I work full time and haven't cleaned for pesach yet!!

amother

Fuchsia

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 12:46 pm

I don’t work and barely did anything. Not because I’m lazy. Things just keep coming up. My issue is my husband and older kids who complain bitterly when things are done for pesach and not the norm. They are also the ones who are very messy and never want to help me. So I’m also feeling stuck and overwhelmed and I’m not even working now.
I only have cleaning help 1x a week for a few hours so most of the cleaning is on me.
And I’m hosting throughout Yom Tov… I hate how hectic things will be the last few days but I feel like my hands are tied now.
Thanks for letting me vent.

amother

Pear

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 12:47 pm

amother Viola wrote:

To all the ladies that work full time and have little kids, why do you wait until 2 weeks before to start? Not judging just wondering... it's a huge job !
Unless your house is clean and organized all year long! Wink

I work and start way before. My pesach cleaning is mostly done on Sundays and Friday afternoons. First floor has to be 100% done by purim!
I also do sheitel wash and set as a side business so I'm crazy busy before pesach but it's not a surprise, so I plan accordingly.

Covid year has taught me that actual pesach cleaning does not take that long if you're not doing organizing. We made pesach last minute with all the little kids underfoot and it worked.

Also, if I start too much in advance, it gets undone. Yes, I have a strict rule no food upstairs, but I have some boys with adhd, v'hameivin yavin.

tichellady

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 12:52 pm

You may need to take a day off to clean and kasher your kitchen. Speak to your rabbi but you likely don’t need to clean your house, just check for big pieces of chometz ( not crumbs in your toys or books etc). You don’t need to move your fridge. It still is a lot of work but more doable

amother

White

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 12:54 pm

BatyaEsther wrote:

You need to clean so it is free of chametz, not do spring cleaning

This.

Do you normally eat in your bedrooms?
You need to do a thorough check of all rooms that you actually bring chametz in. Should not take more than a half hour - two hours per room.
There is no need to scrub anything other than the kitchen/dining room down

shabbatiscoming

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 2:42 pm

amother OP wrote:

I work full time and only have time after 7 pm to clean. I leave to work very early so I need to be in bed by 9 30 pm each night. How can I possibly get my cleaning done in time? I must turn over the kitchen the Thursday before so I have 2 weeks to somehow clean my entire house.

Unless food is brought into every room in the house, no, you do not have to clean every room. And every single member of your family has to, not can but has to help. Children and spouse. You can not do it all on your own and you should not have to.
Simple as that.

Aurora

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 2:59 pm

We only eat in the kitchen, and, rarely, the dining room. Everyone cleans in my house, regardless of gender. (Even small ones can help do something!) I don't have cleaning help.

amother

Fuchsia

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 3:01 pm

Aurora wrote:

We only eat in the kitchen, and, rarely, the dining room. Everyone cleans in my house, regardless of gender. (Even small ones can help do something!) I don't have cleaning help.

Lucky you!!

amother

Catmint

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 3:02 pm

Actual pesach cleaning isn't hard. I don't do any spring cleaning. That's done other times throughout the year. My husband happens to be really good at decluttering and he's constantly doing it so bh we don't have much clutter and don't have much spring cleaning to do.

I focus on just my kitchen and my dining room. My house is cleaned thoroughly cleaned every week and except for a quick check there isn't much to do in most rooms.

If I have time I will go through each toy and wash up what I can. If I don't I will just take out some to use over yt.

Aurora

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 3:06 pm

amother Fuchsia wrote:

Lucky you!!

Being a bit mean about the food policy is the only way I can handle Pesach! And it's how I (and DH) grew up.

It is a bit harder to have them clean when they're little, but it really does pay off as they get bigger.

I wish I did have professional cleaning help. My house is usually very cluttered.

amother

Clematis

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 3:25 pm

amother Fuchsia wrote:

Too bad on your husband and kids. If you are doing the work you do it your way. If they don't like it they can clean themselves. I would not make myself crazy to accommodate their wants, when they aren't doing the work.

amother

Oldlace

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 3:32 pm

Op,

Tonight: take a big box and remove all chametz from your cabinets. Carry with you a spray cleaner and roll towel paper to wipe down.

Tomorrow night: vacuum and self clean your ovens and drawers underneath it.

Friday: vacuum under all beds and sofas

Viola! Your house is 98% done before Shabbes!

A week before: empty fridge, wipe down and line. Vacuum kitchen well and wash floors and counters. Close toy closet for pessach. 100% done!

ora_43

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 3:36 pm

If your house is mostly chametz-free and your kitchen is clean, it's "just" 4-6 hours of work - but that's a lot of extra hours, when you don't have any spare time in the day.

And when your house is not chametz-free*, and your kitchen is not clean... well then.

I don't know if this will work for you, OP, but dh and I both take a day off, and that's how we make it work. (One of the ways, anyway. The others are (1) caffeine (2) starting 4 weeks in advance (3) caffeine).

(* I was cleaning my own sock drawer today, and found honest-to-goodness chametz. Not mine. Some kid hid Purim candy in there Can't Believe It

. I don't know how some of you do it, in my house nowhere is guaranteed chametz-free until it's been cleaned.)

amother

Lotus

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 4:44 pm

I work full time, including erev yom tov.
We always clean for pesach the week before, in th evenings. We just look for chometz the size of a cheerio or larger, any visible crumbs smaller than that remain in the drawers etc.
Takes really fast.
We only super clean in the eating areas, because you cant consume even the smallest amount of chametz.
Otherwise all the non wating areas get inspected quite quickly, and I spring clean after pesach, without any pressure

keym

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 4:44 pm

ora_43 wrote:

. I don't know how some of you do it, in my house nowhere is guaranteed chametz-free until it's been cleaned.)

Also caffeine helps LOL

amother

Razzmatazz

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 5:58 pm

amother OP wrote:

We're already on day 31 this year so it's not relevant, but this is your solution for next year.
https://go.balaganbegone.com/painlesspesach

I get no percentages, she doesn't know I'm on here posting about this, but this is my third year in a row doing Painless Pesach and this year I got my sister to join and she loves it too. It is THE BEST (and yes this year I am behind but it's still THE BEST and it will all get done).

It's just $36, totally worth it.

amother

Mistyrose

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 6:13 pm

amother Viola wrote:

The only thing I do between Purim and Rosh Chodesh is outlaw cheerios. Anything cleaned too early will have to be cleaned again. I have a cleaning lady once a week so that’s a huge help. She vacuums every week so at some point between Rosh Chodesh and pesach, I will inspect each room other than the kitchen and dining room to make sure it’s chometz free. I’ll focus on the kitchen the last week. The dining room will have to wait until motzei shabbos since we have to wash on shabbos.

amother

Mulberry

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 6:19 pm

amother OP wrote:

So many people do cleaning above and beyond what is required. Don't make it a whole spring cleaning. Remove obvious chametz and clean chametzdik surfaces. Go through places you might be likely to find things - kids' backpacks, drawers, couch cushions. If you just focus on what is actually required it goes so much faster. Don't get distracted with what needs dusting, polishing, etc.

amother

Coffee

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 6:34 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

You make it sound as if we are all martyrs on purpose, all we have to do is say, dh and kids help and poof! Its all happening. Don't a lot of us wish it was as simple as that.

amother

Winterberry

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 6:39 pm

Our rabbi once told us that it is mentioned in seforim that they used to paint the walls in their houses for Pesach! (I cant remember if it was recent past or long time ago) But the reason was not that the walls were chometz and they were cleaning them, but was in anticipation of Moshiach coming!
Unless your house is caked in edible chometz (which you have bigger problems than just pesach) a thorough weekly clean should be enough for 95% of the house. Opening every drawer & closet to make sure no one has hidden purim candy (most of which is not real chometz either), and you are 99% there. The kitchen is the real hard one, but with a few pairs of hands - adults & older kids - they all eat, they all need to clean, it becomes a family activity and gets done in no time. Switching over needs some time but that needs to happen regardless.