Passover-Spring Cleaning? Dirty Word?

Now should Passover cleaning and spring cleaning be considered synonyms?

That's a question many of us ask every year.

There are homes in which people (and pets) take food all over the house, including in bed, and I'm not referring to walking around with apples and bananas.  The furthest I get from the kitchen/diningroom with food is drinking my coffee by the computer in the morning.  And considering that I've been on a low carbohydrate regime for years already, I don't eat the forbidden chametz at all.  So practically speaking, I do not have to do a super-cleaning, search and destroy the chametz all over the house.  The only items to be removed are the toothpaste.

Now, to be honest, my big problem is that I'm an awful housekeeper and my house is a mess, cluttered, dusty etc.  Yes, that's not chametz, it's just not pretty, attractive or inviting.  So if we're going to have overnight guests for the Holidays, we'll have to do some cleaning so they'll feel comfortable.

There have been years when my house was totally turned upside down and cleaned thoroughly.  That's when I had a large staff of  offspring who took the initiative and cleaned like the neighbors do.  I didn't make major demands on them.  The big rule was:

Once you're Bar/Bat Mitzvah and responsible to G-d, you are responsible for your own room!

Now, we're an old couple with limited time, money and energy.  And neither of us could ever win a "home beautiful" award.  So, I must make my cleaning priorities to suit reality.  I'll be concentrating on cleaning the kitchen.