Life

11 Hacks To Help Moms With Kids Get Ready In The Morning

by Amanda Mushro

Even if you have a great morning routine going with your kids, all it takes is a lost shoe, too many hits of the snooze button, or a full blown search party for a backpack to throw your whole morning off. Within minutes everyone is late, you're throwing toothbrushes and socks at kids and you've lost your coffee somewhere in your house. Morning shouldn't be this hard! But you can take some of the stress out of your morning routine with a few hacks to help moms with kids get ready in the morning

From simple ways to get everyone dressed, to tricks that cut down on time and mess in the kitchen, to finding ways to ensure everyone has everything they need before they walk out the door, these life hacks will make your mornings run a whole lot smoother. And the best part — they are so simple and easy to do every day.

Who knows, you might even get that second cup of coffee with all the time you'll save. Who am I kidding? Maybe you'll get to drink that first cup of coffee without reheating it in the microwave five times.

To help you have a more efficient morning, here are 11 hacks to help you get your whole family ready and out the door in the morning.

1

Plan Clothes For The Week

Don't waste time in the morning choosing what to wear. Choose outfits for yourself and your kids for the entire week and store each outfit in a section of a hanging sweater organizer. Be sure to include socks, underwear, and hair accessories to make the morning even easier. For younger kids, write out the days of the week and post it on each section for extra site word practice.

2

Whip Up Pancakes For The Week

Cut down on prep work and breakfast messes by mixing pancake batter for the week. Put the batter into several freezer bags , leaving room for batter to expand, and and store in the fridge. When ready to make, cut a bottom corner of the freezer bag and squeeze the mix into a hot pan. If you have extra batter, use a chip clip to close the bag.

3

Prep Your Breakfast Smoothies

A breakfast smoothie is a great option for you and your kids in the morning. Chop all the fruit and veggies ahead of time, and freeze all the ingredients in individual sandwich bags. In the morning, grab a bag, throw the ingredients into a blender, and enjoy.

4

Keep The Bathroom Organized

Too many people in the bathroom can cause chaos in the morning. Make getting ready easier by cutting an over-the-door shoe organizer to fit inside a door of a bathroom cabinet. Give each child a row on the organizer to store their tooth brushes, toothpaste, hair brushes, hair products, hair accessories, and anything else they use to get ready in the morning.

5

Create A Last-MinuteStation By The Door

Using milk crates or stackable containers, create a last-minute station near the door. Fill smaller plastic containers with all the things your family forgets right before you need to leave, like socks, spare change, quick grab snack, and small water bottles, so they can grab and go as they run out the door.

6

Create A "Mom Command Center"

Create a “Mom Command Center” in your kitchen so everything you need to stay organized is in one place. Start by getting a large dry erase board or chalk board and attach a paper calendar, folders for all school form, and a place to menu plan. For the techy mom, create docking station for your phones, tablets and computers.

7

Make A Backpack Nook

Don't waste your time in the morning searching for lost backpacks. Use command hooks or decorative towel hooks inside a closet or on a wall to create a backpack nook. This gives kids the perfect place to hang their backpacks after school, and works for lunch boxes too.

8

Snap A Pic Of Your To-Do List

Got a to-do list a mile long? Snap a picture of your to-do list and make it your locked screen. Now you can see what you have to do all day without worrying about losing your list.

9

Make A Portable Homework Station

Help your kids with last-minute homework in the morning by creating a portable homework station. Fill a shower caddy with with everything your kids will need to complete homework — pencils, crayons, scissors, glue, and paper — and take it in the car iso you can finish assignments on the go.

10

Make A Lunch Packing Station

Don't run all over your kitchen trying to find everything you need to pack lunches. Designate a drawer to hold everything you need to put lunches together in one place, like plastic utensils, napkins, sandwich bags, and Post-Its motes and pens to write special notes for your kids.

11

Store Winter Gear Better

Ditch the basket and organize everyone’s scarfs, hats, gloves and mittens in an over-the-door shoe organizer inside a closet. Now every piece has a place and everyone can quickly grab what they need before heading out the door and put everything away when they come home.