Passover planning help – and a *giveaway* of Duby’s Pesach Lists

  • March 26, 2017

  • March 26, 2017

We are about 2 weeks out from Passover now. For 2017, the first seder night is Monday, April 10.

I have a lot of planning help here on my blog (check out the superpage here). But if you’re looking for it all nicely put together, check out Duby’s Pesach lists! Clicking on that link will take you there and you can see more details. I am giving away one copy, but even if you don’t win, you can use coupon code READYFORSEDER for a 10% discount.

Let’s look in a bit more depth, and then we’ll get to the giveaway!

The lists are available in both a  hard copy and an e-book.  If you’re new to making Pesach, there is great advice here. And if you’re not new, it helps to have master shopping lists, cleaning lists, budgeting, future planning, and last minute lists. Check out the Table of Contents.

I highly recommend you check it out! Again, go here: Duby’s Pesach lists! Use the code READYFORSEDER for a 10% discount.

If you’d like to win a copy, please leave a comment below. I’ll do a random number draw on Wednesday night (only a few days!) to see who wins.

Hope you’re enjoying your Passover prep!

Permanent link to this article: https://organizedjewishhome.com/2017/03/26/passover-planning-help-and-a-giveaway-of-dubys-pesach-lists/

2017 Passover guides are out!

  • March 15, 2017

  • March 15, 2017

Passover is really coming now! ;)

There are tons of resources available, and the guides are out. Here are some links for you:

And don’t forget the OJH Passover Super page, with Passover projects for kids, ideas on making the seder fun for kids, Passover planners, menus, and more!

Permanent link to this article: https://organizedjewishhome.com/2017/03/15/2017-passover-guides-are-out/

Yom Kippur planning and resources

  • October 10, 2016

  • October 10, 2016

Yom Kippur is coming quickly – this Tuesday night and Wednesday (Oct 11-12, 2016). I usually make a Shabbat dinner for my kids, pack lunches for the next day and prepare snacks so I have little to do with food on the day. I also prepare clothes for everyone and whatever else I can ahead of time. Here is my Yom Kippur Checklist to get you thinking. Please feel free to take it and make it your own!

Some other posts you might like:

Permanent link to this article: https://organizedjewishhome.com/2016/10/10/yom-kippur-plannig-and-resources/

The Balabusta’s Daily Organizer Review #2: The Pocket Edition

  • October 9, 2016

  • October 9, 2016

I’m always on the lookout for a great planner. Right now, I’m using a combination of electronic and paper, but at my heart, I really am a paper girl. I like to see it all clearly laid out!

I reviewed the the Balabusta’s Daily Organizer desk edition previously, and one of my problems with it was its size – at 7″ by 8.5″, it was too big to easily carry around with me.

So yesterday, I picked up the pocket edition (5″ by 7″).

The things I liked about it from before are the same:

-Sept 2016-Dec 2017 covered in full
-separate weekly and monthly pages. (Many calendars do one or the other, but I like having both.)
-weekly to-do list side-by-side with the weekly calendar
-shopping list and menu plan next to the weekly calendar (see photos)
-Jewish holidays already put in, and Jewish dates already marked
-Jewish quotes throughout
-Spiral binding so a pen can stay with it
-planning pages in the back: menu, routine, birthdays, etc.

The cons are similar, with the major exception of size. This one fits in my purse!
-monthly pages are interspersed with the weekly pages, so it doesn’t flow as well as it could.
-no way to mark place included

The first is simply my own preference, and not a big deal to work around, and the second has a bunch of possible fixes, too. From the comments section of the original review, I learned that some people use a paper clip to clip together the week and month for easy review. Others use the post-it type tabs (like this kind) to mark relevant pages. I have tried both, and am still figuring out what will work.

But this smaller size is much more portable, and I like it a lot!

You can see their photos here and order directly from the website: www.balabusta.us or from Amazon here.

Permanent link to this article: https://organizedjewishhome.com/2016/10/09/the-balabustas-daily-organizer-review-2-the-pocket-edition/

Rosh Hashana is in less than a week!

  • September 26, 2016

  • September 26, 2016

Rosh Hashanah Seder

Rosh Hashanah Seder (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have had a lot going on, and I intend to share a little of that with you. But first, the calendar is moving on, and it won’t hold back no matter how much we want a little more time. Rosh Hashana is in less than a week – it starts on Sunday night, October 2, 2016.

I’m still working on our menu plan. Part of the “lot going on” I mentioned above includes an international move and lots of resettling. We are blessed to have a lot of invitations out in our new community, but we also need to balance the desire to go out with our need for calm and routine, so we’re only considering the day meals. Plus, we usually do a little “seder” with a lot of traditional Sephardi foods / simanim both nights, and we need to be home for those – and for our sanity.

So my menu is in process. (For older Rosh Hashanah menus click here: For Kosher on A Budget’s 2016 Rosh Hashana menu, click here.)

Homeschool learning is going OK, too. For my younger kids, especially, we will be using this Rosh Hashanah mitzvah checklist.

House prep and cleaning are moving along here – we’re still unpacking, so things are relatively clean. I’ve been using a new chore system that’s been working pretty well for us for daily upkeep (and yes, I intend to post about that, bli neder – not a vow).

Spiritual preparation is always harder. There is so much physical stuff we can do! Sephardim say selichot (kind of a confession and works focusing on Hashem’s mercy) for the whole month before Rosh Hashanah, but it’s still something I’m working on myself. I do like podcasts, so I’ve been checking out shiurim. There are some good ones you can access here: Learn Torah. I’d love any other recommendations you have.

I hope your week is great!

For more resources, check out this Rosh Hashana Superpage.

How are your preparations going?

Permanent link to this article: https://organizedjewishhome.com/2016/09/26/rosh-hashana-is-in-less-than-a-week/

Let’s talk about themes

  • May 5, 2016

  • May 5, 2016

Maybe not so new, but a new context...

Maybe not so new, but a new context…

 

Decision fatigue is a thing. We have only so much koach (strength), and then it’s “Whatever. Sure, it’s fine.”

Especially as we’re making important decisions, we need to be on the ball. Decision fatigue  – exhaustion from the hundreds of little decisions we make each day in addition to the big ones – can impair our judgement.

How can you minimize that?

One way is to save your decision energy for the things that matter. That means putting as much as you can on autopilot, which means instituting and then actually using themes.

Ma used to say: Wash on Monday, Iron on Tuesday, Mend on Wednesday, Churn on Thursday, Clean on Friday, Bake on Saturday, Rest on Sunday. Laura liked the churning and the baking days best of all the week.
–Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods

(See? Not a new idea!)

I’ve posted before about daily themes. Actually, I called it a weekly routine (Monday is errands, Thursday is kitchen…). Same thing, really. Routine, theme, rhythm. But some people prefer one term or the other, so just read whichever word you prefer in the post, OK?

I have opened my ideas of this a bit to include more themes:

  • I do weekly themed menu planning (Monday is breakfast for dinner, Tuesday is fleishig leftovers, Wednesday is new recipe night, etc.)
  • We do a themed homeschool group time (Monday is parsha, Tuesday is middot, Wednesday is current events, etc.)
  • We do a weekly themed housework plan (Monday is bathrooms, Tuesday is common areas, etc.)
  • I do a weekly theme for the days (Monday is classes and yardwork, Tuesday is heavy homeschooling, etc.)

Do I always stick to those things? Nope. There are special trips, illnesses, guests, and of course, the frequent Jewish holidays that throw my themes and our routines out of wack – sometimes WAY out of wack (Hello, Passover? Tishrei?) But that’s OK. I know that if we skipped our middot learning one Tuesday because someone was sick or we had guests, we have it on the schedule for next week.

Periodic review puts things to right.

I want to emphasize what I just said: periodic review puts things to right. That means that we need to review and adjust, and do so regularly. Because just as soon as things go smoothly (and you laminate your list – or is that just me?), the baby stops napping, or a class starts on a different day, or it’s almost Shavuot, and you need to get things together to move toward the next mark. It’s not ever something you can finally check off your list.

It’s a process, not a end goal!

More on different themes / routines / rhythms to come. Just let that percolate a bit…

Do you have any of these themes going now, or did you in the past?

Permanent link to this article: https://organizedjewishhome.com/2016/05/05/lets-talk-about-themes/

1 week to go! (Passover)

  • April 15, 2016

  • April 15, 2016

Traditional arrangement of symbolic foods on a...

Traditional arrangement of symbolic foods on a Passover Seder Plate (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Passover is coming – Seder night is 1 week away!Here are some links and planners to help you get ready.

Passover/Pesach (downloads in Word so you can adjust them for YOU)

Here’s the OJH master page of all things Passover!

For your own learning, practical advice, and inspiration:

And just for fun, a few videos to entertain your kids (or you) as you work:

Permanent link to this article: https://organizedjewishhome.com/2016/04/15/1-week-to-go-passover/

Decluttering: why I’m doing it and my goal

  • March 16, 2016

  • March 16, 2016

I posted before about what this, but I thought I should explain more. If you want to declutter your home, maybe it will help you set a goal as well!

colorful-shelves

Clutter free!

First, the why (for me): We’ve been living in this big house in a different country for nearly 4 years. That means there is lots of room to store things. Plus, we always end up keeping things “just in case” – it’s not like there’s a Target or Walmart nearby for us to replace familiar things! Add in 5 kids of varying ages and all of the stuff from homeschooling of those kids, and the sum is a lot of stuff! Now, we are moving (back to the U.S. for now, yay!)

We only get a certain amount of weight to move. And my mind only has so much room! When things start to get cluttered, I feel it, and I’m ready to pass on some of our things and lighten our load.

I decided to approach this as methodically and thoroughly as I can. I really do want to lesson our footprint here. I wanted to have a way to follow up on my commitment to this. And so, I publicly set my (slightly crazy?) goal:

I will touch everything in our house by the week before Passover and pass about 1/3 on.

One caveat: I’m not touching my husband’s things. He’s an adult and he gets to manage his own things. 🙂

I think my goal is pretty big. Most people aren’t going to do that. But you can choose something that works for you: 500 things? 50? Or 10 minutes a day? One room? One floor?

Now on to you. Are you ready to declutter your living space? Why? What goal will you set?

 

Permanent link to this article: https://organizedjewishhome.com/2016/03/16/decluttering-why-im-doing-it-and-my-goal/

Happy Adar! (Purim and Passover resources, too)

  • March 1, 2016

  • March 1, 2016

Purim

Happy Adar! This year is a leap year, both secularly (Happy Feb 29!) and Jewishly, when we get a whole extra month of Adar.

Adar means Purim is on its way (This year, it’s March 23-24, 2016.) And Passover comes quickly upon the heels of Purim (If you’re already on Passover lists and resources, I’ve got you covered there, too.)

Some Purim resources here on OJH:

You can download a selection of articles on Purim from YU here. Check out the audio and video links here. And here is the OU’s Purim page.

Looking for some mishloach manot ideas? Check out some from aish, Chabad, and Kosher on a Budget . Here is what we did forsuperhero Mishloach Manot. You can make an easy grogger for the kids. There are many more ideas out there on the web – just search!

Coloring pages can be found here.

Order a Children’s Megilla or adult megilla (or an interlinear translation) for the readings.

Looking for some cool things for the kids? Try the Purim activity pack, these Purim puppets, some Purim kid links, a fun Lego summary of the story, or some of these other ideas from a Jewish Homeschooling Blog.

Here are some really nice (and maybe more adult) Purim-related crafts.

Happy Adar, and happy Purim!

Permanent link to this article: https://organizedjewishhome.com/2016/03/01/happy-adar-purim-and-passover-resources-too/

Decluttering – and a challenge?

  • February 29, 2016

  • February 29, 2016

A few weeks ago, on Facebook, I found out that some of you are interested in decluttering. How about you?

Me, me!

I know I am!

I’ve seen people doing a 500-thing challenge, or a X number of day challenge, or a number of other formats, but it seems like decluttering is something many of us are looking for. Especially given the time of year!

I’ve got a slightly different impetus, and so probably a slightly different goal than most of you: we’re moving this summer. And everything that we keep is something that needs to be packed and unpacked in the move – as well as the regular dusting-and-straightening-and-picking-up-off-the-floor that comes with things.

And so, here is my slightly startling goal: to touch everything in our house in the next 60 days. I’ll let you ponder that for a second. Yes, I do mean everything.  It doesn’t sound like too much until you start thinking of drawers, cabinets, boxes, kids’ clothing, storage…I’ve already given away a bunch of things, but there always seems to be more, even as we work to minimize incoming items. But I’m going to do it to get our moving weight down – and some of the mental weight that comes with this.

I want to minimize, clean up, and make things easier. You know, after I’m done with this project. Certainly not easy for now. 😉

This “challenge” is up to you.  What do you want to get out of it? Are you going to try and play along? Or pick some of the days? Or just cheer from the sidelines? I’d love to hear some of your decluttering stories.

I’m going to be (bli neder!) posting my progress.  I may be using this blog to keep me on the straight and narrow, but that’s a perk of having a blog, right? I’m doing smaller bites – not whole rooms, but smaller pieces, like our board games area (next on my list) or tablecloths stash (coming up). I’ll try to get before and after pictures and give any thoughts on what I’m passing on as we go.

Any other takers?

Permanent link to this article: https://organizedjewishhome.com/2016/02/29/decluttering-and-a-challenge/