I have 3 young children - a 2 1/2 yr old and 13mth old twins and my house will generally stay pretty tidy...

I suppose it really depends on your terminology, so you mean clean or do you mean tidy? My kids have 3 areas that they play - lounge room, playroom and the boys bedroom and generally they will trash each room at least once a day, but I find they will play in on area and then move onto another when bored or want a new challenge - so I will then tidy the area they have destroyed which is just generally picking toys up off the floor and putting back in the toy boxes.

I have a handheld vac which adapts as a mini vacuum and that gets used everyday in the kitchen after meals and also in the areas the kids have access to to clean up food crumbs, I do my washing everynight after eveyone is in pj's and hang it on clothes airers in our bedroom to dry overnight (we have heaters on as it is soooo cold here) so all I have to do next day is fold and put away. I will iron a couple of times a week - in the evening when the kids are in bed and I can watch a TV show I want to in peace , and every week DH will do the vacuuming and mopping on 1 evening when everyone is in bed. At the moment we are always cleaning the floor after each meal that we don't see the need to mop more than once a week. I clean my kitchen benches as I go, so after a make a meal I will clean down the bench tops etc, and my bathroom gets done when I have the motivation but normally every couple of weeks when everyone is in bed so the kids don't breathe in the chemicals if I clean it during the day. Also my parents take DD for about 4hrs every Wednesday so these are the days I will wash and change the sheets and towels.

I'm a bit obsessed with the house being 'presentable' but I have to look at it realistically as well, I have 3 young children and they will make a mess, but by watching my lead they are learning that things must be put away so much so that one of my twins loves to pick things up off the floor and put them where they belong - and that's at 13mths.