I only have three children and am struggling - how on earth do you do it?!

[QueenofAllWildThings]

My children are 5, 2 and 3mths - and I am seriously struggling... the house is a bombsite, I'm constantly exhausted, snappy and have no energy for anything but the bare minimum of cleaning/cooking/washing.

How do you get anything done??!!! I know a lot of it is that my youngest is not sleeping well at ALL, and is really hard to settle for naps so I spend a lot of my time trying to get him to nap so I can do some housework or do stuff with the older two...

Any tips would be great, as I feel like I'm sinking here...

i was told about flylady.com which is a system to follow and really worked for me though don't log in for emails or you'll get a stupid amount!!
it worked great until i had my dd4 (now 4 months) i don't think its possible to have a baby, tidy house and pleasant mood at the same time and i know which two i pick!!

hi,ive got 4 kids, 12,10,9and 5.Over the years it has got easier. Got to admit that housework just had to wait. kids came first spent loadz of time at mmother an toddler groups it got me out an the kids out.

1. Pay older children a quid to put younger siblings to bed.
2. Chuck out anything you don't really need so you don't have to tidy or store it.
3. Keep one room tidy so you have a retreat where you can sit without removing lego from your buttocks, in case someone comes around to visit.
4. Never do a la carte meals - it's table d'hote or starve in our house.
5. Go outside a lot.

Best of British!

PS Never do housework when you're tired. Life's too short, honestly. Just make sure there's eggs and milk in the fridge, a loaf of bread somewhere, a couple of pairs of spare changes of clothes for everyone, one change of bedding somewhere, and sufficient loo rolls and soap. That is a kind of domestic minimum which is sustainable.

PPS If the house really bothers you then you could always have one day where you farm out the kids to all and sundry, get your sleeves rolled up, and tackle one room at a time until you feel you've rebooted things a bit. We did a bit of this at Christmas in relation to baby proofing, and the beneficial effects still seem to be there. For a couple of hundred squids you can probably even get a cleaning firm to blitz it, as they do when tenants move out.

It's because they are so young. It will get better when they are older as they all help each other...or that's the theory.
The bigger the familly is the easier it gets according to my neighbour who has 7 kids from 2yr old to 18 yr old, as they help with the chores and sort out the younger ones in the morning.

PPPS At least it's not 1955, because if it was all the neighbours would care, and be twittering about this, and you would have to be wearing a frilly pinny and looking gorgeous whilst trying to do all the washing in a twin tub and getting it whiter than white, and simultaneously whipping up fondant fancies over a nicely scrubbed kitchen table whilst giving your husband a good old seeing to and arranging some daffodils tastefully in a vase.

hahahhaha hhmmfff I'm a mum of 4 almost 16,almost 9, almost 4 and almost 2
I haven't done the ironing for god knows how long...
I'm blessed with a really helpful hubby, who cooks,cleans,does the laundry and well everything that needs to be done... although he has much more tolerence to mess than I have. I try to have a basic routine:1. After every dinner/lunch (cooked):clean the kitchen. 2. Since we have hard wood floors we try to mop the floors once a day (easy job as it's not that big and open space) 3. TRY to do some washing once/twice a day (other wise Mt Everest starts to build up in my laundry-room ) 4. If the bathroom needs cleaning-clean it! (we always keep anti bactirial wipes in the bathroom) 5. AND once a week (Thursdays) I try to clean the house (because that morning all the kids are either in schools or nursery)
BUT if something doesn't get done... it just doesn't

Thanks for all the messages... LO is now 6 mths and things are slightly better... he is sleeping a bit better at night (usually a 5hr stretch but doesn't settle easily and barely naps - but that'a a whole other thread!). DH is away this week so it's bedlam, but next week I have family here to help. Just taking each day as it comes now!!!

Love the traffic light idea, btw. And yes, thank god it's not 1955 as I would be suicidal!