When you're constantly on the move, juggling work and family life, getting the kids to school and shuttling them to various activities, keeping your home as clean as you'd like it to be can feel like a Sisyphean task - especially when every family member seems to be running in a different direction.
"When it comes to cleaning, you can hide things but you cannot cheat, so don't delude yourself into thinking otherwise. There is a fine borderline between a happy muddle and chaos," says Margaret McMullin, Senior Housekeeping Tutor at The London Academy for Household Staff.
The best way to keep a tidy home, year-round, is to get every family member involved in cleaning up and weekly chores, to avoid creating a bombsite scenario, according to McMullin - even the youngest in the family can play a part by tidying up their toys.
Older children can help keep the house looking spick and span by taking responsibility for their clothes and gadgets, which should be hung up and put away. Make sure there is a space in the home for trainers to live - and keep them odour-free by using bicarbonate of soda (just leave it in the trainers overnight and shake it out the next morning).
While most rooms in the house will require a thorough clean once a week, the kitchen and bathrooms will need a daily clean or tidy.
"A happy and fulfilled family life hinges on co-operation, mutual respect, shared responsibilities and fun. So, establish rules, rewards, sanctions and stick to them. A little and often approach is the key to keeping the home clean, wholesome and welcoming," says McMullin.
Click through the slideshow below for all of Margaret McMullin's top cleaning tips for the family on the move to ensure that even when your life is chaotic, your home doesn't look it...