If you are a parent I am willing to bet you can totally relate to the difficulties of getting your brood ready for school or child care and out the door on time. Your mornings may sound a little like this – Can you please get up? We are late….. please get dressed, brush your teeth, brush your hair and eat your breakfast.. Please get dressed, brush your teeth, brush your hair, and eat your breakfast..why am i repeating myself. We do not have time for this! Did you put your homework and lunch in your bag? WHERE is your bag?!?!?! Did we even make you a lunch?
All this is happening while trying to get yourself ready too. Running around trying to get everything done is no fun. Rinse and repeat. Dealing with this every Monday through Friday was really stressing me out and sometimes (if I let it) it put a totally damper on my day and their day too! I really needed easier mornings but, I was not sure how to get there. Through some trial and error, I was able to put together a great action plan that worked for me and my kids. Mornings became more calm, easier and happier for all those involved. Put these 5 tips into action. You will find an easier morning for your family too.
5 Tips for Easier Mornings Each Day with (or without) Kids
Clothes
This tip is all about saving precious time in the morning. At the beginning of the week I make up a clothes box for the entire week. Usually this activity happens on Sunday afternoon or evening. My littlest helps me pack up the bin and my oldest does it themselves. Check the weather prior to starting – laying can be a smart strategy if there is a big variation in temperatures where you live. Make sure to include seven of each items needed.
Example Bin for a Boy
- Seven Tops
- Seven Pants
- Seven Sets of Socks
- Seven Underwear
Example Bin for a Girl
- Three dresses
- Four Tops
- Seven Pants (leggings or cartwheel shorts for under the dresses)
- Seven Underwear
- Four Sets of Socks
This tip is one of my favorites. It saves me a ton of time. Pro tip – get your kids involved and teach them how to make the bins up themselves. Don’t worry if when they dress themselves that it does not match perfectly. Be happy they did it all themselves!!
Make Breakfast Easier
In our house we have a really tight time frame from the time we get up to the time we have to get out the door. We often have to eat in the car. If this sounds familiar to you, one of the best things you can do is to make a kids and adult on the go breakfast drawer. Have one in the pantry. Stock it with granola bars, protein bars, cereal packets, apple sauce packs, etc. Also make one for the refrigerator that includes items like cheese sticks, water bottles or milk boxes. It is similar to a summer snack drawer, but it saves you SO much time. A bonus is that the kids get to help you choose what they are eating. Learning to make these decisions for themselves is great practice for meal planing when they grow up.
This tip can be a true lifesaver on days that you do not have time to sit down and eat at the table. You do not have to use it every day, but having healthy on the go food in a place where your kids can grab it is a win-win!
Pre-Plan
I have heard the saying that you need to make a better plan to have better days. Or a variation of that! So in that spirit I am always looking to make ahead whatever I can.
What should you try to do ahead each night?
- Lunches,
- Snacks,
- Baby bottles,
- Vitamins / Meds (in a pill box)
- Breakfast (if needed).
- Pack up your bag, purse, computer and
- Backpack for the kids the night before and leave it at the door.
- Make sure your shoes, keys and coat is there too!
Spending 20 minutes the night before will save you headaches and frantic running the next morning for sure. ?
Lay It Out – Adult Edition
This tip is for Y O U! Adults need to make some pre-planning for themselves too. Making a whole week clothes box for adults does not make sense. Instead, pick out your clothes the night before. Hang them where it is easy to access the next morning to save time.
I cannot tell you how much time I wasted each morning getting ready for work before I implemented this tip. I would go back and forth trying to choose an outfit, all while the kids were running around. It is so much easier to get your day going if you make this choice the evening before.
Race Ya!
Do you have little kids? If you cannot get them to get dressed in a timely fashion. Then this is the tip for you. Make it a race to get everything done in the morning. Include getting dressed, washing your face, brushing your teeth, brushing your hair, getting breakfast, etc. Don’t forget to remind them to: “DO IT NICE OR DO IT TWICE!” While you are having a race you still want high quality.
Even better make it a team event. In our house we split the family 50/50 and work together to get all our tasks done as a team. It makes for a fun time in the morning!
Coffee – The Most IMPORTANT tip on this post
I cannot say enough good things about coffee. It is personally how I survive working full time and taking care of my children. If you are the same way then I would suggest investing in a coffee pot that will start brewing coffee before you get up. Or, if you are a tea person get an electric kettle to speed up the boiling process.
Other ideas include buying a Kuerig, Ninja Cafe, or a Nespresso machine. They are single coffee or espresso pods. Just put your to go cup under the spout before you go to bed and have your fixings ready to add. Simple and quick and out the door you go all caffeinated!
Saving time is the name of the game!
Bonus Tip – Use this Good Mornings Checklist
Using these 5 tips for easier mornings in conjunction with this free printable Good Mornings Checklist – which has three checklists, one for you, your kids and one to customize. Will make your easy mornings even easier. I use this so that everyone knows what needs to be done each day. It helps make sure we all are on task and that me and my family get off to the best start. You can download it and use it too.
Good Mornings Checklist – Three free printables. One for your kids. One for you. One that you can customize with whatever you want to accomplish to achieve a good morning for those you love.
