How do you make life easier with your kids ?

[heartbroken22]

I feel like I'm always running around like a headless chicken. Laundry, dishes, cooking, taking them to school, aftr school clubs.Any tips?

Carve out some time to set up systems. A time intensive investment but so worth it. Decide when laundry is going to go on each day, when food shop is going to happen each week. Make a meal plan for the month and use it a few months in a row. Any way you can reduce decision fatigue is a massive win. Allocate chores if the kids are old enough and follow through on getting them done.

Routines, general expectations, communication and respect.
So I make tea, kids wash pots.
You won't have clean laundry if it's not in the basket.
You clean your room once a week, I won't comment on the state of it in-between.
Pick up after yourself or it goes in the bin.
I have a diary on the coffee table and expect it to be written in there and my saying is 'if its not in the diary it's not happening ' meaning I will have no part in making it happen.
Teaching them to set there own reminders, alarms, organising themselves.
I became disabled and therefore restricted on what I can do so we had no choice but to put things in place to make sure the household runs smoothly but the kids will all leave home being able to cook, clean, laundry, gardening, organising themselves.

Good advice so far. I’m not super organised but better than I used to be. Definitely routines and getting kids to help. I also think often about being kind to my future self. When I don’t feel like doing a certain job I try to think of how ill feel in future when it’s piling up, that helps me take the extra 15 min to fold another load of laundry or the like.

I find meal planning really hard but that would help me I think. Batch cooking helps - very satisfying when you are busy to be able to defrost a healthy dinner and know what you are having without any thought.

What age do you guys start with chores?

As above. Take time out for organisation. Even buy a weekly planner for the wall to update each week. Add meals, clubs, appointments to it as a clear visual reminder.
Meal plan- helps with a shopping list, decision making and reduce waste.
Lunch boxes the night before.
Find school/club things a home and make sure things get kept or put back there.
Tumble dryer and only plan to wash/dry 2 loads per time otherwise you won't keep up with the turnover. Once a load is dry pack it away or make sure the kids do if older. I personally make sure I have at least one wash day during the week (2 adults 2children under 11) maybe put a load in on Friday evening and one day at the weekend but I am not a slave to it. We have enough pants/socks/uniforms (work and school) to not need to do a wash mid week if for what ever reason it doesn't get done. So usually the mid week wash is for bedding and towels.

Routine helps me stay on top of things I guess but try not to be too rigid with it.

Kids packing away toys routinely and making sure they are involved or help in a weekly reset/clean/proper tidy up of their bedrooms each week. Even if it's only 30mins.