NewlyNested: Passover Cleaning

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a blogumn by Debra Goykhman

Photo Credit: mms0131

Passover, my favorite holiday has just arrived.  Most people don’t favor Passover–  your diet changes, the holiday requires lots of cleaning, and an extremely long meal with a big story that usually gets dragged out even longer every year.  Traditionally you are supposed to clean your house before the holiday—a bit of a religious spring cleaning.  My mother always kept Passover, but my father didn’t, so she would have a clean corner to keep kosher for Passover food.  It looks like my house has become no different than my mothers.  My husband has no interest in keeping to a matzos and boiled egg diet for the next week, so I don’t really need to do a spring cleaning for the holiday.  However, traditions have become born within me so I feel that no matter what I still must embark on a spring cleaning process.  Cleaning once every spring is a time for me to reflect on my years past and to reorganize until next spring.  It’s a little bit like a New Year resolution for me.

Now with a new three-bedroom house (as opposed to a small apartment), two dogs and a husband, I find myself lost and overwhelmed with the cleaning and reorganizing for the year.   I often feel like my nest is a metaphor for my life—sporadic, unorganized, and all over the place.  So what is a girl to do?  My mother never taught me how to clean or organize.  I could always organize a desk, but a house– that’s a whole other story.  My worst problem is I don’t have enough furniture to store all my stuff in!  No matter how much I clean, I still feel like my home looks a mess.

My best solution to cleaning is to:

1.  Just use the Roomba (a must buy!).   We received it as a wedding gift and I questioned if it would be useful beyond maintenance.  I’ve decided that it is good enough for me.   It can be my abused housekeeper that works overtime whenever I want.

2. Only clean one room per day.  That way I won’t be spending more than an hour a day cleaning.

3.  Blast the music and dance while I do it!

I have also gotten the advice to make sure to clean every week.  I don’t doubt that it does save time over the long run, but every month just sounds better to me.  I just can’t imagine cleaning every weekend when there is a beach to go to.

The furniture is where I need your help.  Do you know of cheap organizational furniture that is a must-buy?  Anyone have any cleaning shortcuts?

I hope you have a wonderful holiday whether you celebrate Passover or Easter!