I'm among those people who struggle with seeing pictures of perfectly neat houses and crafty stuff and all that - those people usually also have kids and I don't even have kids yet, and still it seems like I can never keep up enough to do all the nice things on pinterest. BUT here's something I realized: It's not YOUR failure or anything you're doing wrong. It's the fact that either a) your house is small or b) you have too much stuff in your house. I used to live in a tiny one room studio and it was impossible to keep it clean and neat. Now I have a 2 room apartment and it's so much easier to keep up with the work despite the bigger size - and it WILL look much nicer with much less effort than my previous studio. That's because lots of stuff on little space will ALWAYS look messy no matter how hard you try. The only way to reach the point of little work/perfect house is a serious decluttering.
What also helps (esp with kids) I have been told is the 60 seconds rule. "Whatever can be cleaned up/put away within 60 seconds must be done immediatly" and if the kid's room is really messy, make it a game: Set a timer to 60 seconds and have them "race" to see who can put away most toys during those 60 seconds (you can play as well and race them).
Anyway, don't worry. A neat and clean house at all times is more than just "keeping up with the housework". It's also decluttering regularly (but ofc you can't just throw out everything you need), it's having time for crafty projects and yes, it is also a financial factor. No matter what pinterest says: Crafty projects are NOT inexpensive - they only are if you already have a lot of craft materials and tools - and those are very pricy.

At the end of the day you have to pick your battles, and decide what is really important - your children's emotional well-being or an immaculate house!!!! Like, realistically we ALL have messy houses and we just have to go with the flow.
I have started a new routine of just concentrating on one room a week, and rotating through them all throughout the year, and I have found that this has made me more conscious of how little time it takes to keep things in a neater state. Does that make sense? Like, making the effort even if you are tired to sweep that floor or pick up the mess really only takes two minutes and can make SUCH a huge difference!
Fav verses for when I am overwhelmed? My mother (called Home in 2008) used to have Isaiah 40 verse 31 on her wall - verses 28-31 are brilliant for a mother of young kids I think!
Keep it up!
Betsy

I do not have two adorable rambunctious boys to work around, but my back injury does make keeping my house clean very difficult. Its hard not to feel so guilty about my house....