Simple Ways to Simplify Hectic Mornings
I think that it is a common thing to have hectic mornings especially when you have somewhere to be or your littles are in school, anyone else agree? King goes to summer preschool so our mornings are extra hectic with him being tired from staying up doing fun activities the night before and then trying to get him ready & his lunch packed to be to school on time seems nearly impossible. More often than not, we are leaving not very happy with each other and late to school. After a couple weeks of this I decided that we couldn’t live like that and we needed to put a few things into place to make our mornings run smoother, which in turn makes us have an all around better day. I’m excited to share these tips with you because I think they will be perfect with school starting back up in about a month and hopefully help your family to start on the right foot.
Have A Place for Everything
King knows when we get home from school he has to put his lunchbox in the sink and backpack hanging up in the mudroom before he can do anything else. While this does help to keep our house picked up, it makes an even bigger difference in our mornings. When we are running late he knows exactly where to grab everything and head out the door and I know exactly where his lunch box is to wash it and prep it for the next day.
Make Lists
This one takes me back to my junior high self crying every morning because I didn’t know how to do my hair for the day. My dad took pictures of 10 different hairstyles, put them in a book and in the mornings when I didn’t know how to do my hair he would pull the book out and make me pick one. This same thing happens at our house but with lunches. I have had King go through and write a list of his favorite things to pack in his lunch. He loves to take deli meat, Nature Valley Wafer bars (we actually tried these at the parade in Jackson Hole this summer when they were throwing them out and are all hooked now, there is peanut butter & chocolate peanut butter), juice boxes, cheese sticks, fruit, etc. Thankfully though, we are able to find these yummy snacks at our local Walmart! Having this list makes is simple for him to go through and pick what sounds good that day instead of me being bothered by asking him a million different things that he would like in his lunch and he doesn’t want any of them. I also love having the list because when I order my groceries at Walmart everything is typed out for me to be able to quickly go through and see if we need more (we always need more Nature Valley Wafers) and be able to quickly add it to my blue Walmart bag.
Plan for the Worst & Hope for the Best
I have had to learn to lower my expectations, be ready for a rough morning and hope for a good one. This helps me to be able to have my head on straight to get us quickly out the door if needed. I try to make sure that everything is prepped the night before including his clothes, lunchbox, and Nature Valley Wafer to eat on the drive to school. Knowing that if we all wake up late for some reason that everything is prepped and ready for us in the morning helps me to sleep so much better at night. Sometimes I even sneak a Nature Valley Wafer while I am getting all his stuff ready for the day. When I am packing King’s school bags up and his lunch I also always restock my diaper bag and make sure that it is full of Nature Valley Wafers too or Lettie will let me know that she is super disappointed in me ha.
I would love to know if you have any secrets to success for easier mornings getting out the door quickly and on time. If there is an easier way to make sure that everyone leaves happy I am all in!!
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