If you work school hours, when do you clean? What am I doing wrong?!

[CautiousOptimist]

Recently started a job which means everyone leaving the house before 7:30, breakfast clubs and working until school pick up time.
It works fine. I empty the dishwasher and throw a load of laundry in the machine before we leave in the morning. I dry and sort the washing and cook from scratch in the early evening somehow alongside clubs and homework. Wash up later or DH does (often out at work until 8pm).
If you have a similar work pattern, when do you clean? Do you do it in the evening? 5 in the morning? At the weekend? While you're cooking and trying to look after children? Or not at all?! A quick vacuum I can manage but when do you clean the microwave, the windows, deep clean the bathrooms etc? What am I missing?

Dc empty dishwasher each morning while we make packed lunches. Then breakfast and lunch stuff goes in there. Kitchen tidied every night. Vacuum as needed. Mop as needed - me/dh/dc (teens).

I also have a cleaner for 3 hours every week.

Kitchen gets done while I cook. Often breakfast clear up is left till dinner time. I make packed lunches at the same time I cook too.

Bathroom gets done when I supervise the kids in the bath.

Kids strip their own beds at the weekend and as soon as they are able will make them too. Currently I have to do the duvets but they can manage the sheets. Kids also have chores, one helps unload the dishwasher, one loves mopping floors (weird child!) so she does that. 2 year old passes me the washing as I hang it.

Then lower your standards for the rest 😂. If you are all out of the house most of the day it will need cleaning much less than if you are home with pre school age kids.

Encourage kids to tidy their toys. And get a big box/tub/bucket per child so when you do tidy up you can dump everything for each child in their own tub and take them around the house finishing in bedrooms where you sort the tub

Stuff happens at random.

Off the top of my head;

Wipe round bathroom while shower warms up/with the other hand while cleaning teeth/while child in the bath.

Clean microwave whilst making Sunday roast, which is also when kids that need homework support do their homework in the kitchen, kitchen sink clean, refill washing up liquid bottle, check cupboards and add stuff to online grocery order etc etc etc

Clear the hall of school bag detritus on Saturday morning and then hoover it and through to lounge.

Hoover kitchen after dinner while packing dishwasher and wiping down.

Hang washing on airers and/or fold laundry while small kids get themselves ready for bed.

If both work full time and you have kids that need a lot of input then I think the only way to have a truly clean house is a cleaner or less sleep!

delegate as much as possible - Might not be the cleaning but cutting your time in other areas might free up time to clean if that’s what you want. Robot hoover, automate online shopping orders, everyone puts own laundry away (we sort it into boxes when it comes out the drier). Get kids helping! DD8 does the dishwasher every day, DD4 brings down the dirty washing. Good for them and saves you.

Other than that, pay for as much help as you can afford for the rest - cleaner, gardener, washing / ironing help - whichever one irritated you most aim to outsource that one first.