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Ahh, motherhood. An unbelievable journey that also has a tendency to make you feel out of control, lost, unorganized and downright crazy at times. We have our good days, and we have our bad days, but amazingly, there is just enough balance between the two that makes like special. At the end of the day, or in this case, the beginning, we’re all striving for the same thing: to be the best mama to our children as we possibly can! Did you know that your morning routine can have a huge impact on the rest of your day? Here are 12 things you can do every single day to help you feel like you’ve got it all together even on the craziest of days:
Wake Up Before your Children
This was a gamechanger for me. If there was a single thing that I could pick off of this list, waking up before my children would be it. I notice a HUGE difference in my patience and ability to be supermom when I do this. Having at least an hour to get my day started before my children wake up gives me a chance to think about the day, make a plan of action, work on the blog a bit and have a cup of coffee, in silence! When I do this, I am a much happier mama – the kind of mama my children deserve.
But First, Coffee
About that coffee… Coffee is an absolute must for me. I wake up, shuffle into the kitchen and get that coffee brewing. I have an awesome coffee pot that takes less than 3 minutes to brew a pot of coffee. And no, it’s not a Keurig! I used to have one of those but I couldn’t justify the cost of the K cups and their environmental footprint makes me cringe. Is it just me or does coffee taste better when you get to drink it in silence? (Remember, you woke up before your kids!) Sometimes I even set it up the night before so all I have to do is slide the top over and coffee is in sight!
Make Your Bed
Someone once told me that making your bed should be one of the first things you do when you wake up. Making your bed every day pretty much sets you up for awesomeness. When I first met my husband, he would make his bed every day. I barely believed it when I saw it! I guess you could say I learned that one from him.
I never realized that two little people can produce so much laundry! I feel like I am constantly doing laundry! Lately, I have been doing 5-6 loads a week and that doesn’t count the two loads of cloth diapers I typically do. To feel ahead with laundry, I toss in a load to wash just before I head out for work. That way, when I get home, I can toss it into the dryer and It’s ready to fold once the girls go to bed, or while we’re watching the latest Peppa episode.
Make a Routine and Stick to it!
They say that children thrive on routines, and I am a firm believer of that. When you and your children follow a routine, everything is all of the sudden easier. Children thrive on routines because they know exactly what to expect, every time. Want to feel like a more organized supermom? Start by downloading my free Mama Prints Mini Bundle! It has 20 printables to help you start dominating motherhood!
Unload Your Dishwasher in The Morning
There is nothing worse than opening your dishwasher after cleaning up dinner to find that its full of clean dishes. That just makes me cringe! Unloading the dishwasher in the morning means that I can actually clean up as I make dinner, minimizing mealtime stress. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
And Load it Before You go to Bed!
This ties into the whole unloading your dishwasher thing. It is very, very rare that I got to bed and leave dirty dishes in the sink. For one, you create more work for yourself because if you don’t do the dishes right away, you end up with dried up food stuck to your dishes that you have to spend extra time cleaning. Instead of being lazy, rinse your dishes off and put them in the dishwasher. It never feels good to wake up in the morning and feel like you need to do clean up right away.
Pick Up Toys Every Night
When your space is a mess, your mind is a mess! Or at least it feels like a mess. Maybe I am OCD, but I pick up all of the toys laying around every. single. night. We have this big toy box in our living room as well as a basket for toys that make picking up the toys quick and simple. Picking up at night takes less than 5 minutes but can change your morning. It’s also a good chore for your toddler to help you with before bed every night, too.
Pack Lunches at Night
If you have school-aged kids – or are smart and pack your lunch for work – putting lunches together the night before will save you all kinds of stress in the morning! There are so many other things to worry about in a busy morning that thinking about lunch before you even eat breakfast is not ideal. Throw lunches together the night before so all you have to do is pull it from the fridge and head out the door!
General Tiding Up
Along with picking up the kid’s toys, I also spend 5-10 minutes doing little tasks such as lining up shoes, straightening up things and wiping things off. Doing this makes me feel great in the morning! I can get my day started and not feel like I have to play catch up from the day before. Again, when things are in their place and generally in order, you tend to have a clearer mind and can tackle more, in general.
Pack Bags The Night Before
Just like packing lunches the night before will save stress in the morning, so will packing diaper bags and backpacks! My daughter has an adorable backpack with her name embroidered on it that I pack every night before daycare. I stick her glasses, iPad and anything else she’ll need for the next day. I also pack the diaper bag for my little one so all I have to do is grab and go.
Set Out OutfitsI not only do this for my kids, but I also do this for myself! My brain is not always functioning the greatest in the morning and I don’t like to have to put together an outfit when I’m even together in my head! How can you even do that? If I didn’t lay out outfits the night before, I’d most likely look likey have a ginormous pile of clothes on the floor before I landed upon an appropriate outfit. Sometimes, I even involve my 4-year-old and have her help me pick out her outfit. This also minimizes any meltdowns caused by me not picking out the right shirt or pants for her.
Streamline Your Mornings
Doing all of these things makes for more enjoyable and less stressful mornings in my home. There are still days that I forget to send diapers to daycare or forget to put my own mascara on, but most of the time, I rock mornings! Most days, I can get out of the house with a 4-year-old and a 20-month-old in less than 45 minutes. Crazy, huh!? What’s your morning routine like? Do you do anything that makes you feel like an organized mom that has it all together? Share your tips and tricks in the comments!
Doing things at night makes all the difference in the world. My mantra is “your future self will thank you”. That motivates me to get things done ahead of time.
Love this! I NEED to be more motivated in the mornings!
This sounds a lot like my mornings except for the laundry tip, which is super smart! I’m gonna try that.
Great tips! My boys definitely thrive on our morning routine, and I do a lot of it the night before. I wish I could get up before them, but they get up so darn early!
Great tips! My husband makes the kids’ lunches and for years I’ve been bugging him to do it the night before so the mornings aren’t chaotic. He FINALLY started doing it this school year and it has made a HUGE difference in our house. I do the wake up thing too – I need to get myself ready without having to deal with getting the boys ready.
Great tips even for stay at home moms
It feels SO good to be in control of your mornings! These are excellent tips. One easy one I do is keeping a sock drawer near the front door because we are always forgetting socks and with a toddler it cuts out a 10 minute trip back to the bedroom.
That’s a great idea! Thanks for sharing. What mom isn’t delayed at least once a week with a wardrobe malfunction?