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How to Use Up Your Chametz and Get a New Spring Wardrobe

by · March 23rd, 2009
Advice, Bread, Holidays, Leftovers, Sustainability
clothes1food1

I guess you could say there are two types of people in the world. Those who go all-out spring cleaning for passover and those who simply get rid of chametz. The halachic guideline is to clean anywhere that chametz might be. For most of us, this should not include our clothes closet. Some Rabbis advice against taking passover prep to the level of full-tilt spring cleaning. For example; this article which also gives a quick how-to on keeping kosher for the holiday.

If you do want to take the opportunity for a more full cleaning and possibly save some money by “shopping your closet”  you can take this to the next level by “shopping” several friends’ closets’ at the same time. This is known as a clothing exchange or, in some circles, a “switch and b—-.” And, when you add snacks into the mix, you can get rid of your chametz at the same time. What better way to get rid of frozen bread products (not to mention left over beers or other not-kosher-for-pesach alcohol) than to have a few friends over to share the task.

I could wax philosophical about the parallels between cleaning out your closet and escaping from slavery to freedom, but instead I’ll leave you with a simple how-to for a clothing-exchange party:

1. Go through your closet and extract any item of clothing which you have not worn in some pre-determined amount of time – try six months to a year.

2. Pick a date and invite several friends to bring over at least one bag of clothes.

3. Go through your cupboards, freezer and pantry to find tasty, and chametz-filled, snacks to serve.

4. After the event, donate any unclaimed clothing to a charitable thrift shop.

If you need more spring-cleaning tips see here. Enjoy!

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3 Responses to “How to Use Up Your Chametz and Get a New Spring Wardrobe”

  1. Adam Jackson Says:
    March 24th, 2009 at 10:05 am

    Great idea for combining two things. If you have any left over cans and non-perishable items you want to clear out as well, you might also want to donate them to a local food pantry, such as the West Side Campaign against Hunger (http://www.wscah.org/) in New York City.

  2. Delilah Says:
    March 24th, 2009 at 11:57 am

    Great idea, Adam. Donating food seems especially fitting for the passover season.

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