Pre-Passover Rant

Let's start with the basic and true that I'm an awful housekeeper, always was and I guess I'll always be one.

my kitchen in Passover mode

this is chametz

A lot of what's accepted as "cleaning for Passover" has absolutely nothing to do with ridding the house of the forbidden Chametz.

Chametz is any food product made from wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt that has come into contact with water and been allowed to ferment and "rise.”
In practice, just about anything made from these grains—other than Passover matzah, which is carefully controlled to avoid leavening—is to be considered chametz. This includes flour (even before it is mixed with water1), cake, cookies, pasta, breads and items that have chametz as an ingredient, like malt. (Chabad)

And a lot of products that proudly and sometimes more expensively display "Kosher for Passover" labels and certification have absolutely nothing to do with chametz at all, no matter how and where it's produced. I'm happy to have found this list, NON-FOOD ITEMS – 2016, OU Kosher Staff:

Aluminum foil

Aluminum foil baking pans

Baby ointments

Bags (paper or plastic)

Body wash

Bowl and tub cleaners

Candles

Cardboard

Carpet cleaners

Charcoal

Conditioners

Copper and metal cleaners  

Cork 

Cosmetics (except possibly lipsticks, see below)

Cupcake holders

Cups (paper, plastic or styrofoam)

Deodorants

Detergents

Dishwashing Detergents

Drain openers

Fabric protectors

Furniture polish

Glass cleaners

Hair gels, sprays and mousse 

Hair removers and treatments

Insecticides 

Isopropyl alcohol

Jewelry polish

Laundry detergents

Lotions

Napkins (paper)

Oven cleaners 

Paper towels

Perfumes

Plastic containers

Plates (paper, plastic or styrofoam)

Scouring pads and powders

Shampoos

Shaving cream and gel

Shaving lotion 

Silver polish 

Skin cream  

Soaps 

Suntan lotion

Talcum powder (100% talc)

Toilet bowl cleaner

Water filters

And to tell the truth, since I've never allowed eating in bedrooms, meaning no breakfast in bed, and my kids (and their friends) even at the youngest ages did not wander the house eating cookies, crackers, etc. there never is any actual chametz in the bedrooms. I clean what I can, but my real focus is on the kitchen. And as I wrote on my blog, A Jewish Grandmother,  Tolerance, Acceptance, Pesach Can Be Complicated.

I pray for good health and good humor. Let's not go crazy and make ourselves sick and forget that Passover is a holiday which shouldn't be tortuous.