Pre-Pesach Pondering Part II

[gnomi]

So, back in October, we celebrated the holidays of Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah at the end of the holiday of Sukkot. And, don'cha know, erev Shmini Atzeret, our refrigerator died. Not a good thing at any time, but an especially bad thing right before a yom tov (and, in this case, a yom tov-yom tov-Shabbat situation). In a fit of "what the heck are we going to do," mabfan and I used our copious (ha!) between-work-and-yom-tov time to run out to our local Best Buy and purchase a larger-than-cube-but-not-gigantic fridge to get us through until our fridge could be replaced. Mini fridge worked beautifully over yom tov, and then once we got the new fridge, the mini was unplugged and put into a corner of our kitchen (because mabfan and I agreed that making space for it was better than carrying it down 3 flights of stairs).

Fast forward to yesterday. I'm sitting at work implementing a bunch of not-so-brain-requiring edits (like removing headers and footers that don't belong) and pondering the pre-Pesach prep that has to still happen. And I got to thinking about that mini fridge. And it hit me -- why not plug in the mini and put it to use over Pesach. I bounced the idea of using the mini (either to hold the perishables we're going to sell or to replace the main fridge for the week) off mabfan, who endorsed the second option.

And thus shall we do. On Sunday, I'll clean the mini inside and out (though I cleaned it back in October before relegating it to the corner) and clean the outside of the main fridge, and then when we're doing the final pre-Pesach run through, I'll tape the main fridge and freezer closed and designate them as containing sold chametz. And this will take a gigantic chunk out of the work that has to be done pre-Pesach.

Comments

[emrinalexander.livejournal.com]

That's a great solution to the storage/cleaning problem!

What do you think would be the best thing for me to do? The kitchen isn't kosher because I also cook for Annie (and I can't yet afford another set of everything)...are there still things I can do to at least try to be observant? Other than cleaning (in and outside of fridge and cupboards, etc.)?

Any suggestions will be gratefully followed!

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

An excellent, practical solution!

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Hmm...I've always found plastic plates/utensils a good solution to this sort of thing. And Chinette plates are microwavable, too (they're heavy cardboard, kinda -- not plastic but usually explicitly marked as Kosher for Passover). So maybe your food in disposable dishes and the like, keeping it separate from Annie's food?

If you have a religious authority you trust, perhaps asking them what to do in your specific situation might be in order. There's a lot that can be made allowances for depending on the specific situation (for example, there are medications that are not kosher for Pesach but that are allowed on a case-by-case basis for people that need them. They're not allowed across the boards, but a rabbi can make a ruling for a specific case).

If I think of more suggestions, I'll post 'em here for you. :-)

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It just occurred to me that it would be a handy way of handling things. :-)

[emrinalexander.livejournal.com]

Thank you - I was thinking of chinette because that way I can keep everything separated. I already did ask about the fact that I have to eat in order to take my meds, and I was told that would not be a problem - the rabbi told me that God doesn't want me face down in the middle of the synogogue because I passed out in services *G*. I can see his point - I would take up most of the middle asile *G*. At one point, this fall, in passing, he mentioned something about designating differnt shelves within cupboards and the fridge, and I think that's in line with some things you've suggested here and at earlier times that you've advised me on stuff, so I'm going to hit him up about that when I meet with him on Monday, get some specifics of what he wants me to do.

And I CAN kasher the microwave, so I'm going to do that the right way.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Kashering the microwave is easy-peasy. It's the task I leave for last, since it's so straightforward.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Very cool! I think sdavido may have suggested that at the time, but even if so, it's a good idea. :-)