By: Chaya Schmukler, age 12

 

Oh boy, Pesach’s just around the corner. If you’re like me, in this post-Purim war zone, then the bedroom’s a mess! What to do? Well, if you follow these 8 EZ steps you’ll have your room looking ship-shape in no time.

1. First things first. Pump up the volume and get the music playing. It’ll get you in the mood, and you won’t even realize you’re working!

Clear off your bed, put on fresh linen and make it. Once you’re done, your room is going to look much better and feel much fresher!

2.Now, go to the entrance of your room. Mentally, divide your room into squares. Choose one. Take care of whatever’s in it. When you’re done, continue cleaning the “squares” one at a time ‘till it’s all clean!

 

3.Don’t your siblings love coming in your room? Well, use that to your advantage! Tell them that if they help you, they’ll get 5 minutes extra in your room. I’m telling you,

they’ll be a great help picking up little pieces, bringing stuff downstairs, etc..

 

4. Have you ever heard of the saying “When in doubt, throw it out ”? If you’re not sure whether you want to keep something or not – just think of that saying, and throw it out (or pass it on to someone who needs/wants it.)

 

5. Do you have any outgrown clothes that you still like? Your sister would love to have that blue shirt! By the time you’ll be done, your closet will look much more spacious. (Great excuse for some more shopping :)

 

6. Does it ever happen to you? You know that feeling when you look at your messy room… it can get seriously OVERWHELMING!!. Well, DO THE EASIEST PART FIRST, and by the time you’ll be done the hard part won’t look so scary!

 

7. Once you start cleaning, you will unearth tons of treasures. Don’t get distracted. FOCUS! Don’t take a walk down the history lane now. Put the stuff away and move on!

 

8. Now that that you’re room is clean, keep it that way! Everyday take 5 minutes to tidy up, and you’ll never have to do that cleanup again.

 

Every week, you can treat yourself to something if you cleaned up every day in that week. Now, there’s gonna be something to look forward to, but if you can’t get yourself that little something special, reading that great book in a clean room is enough!

 

Chag Kosher v’Samaiach!

Happy Cleaning!