How To Create a Morning Routine

by Jen Tilley on October 10th, 2018 | No Comments »

We've all been there ... waking up to the sound of a crying baby, getting all of the kids bathed and clothed, trying to find shoes and backpacks, making breakfast and filling lunchboxes at the same time, and hoping that everyone gets to school and work on time. Does that sound familiar? Those first 59 minutes of your day can either set you up for success or put a damper on your whole day.

How to Create a Morning Routine

5 Tips to Create a Morning Routine

To identify people's biggest morning challenges, IKEA conducted a recent survey about Americans' morning habits. In the results, 72 percent of the respondents said that a stressful morning affected the rest of their day, and three in four people do not have a regular weekday morning routine. Here are five tips for an easier morning.

1.) Plan for the day or week ahead of time to save time in the morning.

Try setting out your outfit and your kids' outfits for the following day before going to bed. Also, set out backpacks, diaper bags, briefcases, and shoes the night before in order to make getting out the door more streamlined. Use the MULIG valet stand from IKEA to hang your choice outfits.

2.) Prepare breakfast before going to bed.

This might sound like more work but hear me out on this one. Breakfast dishes can easily be placed in the freezer and enjoyed in the morning. You can pick a day of the week and make pancakes, breakfast burritos, waffles, etc. Place them in the freezer so that all you have to do in the morning is warm them and enjoy. If you're not into a big breakfast, blend a green juice or a smoothie and place it in the freezer. In the morning, simply pour the juice into a cup and enjoy. The HÄMTA carafe from IKEA makes it easy to serve juices and smoothies in the morning.

3.) Assign a day of the week for laundry.

Yes, laundry is a dreadful task. However, doesn't it feel great when all of your clothes are clean and you have so many options from which to choose? Embrace that feeling and take advantage of laundry day. How can you do that? It's all about streamlining. As you fold the clothes, pick out outfits for yourself and your kids for the entire week. Organizers like SKUBB from IKEA can help keep the outfits sorted and move it straight into the kids' bedrooms.

4.) Create a chore chart.

Why assign all of the daily chores to yourself? Instead, create a chore chart that assigns chores to every member of the household. You can get creative with your chore chart by using fun markers, accessories, and boards. Also, don't forget to reward people for accomplishing tasks. It’s a great way to get the kids involved and accountable at an early age. The KLUDD whiteboard for IKEA is perfect for use with whiteboard pens as they are easy to wipe off and keep chores up-to-date.

5.) Maintain a routine.

Once a routine is established, your mornings should run a lot smoother. Practice makes (almost) perfect in this case. Your mornings might not be perfect but they might be a bit easier since everyone in the family will know what needs to be done to get everyone out the door in a timely manner. Set clothes, toothbrushes, towels, soap, brushes, etc. in the same spot to create familiarity with kids. The STUGVIK line of bath accessories from IKEA make it easy to mount at that right height for each child.

Remember, not every morning will be perfect. However, with the right elements in the place, the "First :59" should help setup your family's day for success and get everyone off on the right foot. From the alarm clock to the minute family members head out the door, creating common morning routines help make those first 59 minutes easier.