For most of us, Monday morning will mean full-on back to reality with a bang.
Yikes.
Goodbye Christmas break, and hello January, when life once more will return to st
ructure and routine.
But if you are feeling a little daunted by the thought of all those stressful mornings again, fear not – there
is another way.
Here are some seriously clever morning hacks I rely on, that have seriously turned things around in our house – as I am sure they will in yours.
1. Prep yourself first
This one is such a game-changer, and I am so grateful to my mum friend who tipped me off about this.
Now, when I get up in the morning, I always make sure I get dressed and ready
first. Ideally, before I even wake the children up. I also make sure that my own bag and lunch is ready to go too. And then I wake them up. Why? Because if I know that I am all set, I can tend to whatever needs to be tended to when they are up. And trust me, when my children get up, despite my best efforts of having most things laid out and organized the night before, there is always a hockey sock that has gone missing or a shirt that needs changing after breakfast. Maybe even both.
And if I just know that I don't have to worry about myself, that I am all set, I can just get everything done that needs doing with the kids in the time from they get up until we leave the house. And it leaves me feeling far more together and far less stressed.
2. Establish a control centre in your home
Another game-changer, and one that will make it so much easier to keep tabs on everything and everyone.
Let's face it, mornings are the craziest time of day for most families, but if you create a control centre in your home (the hallway or kitchen is ideal), well then let me tell you your mornings are about to get a lot less manic.
Control centre, I hear you say – what the heck is a control centre? It's rather simple, really. Find a corner or area where you can put up a weekly or monthly calendar, where everyone's appointments or arrangements are written down. Have somewhere for your keys, for your earphones, your chargers. Make this the space where you keep the kids' forms or folders that need to go into school – whatever it is, make sure it is kept in the same location, where you can easily find it.
Then comes the next step: Get the family in the routine of putting everything there when they get home so you never waste time looking for things.
3. Create a lunch prep station (and make freeze-ahead smoothie packs)
We all want to eat healthily and pack a healthy lunch for our kids, but because mornings are hectic as can be, my best advice is to prep ahead.
When it comes to lunch boxes, I have dedicated one whole shelf of my pantry press to lunchboxes and drinking bottles and one shelf of my fridge to all the bits that are earmarked for their lunchboxes every day. This makes it so much quicker and easier to pull together what I need to make their school lunches in the mornings.
For healthy breakfasts, I love smoothies for their speed, taste and how you can pack in a whole bunch of sneaky, healthy veg in there too. To make these even quicker to assemble in the mornings, I prepare freeze ahead smoothie packs, with all the fruit and veg already chopped up and mixed, ready to be flung into the blender with a drop of almond milk or yoghurt – and voila breakfast in 10 seconds flat, and a healthy one at that.
Have YOU got any great morning hacks to share with us? Let us know in the comments or tweet us at @herfamilydotie
