How to keep on top of house - 3 kids

[boobaaaa]

I have 3 kids - 8,6&10 weeks old.

I struggled to keep the house clean and tidy with 2 kids, so obviously it’s even harder with 3.

I went through the entire house pre-baby and threw loads of things, rearranged everything nicely but it’s totally trashed again. Baby does nap, but sometimes 2 hours and other times 5 minutes so I can start a task but often not finish it. She will stay in her bouncer for 15 or so minutes and watch me tidy, so that’s something. But still not enough to tidy a whole house!

The older kids are so messy. I get them to tidy their room but they put up a fight every time, but I make them do it. They also do crazy things like throw rubbish on the floor, food on the floor, don’t wipe up any drink spills. They have no respect. Obviously I make them pick it up. I spent a few days pulling them up every time they made a mess and left toys all over the floor, the stairs etc. Made them tidy their toys as soon as they’d finished playing with them, but it was exhausting. They didn’t start to do anything by themselves, they just waited for me to tell them they needed to clean up their mess.

I can see from writing this down that I’m clearly not strict enough, or not putting enough punishments in place.

Any tips for suitable punishments, or perhaps encouragement so that they will tidy up their mess without me constantly having to ask?

Also any tips for actually keeping on top of the house in terms of washing, hoovering, general cleaning of the house?

I started following someone on insta this week who talks about “notice and do” tasks. She’s trying to encourage her children to look around a room and notice for themselves what needs doing and then act on it. As opposed to just assuming she will sort it. Think her handle is samkelly_world

My own kids are younger than yours so (my eldest is 5) and I’ve started them with a few simple jobs. Clothes in the wash basket before a bath. Letting them try and make their beds. Having designated spots for their shoes and coats so they can put them away. My middle one likes doing the clean cutlery from the dishwasher.

The older ones might be making a mess on purpose at the moment, in order to get your attention. They may not even realise they are doing it for that reason.

What about your DP - is he hands-on?

Tidy up music? Triggers a sort of Pavlovian response after a while.
lego/ toys on a big sheet on the floor so w he n t he tv ev fri nished you can just scoop it up.
a new clean dustpan and brush, very efficient for smsll
children to sweep toys up and into a box.
consider using pillow cases for to y storage then throw them into the no man’s land behind the sofa of an evening.
take half their toys away and hide / store , you can rotate and swap them every couple of weeks.
they’re young, they’re lazy, you have a very small baby and your hands full. Maybe lower your standards if you u can for a while .