of erev YT). Usually in a year that falls like this one, I'd change over at least for fleishigs before Shabbos.

I'm wondering if it might be better to take a different direction this year. Since I only need to cook for 2 days of Pesach, I can do that in a day or 2 in the basement and be finished.

I also will try to cook in advance to cover as much chometz food as possible for after people start arriving.

I'm just not sure when to turn over the upstairs kitchen -- I thinking of even waiting to do it after Shabbos (which whould be chometzdik) on Sunday for fleishigs. I'm thinking of maybe not even kashering the milchig cooktop and oven at all (it would only be needed really for breakfast on the first day of chol hamoed). It could be used for chometz even erev Pesach. I think for that one chol hamoed breakfast we could manage without it. I don't have a problem using a fleishig cooktop burner (with an extra layer of foil by the burner) for some milchig cooking if necessary.

My biggest hesitation with waiting longer to turn over the kitchen is worrying about getting the area clean and keeping it clean with little kids around.

What would you do in this scenario? Does my plan seem reasonable (just writing it down here helps me -- but I'm still a little nervous about it)? What do you think?
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Platinum Member Joined: Mar 12 2009 Posts: 13178

Are you worried about keeping it clean or chametz free?
If the kids can't manage without chometz after turning over, is it reasonable to insist they not eat inside?
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Platinum Member Joined: Nov 17 2008 Posts: 5047

Platinum Member Joined: Mar 12 2009 Posts: 13178

Platinum Member Joined: Nov 17 2008 Posts: 5047

Thanks, I really didn't expect any chiddushim. I don't think there's a difference between challah and pita (we don't eat matza from Rosh Chodesh) -- it isn't the crumbs so much as someone walking off with a piece and leaving it some place.

I suppose I'm going to do it this way. I've just never had it before where there were so many people for so long before YT and where we were all leaving first day of chol haomoed, so the whole situation seems kind of strange.

Posted: Mon, Feb 28 2011, 1:43 pm Post subject:

Pita makes a lot less crumbs.

I think your plan sounds reasonable. I would just make sure all food stays in the kitchen or dining room, from the start.
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Gold Member Joined: Dec 24 2009 Posts: 2433

Can you do a very good deep clean of the regular kitchen NOW so that erev pesach you can do it more quickly?

Can you rent a freezer or fridge from a Rent-A-Center for the two weeks before Pesach and the two weeks of so that you can do all your cooking before hand?

Can you "Just Say No" to any type of "crumby chometz" at this point? And if they want it they have to eat it outside?

Do you have a back porch or yard where you could set up a table and chairs for eating chometz gamor?

What about insisting on Kitniyos? Rice, corn, etc. are not chometz - you can't eat them on pesach (assuming you're ashkenaz), but they're not chometz. If there are rice cake crumbs, you're not going to burn in hell. Smile

Hatzlacha and kol hakavod to you for inviting your ganse mishpocha!
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