There is something refreshing and purifying about a good Spring Clean. Sure, it may cause you to work up a little sweat, or to feel a bit tired, but few things are as satisfying as the result of tackling months of clutter collected through cabin fever, frustration and winter inertia. Everything feels so new and I can really live again after scrubbing grime (the question is finding time for it).
Jews have a spring cleaning, but it is not just a typical airing out of mattresses or scrubbing screens. Before the holiday of Passover, it is a commandment to rid the house of every bit of chametz (or leavened food, such as crackers, bread, cakes and *shudder* bagels). We go through our drawers, clean our toys and sofas in search of every crumb, which we will dispose of and make the house free of chametz in time for the Pesach celebration called the seder. We don’t consume bread or leavening for a week and eat matzoh, a flat bread, instead ( I think Passover is the original low-carb holiday).
This isn’t so much cleaning for dirt as crumbs. For the person cleaning for Passover for the first time, this can seem intimidating, and much more time is spent on the process than needs to be if one is doing a Spring Cleaning. I do my spring cleaning earlier, and in the weeks before Pesach, I concentrate on the crumbs and the leavening. It may sound as if cleaning twice is harder, but in some ways, it can be easier (and not everything is cleaned twice. Some clothes and toys can be put away).
Passover cleaning can be fun if you involve the entire family and give children jobs to do. Children tend to enjoy cleaning more than adults (why else, because it is play?) so give them little brooms and let them “Play” to their hearts content. I was touched this morning when Yosef, my 18 month old, handed me laundry, item by item, as I hang shirts up on the line. Just this little bit of help saved me a lot of bending. The way to pass traditions onto children is to involve them as much as possible in the preparation, but in a fun way. Children may enjoy scrubbing their favorite toy or scrubbing those corners that a big person may have difficulty reaching.