Thursday, April 1, 2010

MORNING MADNESS- GOODBYE!


Since I'm now leaving the home each morning and heading to our office I realized I need to find some way to ease the morning madness.

I've always thought I could do things to help in this area but since I came back home after taking the Rugrats to the bus stop I had time to do things then. The truth is even if I had time to do them when I got home there was still morning madness looking for homework, getting packed lunch etc. And now because I don't leave the office for lunch, I also need to pack lunch for myself.

I've done some research and come up with a few ideas I plan to implement to help cut down on this morning madness.

The biggest thing is getting ready the night before for the morning. I KNOW I'm exhausted the night before from the day of...... BUT...... if it will make the day of's (is that a word?....lol) morning go so much smoother, it will be so worth it!

A big thing for me is getting up and making my coffee. Get the coffemaker ready the night before. At times I have done this. I just have to push the button and start it in the morning (or some have a timer you can set so it's ready when you wake up). Every morning I have done this I'm sooooooo glad I did. It only takes a few minutes to do but in the morning when you have a million few minute things to do it's wonderful to just push the button!

Another suggestion I found was to set the breakfast table the night before. I'm teetering on this one but I'm going to give it a try. Often my Rugrats get cereal or egg sandwiches but I think it's worth seeing the difference it may make.

This is a BIGGIE...... Make a to do list of all the things you need to do the next day. List, List, List.......I honestly think this is a HUGE key to organization. After making the list you can see what items you need to have ready to go in the morning instead of leaving the house without the checks you need to deposit, or the shirt you need to take back, etc.

Pick your clothes out for the next day and have or help your children pick theirs out too. Then when your son needs to wear his wrestling sweatshirt and it's dirty, you don't find that out when you need to leave in 15 minutes and he would either be wearing it stinky or wet because there would not be enough time to dry it. Also cut down on the I don't know what to wear problem that we all sometimes have. Trying on a million things and then not having time to hang them all back up when you finally find what you want to wear.

Another BIGGIE in my book: Have a central control station (ie: table, counter top) near the front (exit) door and make sure everything you need to take with you is placed here the night before. Determine what homework assignments, library books, sports gear or musical instrument the kids need to take with them to school and place them at the central control station.

Make as much of the school lunches as possible the night before and put them in the refrigerator. If you are packing your lunch to take to work now is a great time to do that also. Especially if you are trying to stick to a healthy eating diet plan the last thing you want to happen is to not have time to pack and just HAVE to go to your favorite Mexican food restaurant for chips and salsa the next day. I've implemented this and started taking the left overs from dinner and putting them in a Tupperware container for me to take to work. It's yummy, easy and saves money........which we all know is a great thing to do!

This is a big one for me. If you are going to need meat for tomorrow nights dinner take it out and put it in the fridge to thaw before you go to bed. This way you don't get stuck with frozen meat you are trying to defrost in the microwave OR do what I did often and say forget it and order a pizza!

Of course this last one I've known for a long time but seem to sometimes have a hard time with it...... Getting the required amount of restful sleep tonight will help you to have the energy you will need to tackle whatever tomorrow brings!

Cheers to easing or saying goodbye to the morning madness!

Ciao Bellas~

10 comments:

  1. You've got a great plan!
    It's a matter of sanity, isn't it ... Those mornings of "Where's my _______?" ... shoes, report, book, uniform, lunch money, coat, lunch ...
    can reek havoc with the congeniality of the family morning! I love your strategies!

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  2. You are on the right track to a pleasant, stress-free morning!
    I always make the coffee the night before and set the auto timer. I get the chips, fruit, granola bars,etc. ready after dinner for the next day. I also have the cutting board, knife for sandwiches, and box of baggies out on the counter before I go to bed. All I have to do is make sandwhiches in the morning. It really makes the morning run smoother, and then I can focus on breakfast when the kids get up.

    Hope this helps!
    Kristin

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  3. I remember at your old house you had the kids put their backpacks by the back door in their special cabinet so they were ready for school the next day. Too bad you don't have that cabinet at your new place.:) I am glad to see you are getting organized and trying to have less stress in your life. Love you!
    Mom

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  4. I use allot of those each day! I am anal about a dinner list. Each week I make a menu for the week, buy groceries for that menu then hit the grocery store. That way you always know what your making.

    Lunches YEP i make Eds and the kids at the same time that saves almost 10 min in my book.

    clothing.....i'm not great at this. I do make the kids pick out their clothing for the next day. Luckily....i'm just coming back home to work so no biggie.

    Lunch at work/left overs. LOVE IT, people don't realize just how much they save by actually eating their leftovers!!!

    Email yourself.......I am always thinking of things I need to do or websites I need to go to. Even items that i need to order for the kids etc etc. I email myself a list of what needs to get done as a reminder.

    Ok I have another thing to ADD to ur list sorry LOL. Personally I find 2 things need to be done the night before or before u leave in the morning. A) dishes done and B) beds made. It feels so much better to come home at the end of the day to those tidy things.

    Great job Steph!

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  5. OOO AND we LOVE our Keurig coffee makers. Makes our coffee in less than a min and gives the options of coffee, tea, hot choc for the kids etc etc.

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  6. You are so right!! GREAT Tips! I am totally stealing these!

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  7. Thanks for the tips and the support!

    And I have to ask Sonya. What is a Keurig coffee maker? It makes hot tea and hot chocolate? I've never heard of it BUT....This sounds like something I need. LOL

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  8. I have a Keurig and LOVE it. www.keurig.com
    Before I had a Keurig, I had a coffee maker without a timer. I couldn't justify buying a new coffee maker because it worked fine. Then I got the bright idea to plug my coffee maker in to a timer that you use for your lamps etc. I just set it to come on when I wanted the cofee ready. :-) Worked perfectly.

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  9. Ok, which Keurig do you have? This looks like the one at the Ortho's office! I HAVE TO HAVE ONE NOW..... LOL

    Too many to choose from..... Sonya? Kristen? Which one?

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  10. If I had to do it over, I would have bought the model with the quiet brew technology. Mine is loud. 3 brew sizes are good enough for me. Check QVC. They have some good prices. That is where I bought mine 1 1/2 years ago. I don't see my model on the site anymore. Must be outdated. LOL. I have my eye on the "Select" model for next time. Good luck!

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