This will be our third Pesach at home (for the entire thing) and we’re excited about it! We now have a great system that works for us and I’m excited to share it with you. Making Pesach can be stressful no matter how you cut it, but when I plan ahead I have less time for stress!
When we first started staying home, we were still able to go away for the first days, so our prep was focused on cleaning and kashering. Now that we’re staying home for ALL the days our focus has expanded to include food prep and cooking for the first days.
There are three basic things we do that help us prepare – make a schedule of when we need to do what, plan our menu, and create our shopping lists.
1. Calendar
About a month before Pesach we take out our calendars and plan when we will do the things that need to get done. Here are some of the things we schedule:
- clean cars
- haircuts
- menu planning
- cooking
- shopping for paper goods (I usually stock up on items when I shop for Purim)
- shopping for food
- kashering fridge, freezer, stove, counters, sinks
- cleaning bedrooms
- cleaning dining room
2. Menu
When we make our menu we basically use some iteration of the previous year. We’re not all that creative and don’t generally make new dishes. I also make sure that our menu plan includes the week before Pesach and meals on Chol HaMoed.
3. Shopping
Based on our menu plan we create a shopping list.
- We only buy the things we need for the week of Pesach.
- We try to buy as many items in advance as possible so we can avoid the rush.
Before we do any shopping I reference my Pesach inventory list to see what I already have. More info on my inventory list and how I store my Pesach items to come.
When these three steps are complete we move into execution mode. Having a plan is not worth much if you don’t follow it. I set reminder on my calendar for all of these events so we make sure we don’t forget to do them and we adjust the lists as we go. We have everyone in the family pitch in and together we enter into the holiday feeling a sense of calmness.
How do you prepare for Pesach?
Until next time,
Shaindy
