Passover Cleaning

[saturnfire16]

Anyone want to join me?

Tonight I'm doing our bedroom and the bathroom:

Changing sheets
Dusting
Vacuuming
Full top to bottom in the bathroom

[BestLaidPlans]

Sure! Back later. Tonight my number one goal is to go grocery shopping. But earlier in the week, I moved the stove and cleaned under it. :tu

[sweetpeas]

We're having all the grandparents & such over on Sat. for all 3 girls' birthdays, so tomorrow's cleaning will be focused on getting the house presentable for that (and then doing the food and figuring out where to put 13 people in this house, sigh . . .).

My HOPE is that, on Sunday I can get the girls involved and we can do things like wipe out cabinets that might have crumbs in them. I really want to focus on the symbolism this year . . . more than how perfectly clean we get things, I want the girls to "get" the idea of searching our lives for the tiny crumbs of sin, we shall see . . .

Anyway, tomorrow's cleaning list:
dust
sweep & mop whole main floor
wipe down the bathroom
wipe down kitchen counters & stove

[Luciola]

:cup. First year doing this.

[homesteadmama]

Can y'all explain this to me a little more? It's our first year celebrating the Feast of Passover (or Unleavened Bread?). Dh said he read that you are to rid you house of all yeast? Or is it all leavening? Because baking soda is used as leavening sometimes. So do I need to get rid of all my baking soda? lol! Sorry if these are silly questions. Honestly just wanting to learn more. What, how, etc. is it supposed to be done?

[BestLaidPlans]

First, start by reading all the passages that discuss the requirements in the Torah, then apply what you know from there. :)

[HadassahSukkot]

we are doing laundry tonight, and if I can handle it, I'll try vacuuming and dusting. It's just really hard on my lungs to do much of anything strenuous at the moment. :sigh

We need to do shopping and such tonight as well. I'm interested to see how far we get. We're down to one known package of yeast, and one known package of bread I plan to make something with tomorrow.

[melliethepooh]

I'm mostly concerned with the places that might have bread crumbs
-kitchen drawers
-couch cushions
Stuff like that. Half a loaf, one package of yeast and tonight's challah to go.

[homesteadmama]

First, start by reading all the passages that discuss the requirements in the Torah, then apply what you know from there. :)

We did this a bit last night. :yes So interesting to me! :yes

[BestLaidPlans]

Someone shared this link with me this morning, and I thought I would pass it along. It was VERY encouraging.

http://spiritualbabies.net/?p=1799#comment-636 (I have not read the other stuff on the site, so I cannot vouch for the site as a whole. But this post was excellent.)

My big question is... how on earth do I get all the stuff outta the toaster? I am gonna give it a good try, but I honestly think I will have to be happy with that. It seems like an impossible task!

[saturnfire16]

So last night I ended up only getting to the bedroom, but it is CLEAN. :yes I pulled stuff out of the closet that we need to sell/give away, bagged up clothes to get rid of, dusted every surface, vacuumed under the dressers, dusted in the inside of the drawers, changed the sheets. The only place I didn't get was under the beds, since we have a bunk bed and queen pushed together and they both have a bunch of bags of clothes under them for different sizes/seasons. I wasn't going there. :no

I'm about to start on the bathroom this morning.

I'm doing the whole house top to bottom clean, even though I know I don't *have to,* because it's a good time to do it and it needs to be done anyway. :yes Though I'm starting 4 days later than I planned, so we'll see. :doh

---------- Post added at 03:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:26 PM ----------

Can y'all explain this to me a little more? It's our first year celebrating the Feast of Passover (or Unleavened Bread?). Dh said he read that you are to rid you house of all yeast? Or is it all leavening? Because baking soda is used as leavening sometimes. So do I need to get rid of all my baking soda? lol! Sorry if these are silly questions. Honestly just wanting to learn more. What, how, etc. is it supposed to be done?


You'll find a lot of different opinions on the subject. Some people say it refers to all leavening, which would include baking soda. Other people point out that baking soda didn't exist in the time of the Bible and that it was only referring to yeast. However, the yeast they had at that time would be sourdough starter, so some people say we don't need to get rid of things made with modern yeast packets either.

Personally, I will be getting all of the yeast and yeast made products out of the house, but not baking soda, etc.

[melliethepooh]

I'm debating whether to toss the nutritional yeast, too.

[HadassahSukkot]

Nutritional yeast is inactivated yeast (http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2011/10/what-the-heck-is-nutritional-yeast.html). It doesn't leaven anything. Apparently "Red Star" brand has a KLP Nutritional Yeast. I have no idea if it's gluten free though.

[BestLaidPlans]

Well, I moved a small cabinet that is in the dining room and vacuumed under/behind it.

Also took the cushions out of the couch and loveseat, vacuumed both of them.

Tonight before Sabbath starts, I hope to attack some of the vertical surfaces of my kitchen, like cabinet fronts.

As far as still having leaven in the house, I do have a couple of items I am not going to be able to use up in time. I will just be tossing them. I wish the trash service would pick up the trash one more time before Passover, so it is not even on my property, but it is as good as I can get it for now. Hopefully next year I will do better about that.

This year I am getting rid of anything that is able to leaven... baking soda, baking powder, yeast, and cream of tartar. If I am wrong on that, can anyone let me know? It is my understanding at this point that they all leaven things.

Gals, can I just say how thoughtful my hubby is being on this? For those who do not know, he is agnostic. And feels that any form of Christianity is :sick and :rolleyes4 . But even so, he will not be partaking of his usual beer, but will get some wine for himself this week for Passover/Unleavened Bread. He does not have to, and I have not asked him, but he is gonna do it anyway. It makes me love him even more. :heart

---------- Post added at 05:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:30 PM ----------

It's just really hard on my lungs to do much of anything strenuous at the moment. :sigh



I am sorry you are so sick! :hugheart

[sweetpeas]

Today we did a thorough sweeping & mopping of the entire main floor, which was a lovely multi-purpose of preparing for Passover AND company coming tomorrow.

Sunday I want to focus on hunting out the leavening. . . wipe out cabinets and check for bread items, hoping it will bring home to the girls (and be a reminder to me), the importance of really focusing on cleaning out the little, hard to notice, sins in our lives.

My HOPE is that by Monday we can focus on preparing food, and such for the Seder. My parents might be around on Sunday &/or Monday, so that would rearrange things, so we shall see.

[NeshamaMama]

I'll be attacking everything at once on Sunday afternoon. My hope is to hit the leaven "hotspots" and I'll be happy enough if I only get through those:
-under couch cushions
-under stove/fridge
-inside drawers/cupboards
-vacuum living room & kitchen
-change all sheets
-catch up on laundry
-thoroughly clean toaster oven

Technically I should clean out my filthy, chametz-ridden van, since it does reside on my property. :bag But I'm not sure that will actually happen in time.

I ate all the bread in the house today. You know, just doing my duty. :shifty

[BestLaidPlans]

Ooh, good reminder about the van...! I just vacuumed it out last week, but I am pretty sure the kids have eaten in the van since then...

[HadassahSukkot]

The Torah says: Lo yera'eh lecha chametz, velo year'eh lecha se'or bechol gevulecha - "neither chametz nor se'or shall be visible to you in all your boundaries." Chametz is defined as the result of grain that ferments. Se'or is sourdough -- highly fermented dough that is used to make another dough ferment. Instead of using yeast, what they did in the olden days (and many people do today as well) is to take a little piece of old dough, mix that with the fresh dough, and it causes the fresh dough to rise.http://www.aish.com/h/pes/l/48970611.html

During Passover, Jews refrain from eating chometz: anything that contains barley, wheat, rye, oats, and spelt (http://www.infoplease.com/id/A0664786), and is not cooked within 18 minutes after coming in contact with water. No leavening is allowed. This signifies the fact that the Hebrews had no time to let their bread rise as they made a hurried escape from Egypt.
Jews of different backgrounds do not observe all of the same rules. Ashkenazi Jews, who come from Europe (most Jews in America), also avoid corn, rice, peanuts, and legumes as they are also used to make bread and may have other grains mixed in. These items are known as kitniyot.

Read more: Passover: Feast Without Yeast | Infoplease.com (http://www.infoplease.com/spot/kosher1.html#ixzz2OK8sBUwQ) http://www.infoplease.com/spot/kosher1.html#ixzz2OK8sBUwQ




Chametz does not include baking soda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baking_soda), baking powder (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baking_powder) or like products. Although these are defined in English as leavening agents, they leaven by chemical reaction, not by biological fermentation. Thus, bagels, waffles and pancakes made with baking soda and matzo meal are considered permissible, while bagels made with sourdough and pancakes and waffles made with yeast are prohibited.
The Torah commandments regarding chametz are:


To remove all chametz from one's home, including things made with chametz, before the first day of Passover. (Exodus 12:15 (http://bibref.hebtools.com/?book=%20Exodus&verse=12:15&src=HE)). It may be simply used up, thrown out (historically, destroyed by burning), or given or sold to non-Jews (or non-Samaritans, as the case may be).
To refrain from eating chametz or mixtures containing chametz during Passover. (Exodus 13:3 (http://bibref.hebtools.com/?book=%20Exodus&verse=13:3&src=HE), Exodus 12:20 (http://bibref.hebtools.com/?book=%20Exodus&verse=12:20&src=HE), Deuteronomy 16:3 (http://bibref.hebtools.com/?book=%20Deuteronomy&verse=16:3&src=HE)).
Not to possess chametz in one's domain (i.e. home, office, car, etc.) during Passover (Exodus 12:19 (http://bibref.hebtools.com/?book=%20Exodus&verse=12:19&src=HE), Deuteronomy 16:4 (http://bibref.hebtools.com/?book=%20Deuteronomy&verse=16:4&src=HE)).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover

How To Search for Chametz (Bidikat Chametz)
http://judaism.about.com/library/3_howto/ht_searchchametz.htm


Since we are gluten free, we keep a Sephardi pesach. So, we can have corn, beans, lentils, rice.... (Kitinyot) and not be as limited with our food choices (aka "yay we can have unleavened bread!").

Previously I had been told to get rid of:


Yeast
Baker’s ammonia;
Baking powder
Baking soda
Bicarbonate of ammonia
Cream of tartar
Disodium diphosphate
Hjorthornssalt and hirschhornsalz
Lievito di vaniglia (Italian markets)
Monocalcium phosphate monohydrate
Pottasch (German markets)
Potassium bicarbonate
Sodium aluminum phosphate acidic

BUT - because we use non-gebrokts recipes (http://www.dtto-news.com/showthread.php?27600-Gluten-Free-(Non-Gebrokts)-Passover-Recipes) - I noticed they call for baking powder, baking soda... so... I no longer purge all that.

[homesteadmama]

Gals, can I just say how thoughtful my hubby is being on this? For those who do not know, he is agnostic. And feels that any form of Christianity is :sick and :rolleyes4 . But even so, he will not be partaking of his usual beer, but will get some wine for himself this week for Passover/Unleavened Bread. He does not have to, and I have not asked him, but he is gonna do it anyway. It makes me love him even more. :heart

That is so sweet! I love that he's sacrificing his desires in order to honor yours. :heart

[saturnfire16]

Well, I moved a small cabinet that is in the dining room and vacuumed under/behind it.

Also took the cushions out of the couch and loveseat, vacuumed both of them.

Tonight before Sabbath starts, I hope to attack some of the vertical surfaces of my kitchen, like cabinet fronts.

As far as still having leaven in the house, I do have a couple of items I am not going to be able to use up in time. I will just be tossing them. I wish the trash service would pick up the trash one more time before Passover, so it is not even on my property, but it is as good as I can get it for now. Hopefully next year I will do better about that.

This year I am getting rid of anything that is able to leaven... baking soda, baking powder, yeast, and cream of tartar. If I am wrong on that, can anyone let me know? It is my understanding at this point that they all leaven things.

Gals, can I just say how thoughtful my hubby is being on this? For those who do not know, he is agnostic. And feels that any form of Christianity is :sick and :rolleyes4 . But even so, he will not be partaking of his usual beer, but will get some wine for himself this week for Passover/Unleavened Bread. He does not have to, and I have not asked him, but he is gonna do it anyway. It makes me love him even more. :heart




:rockon on all the hard work today!

It's my current understanding that baking soda and baking powder aren't technically leaven as understood in the Bible, but you should do whatever you feel called to. :yes You can always do it differently next year. :shrug3 I got rid of baking soda one year too. :yes

You're husband is awesome! :rockon

---------- Post added at 06:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:50 AM ----------



Technically I should clean out my filthy, chametz-ridden van, since it does reside on my property. :bag But I'm not sure that will actually happen in time.



I'm going to say that since they didn't wash their camels before Passover, I don't need to clean out my car.....:shifty

[NeshamaMama]

I'm going to say that since they didn't wash their camels before Passover, I don't need to clean out my car.....:shifty

:haha:haha

Sent from my XT557 using Tapatalk 2

[BestLaidPlans]

I'm going to say that since they didn't wash their camels before Passover, I don't need to clean out my car.....:shifty

:roll

Hadassahsukkot, thanks for the info on leaven technicalities. Gonna read over that and think. :)

[HadassahSukkot]

We're slowly cleaning, yep today. In laws are coming over and DH has a "men's night out" with friends. I did not attack mount laundry, but I did wash the dishes and dishes in the sink by hand, I fixed a floral arrangement and put some things away, re-potted a plant, went through the kids' stickers and got rid of some that weren't that great while DH has cleaned the bathroom and our wash room (tub/laundry area). I've gotten a load or two of clothes, towels/rugs going and need to wash the kitchen rug and some clothes next (not together!!) That can wait until tomorrow I think.

The kids went and made a huge mess of clutter with their toys and their beds need to be made. I don't know if I have time to clean it all before I peter completely out. I have to go get some groceries because our stores aren't open tomorrow and I ran out of energy yesterday after getting the kids, going to ikea, one other store, getting DH and drinks and coming home. You'd not think that was a lot, but boy oh boy, I was up in a lot of misery last night until 4am.

I think we'll be doing paper plates over Pesach, at least for our seders. With the kids so little, I think it will be "fun" to have such a party for them if we make sure to play it up. ;)

[HadassahSukkot]

If it wouldn't make me hurt for crying, I definitely WOULD cry today. My new (to me) food processor had an integral part break today while I was trying to make charoset. NOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :cry

I will have to talk with DH, see if we can find the books online that come with this particular Siemens product and order the piece. Until then, doing GAPS will be interesting!!! no food processor. I use it several times in a week since it is also a blender. So, I used the blender and we have charoset, but it took forever to get it right. I hope the kids eat it and so does DH, because this is the most expensive charoset I have ever made. :shifty

I'm almost done cleaning. I'm really pushing it to get the kitchen completely done. DH has promised he will clean our microwave oven and the kitchen cart it's on for us to make it in time. I have our table decorated. We are definitely doing paper plates, but that's ok. With all that we are having, I don't think it will be such a huge deal - and odds are the kids won't remember it was paper plates.

I'm on my 2nd load of dishes and have one more to go before I'm done... :bag

[BestLaidPlans]

Go HS, Go HS, GO!! You can do it!

:cheer:cheer:cheer

[saturnfire16]

. You'd not think that was a lot, but boy oh boy, I was up in a lot of misery last night until 4am.



I'm sorry you're in pain. :(

We are just finishing up. I started at the back of the house, so the bedrooms and bathroom got all the deep cleaning, right down to organizing the bathroom cupboard and moving out some things I've been meaning to move for a long time. :yes

The living room isn't too bad, but I didn't get to the dusting. At least dh vacuumed behind the couch and under the cushions.

But the kitchen.... oh boy! With all the time I spent on the back of the house, I got behind on the basics like dishes. By the time I caught up on those, did the microwave, the stove and the baker's rack... well now I only have a few hours to run to the store, make charoset and get to my mom's house for the seder. I wanted to do the insides of the cupboards and pantry, the inside and top of fridge and organize the kid's games, but I guess that won't happen.

And yes, I'm taking time writing all of this out instead of cleaning right now. :doh But this the first time I've sat down and eaten all day.

[GlacierLily]

:popcorn

[HadassahSukkot]

Thank you all. If you've been praying, I have been feeling it. Other than the tops of the cabinets in the kitchen, we've gotten all of it except the clutter in our room. We vacuumed around and under that, so we're sure we have it all other than whatever dust is up top where I could not get to today.

We got our meal made just in time, and two little kids helped during some of it ;)
I'm winding down... been running all day.