I’ve tried to come up with a plan so that I don’t have to clean everything twice (or four times) and here are some possible solutions:

Start eating kosher-for-Pesach food on Purim. Prepare KFP shalach manos and refuse to accept leavened products into your home from this day of joy onward. The obvious downside is, of course, that the day will no longer be joyful for anyone. You, your children, and all your friends and neighbors will be sad. Explain to them that you’re pretty sure that this is what was done in the shtetl, and if it was good enough for our ancestors, it’s good enough for us. (Note: Make sure you leave enough time in your schedule to make new friends to replace the ones you’ve just lost.)

It’s 2025, and technology is your friend. Attach small cameras to your child’s shirt button so you can track what he’s eating and where. Then, using the PA system you’ve had to install, call out your child’s name to scare the living daylights out of him and stop him in his tracks when you notice him heading toward an already-KFP area with crumbs that are crumbling.

Declare any rooms that have already been cleaned off-limits to the family until Pesach has officially begun. Yes, the children might have to sleep at a neighbor’s home, but explain to them that this is what it means to be a Yid.

Call your Local Orthodox Rabbi and explain the situation. Then ask how lenient you can be about chometz in your home. When he tells you that he’s pretty sure you can’t have bagels in your kitchen, respectfully ask, “Are you sure?” Poskim love that. It shows that you care.

Involve your children in the Pesach cleaning. Give them each an area that they are responsible for cleaning and keeping KFP. Keep in mind that this can backfire wildly if they snack on cookies while making sure that no one else comes into their area with chometz. I’m not saying this has happened already. I’m just saying it could happen.

Sell your home. Sell all your possessions. Buy a new home. Start from scratch and move in no more than a week before Pesach. Do this each year in April while keeping in mind that this is the sort of project you need to plan in advance, as one cannot sell their current home and move into a new one all in the space of a few weeks. This list is here to actually help people and I’m trying to keep our goals realistic.

For those who are not up to the large-scale Sell Your Home/Buy New Home idea, mentioned above, this might work: Sell your home. Not for real, of course. To a non-Jew, via your Local Orthodox Rabbi. Where will you spend Pesach? In a tent of your very own, pitched outside in your backyard. The upside of this idea is that you can combine Succos themes with Pesach themes for a truly unique experience. The downside is minimal electricity, no running water, and no access to modern-day plumbing. But at least you didn’t have to clean your home.

The good news about this list is that it is constantly evolving as I add new ideas and creative alternatives to losing my mind each year. I invite each of you to view this list as a springboard for your own solutions to this problem. In the meantime, I’ll be attempting to teach my kids how to sing in harmony so that, at the very least, we can get that divine chorus going.

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 938)