HT: Making mornings easier

Tell us your tip on how to make mornings easier!

Edited by Renata85

-On those real cold nights/mornings i have my clothes in the bed so when i get dressed they are not cold, makes me more modivated to get up without dreading getting out of a warm bed.

-If we are going out in the morning...
+ill have her breakfast things sitting on the bench ready to make straight away and after she eats ill wipe her down and put toys on the tray so she then doesnt care whats going on around her (some toys i attatch links on to snap onto her straps so she can pull up when they drop)
+put things in df's car the night before so your not gathering items last min.
+if its a real early start (baby goes in car while still asleep) ill put her in the day clothes instead of pjs so i dont have to fully wake her up <- major time saver during rushed mornings.

theres so many things ive done just cant remember them all.

my fav is when i make her breakfast i make double so im nibbling on it too with her as i forget to eat breakfast that way iv gotten something into me. (rice cereal with cooked fruits added) and also i will brush babyes hair, put her shoes on, finish what im eating/drinking, look for my keys while breastfeeding she doesnt care aslong as i keep a cloth over her to avoid her swiping at my toast. she is 6.5 months with one HUGE personality.

I get up and have a shower before the kids get up, then put all the breakfast things out before they appear.
I make all the lunches the night before and pop them in the friday ready for collection on the way out the door.
I also pack the bags the night before, so all they need in the morning is the lunch added.
My 5 year old has 'time targets' - ie breakfast by 7:15, get dressed by 7:30, brush teeth by 7:40, shoes and socks on by 7:45, in the car by 7:50. He has a digital watch (it was free with the toilet duck!) so he can keep track of te time. If everything is done on time, he gets another sticker for his reward chart. Having him get himself ready makes it so much easier to get Master 2 ready!

Thats an excellent idea about the watch and target times Cassie! Might have to use that for Miss Almost 5, it takes forever for me to get her to get ready in the morning and Im dreading what its gonna be liking trying to get her ready for school on time!

We also make lunches and pack daycare bags the night before. I get each of our clothes out the night before too- DD picks out her clothes with my help the night before- saves the dramas of clothes picking in the morning!!

Must say its prob easier with the 1, but I put wee man in his high chair with some toast in the bathroom while I shower, he's more than happy about it, finds it interesting I think haha.

Go to the Gym and when I get home kids and DH are magically fed & dressed for kindy/work

lunchboxes are preprepared and on the bench ready to go - just need a sandwich and stuff from the fridge popped in.  Clothes for the kids are laid out for them to get dressed.  Plates bowls etc for breakfast are set out the night before as well as our coffee cups  We watch Breakfast until 7 to see whats going on in the world and then tv is off, too distracting for the kids and we need to be out the door by 8.30

DH starts work early, so its just me and the kidlets in the morning. All bags and the nappy bucket are packed the night before, in the car ready to go. Gumboots are sitting waiting at the garage door by the car, so they put them on as they are shuffled out the door. Clothes are on the couch the night before ready to go on. I shower and figure out what I am wearing to work the night before, i tried to do it early before they woke up but Im not a morning person!!
I find that if I get 2 breakfast options out, it limits the choices so speeds up the breakfast process! DD1 has to have the dishwasher emptied in the morning so that the breakfast dishes can go straight in. DD1s lunch is made the night before too, thankfully the 2 younger ones get fully fed at daycare!!

Have a list on the fridge of things that need to be done in the morning, it makes it alot easier to mentally check things off rather than trying to remember what needs to be done!

AngieBabe wrote: Okay, all these tips are great, but what do other single mums do when there is no DH or DF to help out? (must say I do the bubs in the bathroom with me, him in his highchair with toys on links, so that I can have a shower!)

I've done that many times!

I'm not a solo mother, but my Dh is away most of the time (army). I get most things prepared in the evening, and then the morning they eat breakfast while I shower, then my oldest (3) gets himself dressed, I get our youngest (2) dressed, and out the door we go! I envy those whose partners help out in the morning, that isn't often able to happen here whether Dh is home or not.