Shave 15 Minutes off Your Morning Routine
With a few simple changes you can shave 15 minutes off your morning routine. If you're rushing around trying to gulp down your coffee in between telling the kids to eat their breakfast and find their shoes there are a few quick changes you can make to get through the morning rush with ease.
Here are a few tried and true things you can do the night before and even in the morning to get your family out the door 15 minutes faster than the day before.
1. Make a grab-able breakfast
Try some simple recipes like protein-filled muffins or crescent rolls baked with meat and cheese that you can make a head of time and everyone can grab and gobble down in the morning. Try this make-ahead recipe for mango oatmeal for something fun and new.
2. Comb through the backpacks
This might sound simple because we always try to do this stuff in the evening but even the most organized of us have a kiddo who tells us on the way out the door about that field trip permission slip in the bottom of their bag. When the homework is out in the evening, make sure everyone goes through their folders for a "paper check" and you have a chance to fill out forms and dole out money while there is time.
3. Set out EVERYTHING
Here's another one we all try to do but finding every last thing we need to get out the door in the morning and setting it out in the evening really does save so much time. Pairing up shoes and socks and setting them with coats and backpacks can save SO much scrambling in the morning.
4. Fight the clothing battle at night
Before everyone is in bed make sure they pick out their clothes for the next day. You can even have them select their outfits for the week on Sundays and put them in a neat organizer for the entire week so they can just slide them out and go. One of our contributors even has her kids sleeping in their clothes which would certainly simplify the morning routine.
5. Keep a "spare" bin in your car
Whatever you find yourself running back inside the house for or the most frequently forgotten items by your kids can be loaded into a bin in your car to reduce those extra trips. Spare shoes, snacks and umbrellas can be stored in a container in your trunk so that you've always got them within reach.
No matter what you do to prepare for your mornings, pack your patience. The more you try to rush yourself the more you will end up forgetting, adding more time to your routine rather than subtracting.
What are your tips for getting out of the house faster in the morning?
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