Are you looking for the key to smoother mornings?

Many families can sum up their weekday mornings in one word: chaos. Getting your kids (and yourself) ready for school, making sure everyone has everything they need, and then getting out the door on time can seem like a monumental task most days. 

Dreading the mornings doesn’t have to be par for the course when you’re a mum. Start making these seven steps part of your night-before routine and you’ll have smoother mornings in no time!

1. Get breakfast ready

Preparing breakfast can be a big time drain, which is the last thing you need on a busy morning. Sure, you can’t pour milk over their cereal the night before (unless you’re making overnight oats), but you can at least line up the cereal box and set the bowls and spoons on the table. Consider batch cooking over the weekend to have some grab-and-go breakfasts ready for smoother mornings during the week, whether it’s individual egg and vegetable muffins or some homemade banana muffins.

2. Get their clothes ready

I know it’s tempting to wait until the morning to get your child’s clothes ready, but there are lots of ways this can backfire – yes, even when they’re wearing a uniform and there aren’t a lot of decisions involved. Make sure everything is clean (rather than lurking at the bottom of the hamper) and wrinkle-free the night before so you don’t lose precious time before school waiting for the iron to heat up. Don’t forget the mask! 🙂

3. Designate a space for each child’s school belongings

Give each of your children a set space, whether it’s a box, part of a shelf, or a hook, where they’ll keep all their school essentials so you don’t have to hunt down various items in the morning. This is where they should store their backpack, jacket, lunch bag, and whatever else they bring to school regularly.

4. Go over everyone’s schedule

Before going to bed, make reviewing their schedule part of the routine, perhaps each night after taking a shower or bath. Make sure their homework is completed and packed in their backpack, any permission slips or circulars are signed, and that you’ve already gathered and packed any extra items they need to bring to school that day, such as for show-and-tell or extracurricular activities.

5. Straighten up

Nighttime isn’t the best moment for a deep cleaning, but do take a few minutes to put things away and tidy up a bit, especially in the kitchen and living room. When everyone wakes up, there will be a sense of order in the home and that will instill a feeling of calmness – and hopefully make everyone far less likely to leave the house looking like a hurricane blew threw it when they leave.

6. Make sure your kids (and you) are getting enough sleep.

You can consult a chart online to see how much sleep your child needs, on average, according to their age. Then subtract this number from the time they need to wake up in the morning to get ready in time to ensure their bedtime is appropriate. When your kids get adequate sleep, they’ll wake up feeling refreshed and will be more likely to get out of bed without you having to stress because nothing will get them up on their feet.

7. Make sure you’re ready

You can prep your kids down to tiniest details the night before, but don’t forget that you still have to get yourself ready. Set your alarm ahead of the time your kids need to wake up and start out your day by getting yourself prepared, and don’t forget to put out your own clothes and have your breakfast ready to go as well. Remember that your kids will be a lot calmer if you’re calm, too, so be sure to start your day out on the right foot. 

It will only feel like you’re putting in effort for the first few days; once you start to see how much smoother mornings are, these little to-dos will become second nature.

Happy Friday mama!

Love,

Nakita xxx