This post is sponsored by TapInfluence.
I am not a morning person and have never been one. Waking up early has been a struggle for me all my life but now that I have kids I have no choice but to be up early. Once they’re up, I’m up.
When we don’t have any morning plans or school, waking up early it’s not a problem because we can start our day slowly and take our time. This means I may lay on my kid’s play mat for a while before I start getting breakfast ready or we might play a little bit on our bed. I might even sit back and truly my enjoy my morning coffee while the girls play. I take my time to get us ready and leave the house close to noon, without rushing or stressing out about it. It’s almost as good as sleeping in. Well maybe not but close.
That all changes once school starts. During school season we have an hour or so from the moment we get up to the time we have to be in school. This may sound like a lot but for some reason getting 2 small kids and myself ready in one hour has been quite challenging. There have been many times I’ve skipped breakfast or I’ve forgotten things back home. Plus the stress of getting everyone ready can make me a little crazy sometimes. Like I said, I just don’t do mornings well.
Starting our day rushing and stressing is a bad way to begin our day and stress is not good for anyone’s health. This year I have a simple plan that will save me 30 minutes on school mornings: prepare much as possible the night before so I don’t have to do much in the morning.
Preparing the night before might seems like an obvious thing to do but when life gets in the way it is easy to forget to get things done. You might feel tired and not wanting to do anything else at night, but believe me, those minutes you spend prepping are better used at night than in the morning. So you should do your best to have everything set up the night before so you don’t even have to think about what to get done when you get up.
Things you can prep the night before:
Your kid’s lunch:
Prepare a small meal and put it in the fridge.
I love Bento style boxes because you can add different types of food without them touching each other so you don’t have to worry about weird flavors mixing or bread getting soggy.
Put all the dry snacks or fruits that don’t require refrigeration in the lunch box.
Your kid’s outfit:
If your kid is old enough to get dressed on their own you can set up their closet in a way that they can reach their own clothes. This way you won’t have to get them dressed and you can use that time to help the other kids or get ready yourself.
This is how we have our 3 year old’s closet set up so she can get dressed by herself:
If your kid doesn’t make the best clothes choices, pick 5 outfits on Sunday, one for each day of the week and set them on a shelf so you won’t have to worry about that for the rest of the week.
What you’re wearing:
Make it easy on yourself. Set aside whatever you plan on wearing the next morning. If you don’t have time for that, at least think about what you plan to wear so when you wake up you know what to put on right away.
Pack your kid’s backpack:
Make sure your kid has everything they will need for the next day: homework, extra clothes (if needed), sweater, rain gear, or anything else they might need for that day.
Pack your purse or diaper bag:
Since I have a baby that comes with be everywhere I make sure I’m carrying enough diapers and other essentials.
I keep things easier now by using the same diaper bag every day so I just restock it with the things I need when I run out of them.
Check your to-do list/calendar:
I usually keep a list of reminders and a family calendar on my iPhone but sometimes I miss the notifications and end up forgetting important things. Every night I check both lists to make sure I am ready for the next day.
Coffee:
I can’t leave my house without a cup of coffee in me. About a year ago, we invested in an amazing coffee machine that gets my coffee ready in about a minute by just pressing a button: Krups Falcon. The machine is already loaded with water and coffee beans so I don’t have to spend time preparing my coffee.
However, we also have a Krups Savoy. You can add water and grounded coffee the night before and set a time so you have a pot of coffee waiting for you when you wake up. My husband is very fond of this on those days he has to get up at 5am.
If I’m really short on time I’ll just put my coffee on a Contigo travel mug and drink it while I’m driving.
Breakfast:
This is something you can prepare the night before but I personally don’t. On school days I make a breakfast that’s ready in just a few minutes. I usually stick to:
- Greek yogurt with granola and fruit
- Eggs with veggies and a toast or cheese and fruit
There you have it! By preparing as much as possible the night before you won’t have to stress about it in the morning.
You’ll be able to get up, have breakfast with your family, get everyone dressed, grab your bags and walk out the door – stress free.
One last tip: if you forget to prepare your kid’s lunch the night before and you’re running late, you can do it while your kid has breakfast. It is not ideal but works when you’re running out of time.
Do you have any other tips that save you time on a school morning?
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of TapInfluence. The opinions and text are all mine.
Corinne says
Kind of like meal planning, this is one of those things we all know we should do to save ourselves time and stress, but sometimes need to be reminded so that we actually do it! Yes – school mornings go much more smoothly when you spend a little time the night before preparing. Thanks for the reminder! Hopefully it will be the encouragement I need to stimulate myself to be productive at the end of a long day instead of collapsing onto the couch and watching TV instead.
Carolina says
Corinne, I can’t tell you how many times I just collapse hence why I wrote this post. Haha! I too need a reminder that as tired as I am it’s best to get extra sleep and not be stressed out than do those things in the morning. 🙂
Jamie Yonash says
The more I can do the night before the better my mornings are! My only problem now is insomnia….no sleep for me makes for a rough morning, LOL!
Carolina says
I have the same problem! I go to bed really late and it’s hard to get up… I miss those days where I could just sleep in.