Every year I reflect on what went well and what didn’t go well with before, during, and after Pesach. I, of course, make notes for next year on my prep file, as I mentioned in my post “Putting away Pesach” and “Pesach is coming!” Here are my notes for this year that I thought I would share with you. Maybe they will make you think about something you would do differently next year!
∞ We need to save (or get) some empty boxes for moving non-Pesach stuff down to basement.
We always use some plastic milk crates to take down the pantry stuff, but the utensils, mitts, paper towel holder, and all the other stuff on the counters, needs somewhere to go, too! We ended up using lots of reusable Whole Foods bags, but they didn’t stack so well and the laundry room looked a mess!
∞ Be sure to read all of the alerts and shopping guides before you go shopping for your groceries!
I had four kids in tow and was looking for the kosher for Passover Dannon Yogurt. After searching for the marked labels to no avail and making several calls, I had to pay $1.19 a container for several small KLP yogurts! I could have gotten them for much cheaper at our local deli if it wasn’t Friday Erev Pesach! Next time I won’t just print the alerts and read them as needed. I will read them all before shopping! You definitely can’t assume that the rules will be the same from year to year. Products change and unfortunately you have to read the alerts and guides carefully to find those changes!
∞ Read recipes carefully before putting them on the menu.
We have put a cauliflower popcorn recipe on our menu two years in a row. However, when it comes to making it, it never happens because it takes too much work! It looked great, but was not in our “time budget.” Maybe someday when our kids are grown we can undertake a recipe that takes more time!
∞ When you buy things during the year, add them to your “Pesach Prep” box so you will be sure to tovul it before the next Pesach.
We had a cheese board and knife we received as a gift several years back. We had never used it and decided to make it Pesadik. However, it was forgotten in the bottom of the parve tub and we never got to tovul or use it this year! My husband decided yesterday to put it in our Pesach Prep tub, so it will be one of the first things we see next year when we are starting to get ready for Pesach.
Did you make notes for yourself for next year? Please share in the Comments section.
Surviving on a tight budget 
We use apple boxes that we get for free from Schnucks to store things in on Passover. They are all the same size and stack well.
I will have to remember that for next! Are there certain days you should go to ask for them?