Kashrut Kitchen Turnover Scheduler

Preparing a Kitchen for a Kashrut Turnover

Whether you are getting ready for Pesach or transitioning a kitchen between meat and dairy use, orchestrating the cleaning, kashering, and reorganization tasks requires both halachic consultation and project management. A typical Israeli apartment kitchen can feel like a logistical puzzle: counters must rest for 24 hours, ovens need deep cleaning before self-clean cycles, and every utensil requires labeling or boiling. This calculator offers a planning scaffold so you can map manpower, estimate cleaning hours, and decide when each task should begin. It does not replace rabbinic direction but helps you implement the instructions efficiently.

The tool assumes a three-stage process familiar to many households: a cooldown period when surfaces are left unused, a deep-cleaning phase, and the kashering and reorganizing finale. By quantifying the hours in each stage you can prevent last-minute stress and ensure everyone in the household knows when kitchens are off-limits. Because Passover and other turnovers often occur alongside school breaks and work demands, a schedule that highlights the daily workload helps you negotiate help from roommates, teenagers, or cleaning crews.

Understanding the Inputs

Start with the square meter estimate of your counters and work surfaces. Granite, quartz, or stainless steel may require different kashering techniques, but the cleaning effort is broadly proportional to surface area. Enter stovetop burners, ovens, and sinks requiring attention. Each appliance has its own cadence—ovens typically demand degreasing and either self-cleaning or libun gamur, while sinks might need boiling water poured in stages. Listing the number of small appliances ensures you allocate time for boiling or replacing utensils like immersion blenders, stand mixers, and ladles.

Cooldown hours describe the waiting period after a surface last came into contact with hot chametz or meat/dairy status. Many families aim for 24 hours, though your rabbi may recommend longer. Helpers and daily hours capture your manpower. Three people working four hours per day equals a daily capacity of twelve labor-hours. Days remaining are counted from today to your target deadline, whether the eve of Pesach or the day guests arrive. Finally, the budget field tracks how much you expect to spend on disposable coverings, foil, liners, new utensils, and cleaning supplies so you can measure whether the plan fits your shopping list.

Calculation Methodology

The calculator converts each input into labor-hours using conservative benchmarks sourced from Jewish Agency household guides and community volunteer schedules. Countertops require roughly 0.3 hours per square meter for degreasing plus boiling water preparation. Burners are assigned 0.75 hours each to account for disassembly, scrubbing, and heating. Ovens consume two hours apiece between chemical cleaning and high-temperature cycles, while sinks receive 1.2 hours to cover racks and multiple boiling sequences. Small appliances average half an hour each for boiling, kashering, or packing away.

Total labor-hours follow the equation , where is surface area, burners, ovens, sinks, and portable appliances. The coefficients through represent the hour-per-unit estimates above. Daily capacity equals helper count times available hours : . The number of workdays needed is . If exceeds the days remaining you entered, the calculator flags a warning so you can recruit more help or expand the daily work window.

Worked Example

Consider a Jerusalem family with 10 square meters of counters, four burners, a double oven, one sink, and eight small appliances. With three helpers available four hours per day, the calculator estimates 3 hours for counters, 3 hours for burners, 4 hours for ovens, 1.2 hours for the sink, and 4 hours for appliances—a total of 15.2 labor-hours. Daily capacity is 12 labor-hours (three helpers times four hours), so the kashering work spans two days. Because they have ten days until Erev Pesach, the schedule starts leisurely, suggesting the cooldown period begin 24 hours before the first cleaning session and concluding tasks two days before the deadline to allow time for shopping and cooking.

The planner also allocates the 450 NIS budget into categories: 40% for foil and liners (180 NIS), 30% for disposable utensils (135 NIS), 20% for cleaning agents (90 NIS), and 10% as contingency (45 NIS). These benchmarks come from surveys of Israeli supermarkets during the pre-Pesach season. You can adjust the ratios in the output narrative to match your household priorities.

Schedule Output and CSV Download

When you submit the form, the calculator builds a day-by-day task list that spreads workloads evenly. Day 1 might focus on degreasing counters and dismantling burners, while Day 2 handles boiling sinks and kashering appliances. Each day’s line lists total hours and specific tasks so you can assign responsibilities. The CSV download includes one row per day plus budget allocations, enabling you to email the plan to relatives or print it for the refrigerator door. Because everything runs in your browser, no kitchen details are stored or shared.

Comparison Table

Use the table to benchmark your plan against common scenarios. If your numbers resemble the student flat, you may want to recruit friends or neighbors to finish earlier. Community kitchens with multiple helpers can finish quickly even with heavy workloads, emphasizing the value of teamwork during the hectic days leading up to holidays.

Maintaining Momentum

Kashering often overlaps with shopping, menu planning, and childcare. Break tasks into 90-minute blocks to prevent burnout. Encourage each helper to log their progress—perhaps on a shared WhatsApp group or the printed CSV—to keep everyone synchronized. The calculator’s output includes rest recommendations once daily hours exceed 5 per person, reminding you to hydrate and take breaks.

If you discover that the planned hours exceed your availability, the script suggests options: reduce non-essential appliances, outsource oven cleaning, or extend your timeline by starting earlier. You can rerun the calculation with new helper counts or hours to see how the schedule compresses or expands. Families with young children might set aside one evening after bedtime purely for labeling and packing utensils, while reserving daylight hours for noisy boiling tasks.

Supply Planning

The budget narrative breaks down suggested spending to minimize last- minute supermarket runs. Foil and counter liners typically account for the largest share, followed by disposable utensils and specialized cleaning sprays. If you own reusable Pesach pots or color-coded dairy utensils, you can reduce the disposable portion and reallocate funds to professional oven cleaning or gasket replacements. The calculator’s output encourages you to list purchases in advance so you can compare prices at chains like Rami Levy, Osher Ad, or neighborhood makolets.

Remember to set aside time for dish kashering sessions in community boilers if you rely on a synagogue immersion station. The schedule can incorporate off-site trips by blocking out hours and labeling them in the daily task list. Entering additional appliances or increasing the cooldown duration automatically updates the plan, keeping your timeline realistic even when your rabbi adds extra steps.

Limitations and Assumptions

This scheduler models labor and logistics, not halachic rulings. Always confirm kashering techniques with your rabbi, especially for materials such as granite composites, glass stovetops, or self-clean cycles. The hour estimates are averages; greasy kitchens or inherited appliances may require more elbow grease. Similarly, the budget split is a starting point—organic cleaners or premium disposable ware can raise costs.

Despite these caveats, the planner equips you with a structured timeline so you can focus on the spiritual preparation of the holiday rather than scrambling for supplies. Print the CSV, assign roles, and revisit the calculator whenever your kitchen layout or household size changes. With clarity on labor, cooldowns, and spending, even complex turnovers become manageable checklists rather than late-night marathons.