When the kids were little I cleaned the house by myself while having toddlers, which doesn't really work. By the time one room is dusted and vacuumed another room is trashed or they just come right behind you with a trail of toys.  Then they got older and were able to start helping, funny thing is it took me longer to clean with helpers than on my own.  I had to watch and teach and then check to make sure they accomplished the task correctly. That lasted years. Cleaning the house was just part of homeschooling.  Although looking back I think I should have hired it out and done more fun stuff with the kids instead of trying to be a great homeschooling mom, have a clean house, run errands, cook and do laundry.  There would always have been time to teach them later. Why did I think I had to do it all?  Having a clean house helps me think and I don't feel overwhelmed with work, if the house is clean.  However, I have no idea why I thought I needed to do it.  There are plenty of tasks that are hired out.  My advice to myself if I could do it again would be to hire a house cleaner if I was homeschooling and just plan a day at the library or field trip once a week.  Make memories not an overwhelming tower of expectation.  Fast forward to this year, I can finally have the kids help out and we can clean the whole house in about an hour!  I could have taught this summer time or as they were older and we would still be able to clean house in an hour today.