Are your mornings chaotic? Are you stressed about always being in a rush and forgetting things in the mornings? Are you ready to call it quits? If so, this blog is for you! I came up with the best tips to help ease and speed up your morning routine!
1. Get organized. Come up with a plan as a family. Hold a family meeting and brainstorm a list of things that need to get done in the morning. You should then break up tasks and talk about who should do what. Lastly, you will want to decide on an order in which the tasks should be completed. For example, everyone should make their beds, brush their teeth, and get dressed before breakfast. No one gets to eat breakfast without getting ready. Family members should hold each other accountable to get out the door on time.
2. Keep morning chores to a minimum. Yes, we are all about kids cleaning up their own messes and contributing to household duties — but let’s be real. If you had your children folding laundry, taking out the trash and feeding the dog in the morning, you’d never make it to school. Save longer tasks for the evenings and/or weekends. The morning chore list should be short and simple.
3. Prepare the night before. Choosing outfits the night before saves so much time. Make sure socks and shoes are also included! I remember as a child I always went searching for shoes in the morning. Always have your children place their shoes in front of the door, as it is the most convenient spot to put them. Devote time after the kids are asleep to making lunches and making sure homework is in backpacks. Most importantly, if the car is close to being on empty, don’t fool yourself into thinking that you’ll get up extra early to fill up the gas tank before school, because most likely you won’t. Make sure you or your spouse fill your tank the night before.
4. Get the kids to go to bed on time. When children go to bed no later than 8:00 p.m., they wake up the next morning cheerful and ready to start the day. Having an alarm on their nightstand helps a lot! You can also have them pick out their own alarm clock with their favorite cartoon or favorite color. Some of them even play theme songs and have different sounds to wake up to. Having an alarm clock in their rooms helps them wake up and saves you time (since you won’t have to wake them up), although you will probably need to check that your kid didn’t snooze through their alarm.
5. Keep breakfast simple. We all wish we could say that we are feeding our children vegetable omelets with a side of hashbrowns and fruit every morning, but who really has time for that? Keep your breakfast menu simple: a hearty grain and a piece of fruit. Most kids slurp up a bowl of cereal or munch on toast in the mornings. You can also chop fruit the night before when preparing school lunches or even boil some eggs and serve them with a little salt in the morning and make egg salad sandwiches for lunch. Oftentimes there is also breakfast available at school! Do whatever you have to do to make it easier on yourself.
Keeping these tips in mind well help make your mornings stress-free and easy.
Yes! When my oldest were small, our mornings were so chaotic and rushed. #3 is a game changer! I can absolutely tell the mornings I’ve forgotten (or gotten too tired) to prepare for the next day… everyone is happier when I take a few minutes to get things together!