Get the kids to help. Routine is key

Congrats on addition soon . I know how anxious it can be as a lot of things needs to be planned and cleaning is certain a priority with messy kids in the house. When my son was born , my daughter was 3 1/2 and she loved helping me . I asked her to fetch me things such as nappy etc, throw rubbish away etc. Funny she never really like cleaning her room , but enjoyed the living room ??. So maybe asked the oldest kids to chip in and help . I told the kids when they were older if you don’t help me with the washing , you will run out of underwear so you should see the panic on their faces. Hope it works out .

My 5 and 8 year olds make their beds, dust their bedrooms, vacuum, clean windows (vinegar and water) put dishes away, put their own clothes away, pick up after the dog. They do more than the 16 year old lol

Wow .. I think you deserve a cleaner!

hire a nanny and a cleaner! get the kids to help? I cant do much until they are sleeping

I just got told to play with my kisa and clean up when they are in bed
maybe put a toy away after they have finished playing? rewards? make plans/a diary of what chores to do each day? hire a cleaner!!

I have a 3yr old and 20 weeks pregnant, I find I get really tired easily! So I do housework for a hr of a morning before we go to the park am then about a hr later on in the afternoon before we watch some abc together.

Little jobs for the kids that are old enough could include making their beds each morning and folding washing. Someone else to match all those socks would be a great help to you. Also a small basket in each room for dirty washing, that each child could bring into the laundry would help with keeping clothes off the floor. Also dusting, feeding pets and emptying the dishwasher are jobs that the kids can help with.

I tidy up during the week and do my big clean on Sundays.I find it works because everyone keeps out of my way on Sunday mornings, knowing that I’ll find them a job if I see them doing nothing, lol.

depending on how old your other children are, cleaning routines will vary. Chore charts were a great big hit in my house, as I allowed the kids to choose their own rewards and work towards them. chores such as clearing the table,vacuuming, drying dishes, putting cutlery away, putting toys away and taking dirty washing to the laundry are all small chores that the kids can probably do, that will clear up quite a bit of time for you to do bigger chores. also try to chores while kids are asleep or at school etc

rewards charts always effective in our house

Do what you can, when you can i.e. washing and ironing when they are in bed or if they are old enough they might be able to help clear the table or pack toys away etc.

I have tried several different routines and the one that I have found to work the best is to do things as the need it – don’t put off what can be done right there and then. eg. When getting washing off line, don’t leave in basket to deal with later. Fold and put away so it’s done and out of the way). And doing one main weekly chore each night instead if a whole cleaning morning/day at the end of the week. Older kids to have chores – either work out between themselves (helps them with negotiating skills lol) or a chore list. Younger ones are to put their toys away or a least help put their toys away.
Also rip around the house before I go to bed to tidy up as getting up to a messy house puts me in a bad mood

Whiteboard with each child on it. You can either set them the same chores each week or change them around. Also good for putting appointments or sport times for each child too.

Do whatever possible you can.never deny any help from any including your kids.let them help even though they may make small mistakes.they will learn and it will be a good experience for them also.never strain too much it will destroy your happiness. accept the situation and let it go the way it is.prioritize things and do according to it.make a note so you wont miss important things

try and do a lot of your cleaning of a night when you put the kids to bed, do the washing and sorting then while your watching tv

getting the kids involved with a chore chart and rewards

Coming from a family of 5 mum used to make us help her out with our bedrooms and other things like washing up etc.

I think to be honest with you once the baby comes along your find that you will get into some sort of routine pretty quickly and the other kids will adapt pretty quickly to.
I think before baby comes long just try and keep the place tidy get the other children to have jobs that they have to do, maybe as well make up some meals that you can freeze.
good luck.

I only have three children but I have tried to declutter as much as possible to reduce the amount of tidying required. Once the children have outgrown their clothes and toys I get rid of unwanted outgrown items or pop them into storage until the next will be ready for them.