Passover Purge

It’s time to purge. I do it every year before Passover. I know. “Dust is not Chametz.” But I like to purge. It’s therapeutic. I’m a good purger. According to my family, I’m too good. “Mom, what happened to my…….?!!!” I am to blame for every missing item in our home. But each item I remove is like a victory song.

I’m constantly selling, donating or tossing something. I like to think of it as “improving our portability factor.” I’m anticipating the mashiach. Though the more I think about it, my house seems to be a revolving door. I toss stuff out and more comes in. Plus my husband doesn’t know how to buy one of something. He buys multiples or cases. “It’s cheaper that way, “ he explains, over and over again. I’ve always had visions of one of those cute little houses with very little space to acquire anything. Or someday, G-d willing an apartment in Israel (that will fit into our current living room space).  And honestly I’m no better when it comes to toys. They flow in and out of my car and house. But it’s a job handicap. As an itinerant physical therapist I have to have toys. It’s a good excuse.

Anyway, back to my purging. So this year I’ve started on it full force. I even got my husband excited…for one hour. I think he’s done until next year. The other day, I was helping one of my sons purge. I feel compelled to teach at least one of my kids this lost art. My older two moved out and left me with about twenty boxes each of G-d-knows-what and I’m determined to nip that in the bud at an early age with my twins. I had my daughter home for four days and asked her to go through her boxes. “Mom, it’s too stressful.” I had to resuscitate her with a trip to a foot massage. Millennial. Go ahead. Blame their parents. I accept.

Anyway, as I was working with one of my twins, I saw that he has at least eight long black Hasidic coats of some form: bekishes, rekels and honestly I’m not sure what.  I’m sure each one has a specific task related to holiness and purity but I had to ask, “Do you need all of these?” and the reply was, “Mom, don’t mess with them.”  I decided to leave well enough alone until I was in my other son’s room and found another eight. Well, they are twins so that makes sense. But then I found more in the cedar closet and more in the coat closet, and then more hanging outside the office door and more in the guest closet. We could literally open up a used bekishe shop!

I asked my husband, “Do you think you can go through the closets?” His heart rate went up and his breathing pattern changed. He explained that his were all in one place in the guest closet.  

Denial.

I made a note to start a BA program: Bekishes Anonymous.

This did not help my plethora of black coat problem. The way I calculate it, we have about 35 long black coats of some form or the other for two teens and one man. My portability factor is like -3/10 right now.

Let it be known: when the maschiach comes I’m not packing all those coats. For one, we will probably be in a tent in the Negev (the only available space) and two I’m planning to just grab my dog and my tambourine, plus some of my essential oils. I’ve already got a little bag my dog can hang out in.

Meanwhile I’m going back to purging.  Each person in my house has an entire library of Judaica books (including the two who moved out without their libraries).  And, would anyone like to buy a motor scooter? Four crates of old dishes?  An American Girl Doll collection? Hess Trucks? Beanie babies?

Looking for chametz is easy. Purging…..not so simple. #passoverpurge #passover #cleaning for passover