My two cents

Thought I'd add my two cents on housework. Here are three keys to keeping our house relatively clean.

1) It never gets hopelessly messy because we spend a little time each day straightening up, instead of saving a huge list of chores for the weekend. It's easy to give up when it seems too huge a task.

2) Get organized. A place for everything, and everything in its place.

3) I think the single most important thing is to have the kids do as much as they can. The boys are required to:
-put away their toys before every meal. I can't even remember the last time I had to tell someone to put away their toys. They know the rule, don't even come to the table until your toys are up and your hands are washed.
-put their dirty dishes in the sink
-throw away their trash
-feed the dogs
-let the dogs outside to go potty (this seems like a small thing, but Daisy wants to go out 200 times a day, and that gets annoying!)
-put the dogs in their kennels when we're getting ready to leave the house
-clean baseboards and the A/C vent with wet rags
-put their dirty clothes in the laundry room
-put their clean clothes in their dresser and closet (after an adult has folded it for them)
-pick out their own clothes and get dressed (who cares if they look weird?)

Speaking of clothes, we've found that hanging all shirts, even t-shirts, in the closet is much easier than putting them in the dresser. It arose out of necessity because the one dresser in the boys' room is not really big enough. We put a 48" shelf/hanger bar in their closet, low enough for the boys to reach. They can put shirts on hangers by themselves, and they can see and reach what's in there. And we don't have to fold shirts at all.

The next job I'll teach them is poop scooping in the back yard! Can't wait to pawn that one off on somebody else!

When we first became parents, MamaLlama did everything for them. Most of the time, it is easier and faster to just do it yourself. But all these little things add up and save Mom a lot of time and frustration, plus they teach the boys to be neat and organized, and to be contributors to the family.