I have a kid, at some point we give up trying to keep everything tight because the little devil would immediately make it a mess again. Now we do the bare minimum.
Agreed, at some point it's just too much following a three year old around and cleaning up. We just tidy up his play room once a week and try to instill a bit of "keep it tidy" in him with some success.
I've heard it described as "like trying to brush your teeth while you're eating an Oreo".