30.3.09

Clean for Pesach

Basically every Israeli cleans before Passover, even the Israelis who plan to sneak to Druze villages to buy pitas the day after Seder. In this spirit, I've been moving furniture, vacuuming rugs, and cleaning blinds in preparation for Pesach. (I discovered about 50 Q-tips and rubber bands-- Pixel's two favorite toys-- under our sofa.) And it's not just me. The trash bin beneath our apartment (which gets emptied every day-- a nice difference from weekly trash pickup in the US!) overflows daily with my neighbors' dejunking: pet sofas, vases, appliances. Olehgirl notes the proliferation of discarded TVs right now, although I suspect this might have to do partly with the huge Israel-Greece World Cup qualifier game coming up on Wednesday night.

I really love Pesach cleaning, actually... it feels great to know that I am getting rid of all that dust and dirt that I normally don't touch. I love the idea of a fresh clean start in the spring-- the air now smells better inside AND outside!

I've made a list of everything I think I should clean, but I get the guilty feeling that I simply don't THINK to clean some things that other people probably scrub on a weekly basis. I didn't get that neat-freak gene. I also suffer an inferiority complex when I think about those people whose floors simply NEVER have a cat hair, foot print, or kitty litter pebble on them, let alone a sticky spot (now covered in cat hair) where they dripped coffee. I only discovered yesterday that rugs get much cleaner if I flip them over and vaccum the underside... and then vaccum the floor where all the dust came off my rug when it was flipped over. So help me-- what are you cleaning before Pesach? Are you a just-the-minimum (no kezayit of chametz) person or do you launch into crazy deep cleaning?

7 comments:

  1. I would love to read more about what it was like to be home schooled until college!! Have you posted about that yet? I'm also interested in your nursing stories.

    Please send any relevant links to my email:
    coffeeandchemo@gmail.com

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  2. Maya,

    I am adding you to my list to view my Jewish blog.

    Melissa

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  3. Cleaning is not my specialty!

    Traditional Israeli building materials allow cleaning methods and chemicals you just can't imagine. In our Jerusalem apartment I could hang a rug on the railing and beat it. Nobody had vaccum cleaners in those days.

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  4. that's true... I would never have considered cleaning the floor in bleach back in the US! haha... homeschooling isn't exactly Israeli (although there was actually a Supreme court hearing about homeschooling yesterday), but maybe I'll post about that some time!

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  5. Maya,

    I will be starting on my Pesach cleaning on Sunday. Talk about a whirlwind cleaning adventure.

    Oy! Wish me luck.

    Melissa

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  6. I crazy deep clean when my neat freak brother comes to visit. (Yes, I thought it was my SIL, but no, it is Brian.)
    I decided years ago that my cleaning will be minimum for Passover, and instead focus on the COOKING. =) This year I have a great excuse too - Anna.
    So I mop, organize the fridge and pantry and make sure the mirrors and bathroom are clean, but I do not move furniture or clean blinds. Have fun!
    And how much of your neighbor's dejunking has found its way into your place? ;)

    love, Tricia

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  7. Brian is a neat freak? that's hilarious!

    And unfortunately, our neighbors aren't dejunking anything good. Next year!

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