Get the kids to help my charges are 22months, 4, and 9. they help.
4 year old helps take out the garbage, brings in the trash can from the street on trash days, makes his bed in the morning, helps match and fold the socks, and puts away his laundry.
9 year old makes his bed in the morning, takes the trash can to the street the night before trash day, folds and puts away his own laundry, and washes the counters in the bathroom and kitchen.
22 month old helps put the laundry in the dryer and picks up his toys.
the rest i do during reading time or rest time.
+1 This is great for kids. They should be helping and be learning responsibility. Its also good for them to have some rest, reading or quiet time. You can also have the 9 year old read to and with the younger kids.
You also need to plan out your days and get a routine or structure in place. If you clean as you go and have activities/cleaning planned in advance rather than haphazardly trying to fit it all in it makes a huge difference. For example, in the morning you throw laundry into the wash, handle dishes quickly while kids are eating breakfast, kids are responsible for clearing dishes from the table and helping to sweep while you clean up the 22 month old. You play for a little bit and get ready to go out when the washing machine is done. You throw things into the dryer and go to the pool or park -somewhere they can burn off energy. Come back, eat lunch -let kids help make it and same deal with cleaning up after themselves. You all fold clothes together. Play a little and then its rest time and reading for 1-2 hours. You spend 30 minutes -1 hour doing tasks like dusting or whatever and 30 minutes to 1 hour on a break. When the kids wake up you do an afternoon activity and then they clean up their toys while you vacuum etc. You play for the rest of the day.
The key here is that wiping down the kitchen counters is not a task that you do during rest time. You quickly do this each time after you eat and they stay clean. When everyone is done playing with one set of toys, it gets put away. You don't let them trash the room and then it becomes an hour task to clean it up. Not cleaning up quickly after yourself or teaching them to do it leads to much bigger messes that are time consuming to go back and clean up.