Clean and renew this spring with a DIY handheld pine needle besom

Passover is coming, and with it, a time for cleaning and renewing. Spring cleaning is actually an ancient Jewish custom - as old as the Torah itself! It’s done weeks before Passover to remove any and all traces of chametz or leavened bread.

Growing up, my mom cleaned our kitchen and pantry in preparation for Passover. What I remember most was the fresh pine scent from the cleaner that would drift throughout our house. Unlike at my home, my friend Dikla experienced an intense and serious spring cleaning at her home in Tel Aviv, Israel. Dikla’s “Cleaning for Passover” list is shown below. In Hebrew “to clean” is pronounced lenakot. Every room every, door, baseboard, cupboard and piece of furniture is thoroughly cleaned and washed from top to bottom!

“Cleaning for Passover” shared by Dikla - lenakot “to clean…windows and window blinds, organize and clean bathrooms and showers, clean dust from all the shelves and furniture, sweep and wash the floors from under and behind the furniture, vacuum car… — “Cleaning for Passover” shared by Dikla - *lenakot* “to clean…windows and window blinds, organize and clean bathrooms and showers, clean dust from all the shelves and furniture, sweep and wash the floors from under and behind the furniture, vacuum carpets, brush or vacuum sofa and if possible wash (launder) the sofa cushion covers, clean doors and door frames, clean cupboards and pantry and take out everything that is *chametz,* clean the refrigerator and stove, clean all the surfaces in the kitchen and the sink” - Spring cleaning at Dikla’s house in Tel Aviv, Israel

Not only is it laborious, but as Dikla told me, as you clean your home, you think about removing all the negative energy from your physical space, from your mind and from your heart - a true way to clean and renew for the season.

This year, I was inspired by Dikla and decided to have a more mindful spring cleaning. To remind me of my childhood and the scent of pine, I made besom (broom) of pine needles.

A besom is perfect tool for a spring cleaning. It’s known not only for sweeping, but for also providing your space with clean energy to purify and renew - just like the promise of renewal for the new season and the process of spring cleaning in Israel. They’re not difficult for an adult to make, and older children should be able to complete one with a little supervision. Younger children could also help with the process of gathering pine needles and supervising a grown-up! You really only need pine needles and cotton cording to make your own. I included a photo of each step to guide you in the process.

DIY Handheld Besom (Broom)

For each besom you will need:

A large handful of pine needles (fresh or dried)
Natural cotton cording or yarn
3 small elastics
Clothespin
Wood beads (optional)
Wood tag (optional)

Here’s how to make it:

1. Gather up a big pile of pine needles.

2. Hold the needles upside down in your hand. Gently pat the tips (needle shaft) on a flat surface to even them up.

2. Take your pine needle bunch and carefully place three elastics spaced about an inch apart starting just under the needle shaft.

3. To make a knob to hang up our besom, take a clothes pin and about 30 inches of cotton cord. (This is completely optional, and if you’d like, you can skip this step and go right to step 6).

4. Take the cord and wrap it through the open space of the clothespin. Even up the ends and make a knot above the top of the clothespin.

5. Carefully open up a space in the center of the needles. Place the clothespin around the needles, to where the top of the clothespin is just sticking out.

6. Now to make the cotton wrap to hold the besom together. Make a loop of cording on top of pine needles. See the photo below. I took a long piece of cording (still attached to the spool) and tucked the end under the elastic bands. One end points downward and the rest of the long cording gets looped up towards the needle shaft (use the photo below as a guide).

7. Begin wrapping the cotton cording around the needles, starting from bottom -around and around until just below the needle shaft. Pull a little extra tight if using fresh pine needles. They will shrink slightly as they dry out.

8. Cut the cord from the spool and place the end through the top loop.

9. Pull the top piece of cord up through the loop and pull the bottom piece of cord down at the same time. The top loop will disappear into cord wrap. You can cut the top and bottom cords sticking out from the handle - or keep one (or both) to attach beads and a wooden tag.

10. Cut the bottom of besom to even out the strands - or keep it as is.

11. If you want, you can string wooden beads or a wood tag. We put a few beads on the wooden knob cording and secured them with a knot.

And that’s it - a freshly scented pine needle besom! Be sure to breathe deeply when cleaning to purify your mind and heart too!

There’s a special cleaning ritual you can do with your littles by the light of a candle on the night before Passover - the Bedikat chametz (Search for the Chametz or leavened bread). Leave 10 tiny bits of bread or cereal for your littles to find. They can sweep them with a feather onto a wooden spoon and then drop them into a bag (along with the spoon after the search). It’s traditional for an adult to burn the bag to remove the chametz - once and for all - before the start of Passover on the very next day!

Bedikat Chametz (Search for the Chametz) - You’ll need a candle, feather, spon, match and bag. — *Bedikat Chametz* (*Search for the Chametz*) - You’ll need a candle, feather, spon, match and bag.

If you’d like, you can say a special blessing before you begin your search:

Ba-Ruch A-tah A-do-noi, Elo-hai-nu Me-lech Ha-o-lam, A-sher Ki-de-sha-nu

Be-mitz-vo-sov, Ve-tzi-vo-nu, Al Bee-ur Cho-metz.

Renewing your mind, body and soul in spring cleaning is just as important as cleaning your home. We hope this Passover and spring will be a time of renewal and new possibilities. If you’d like your littles to get involved with spring cleaning, we have a wonderful DIY pipe cleaner mini broom and wall hanger, especially for young children to experience cleaning for Passover with a happy heart.