Simplify Your Mornings

I think we can all agree – mornings are TOUGH. Especially when you have more than yourself to get up and out of the door at an unholy hour.

We’re talking the whole wake-up-routine for multiple humans, teeth brushing, clothes scrounging, breakfast, backpack hunting…ugh, who thought this was a good idea?

Early mornings and multiple bodies require some sort of superhuman skills. But if you’re like me, and need a radioactive spider to bite you before anything that even somewhat resembles a superhuman capability manifests itself, there’s got to be a better way.

LUNCH BOXES: PLANET BOX |YUMBOX |OMIE LIFE |BENTO |

Mornings Don’t HAVE To Be Chaos

Say what?!? Yep. They don’t.

But before you go thinking that I’ve somehow developed those super powers I mentioned above (spoiler alert: I haven’t) I’ve just wised up over the years and have developed a few mom hacks that I’m sharing here on my blog.

I think mornings set the tone for the entire day and I decided that letting my kids out the door after tears and frustration probably wasn’t the best way to set them up for success. I know, weird, right?

So I’m breaking it down for you and showing you how a few simple weekly and daily hacks can make those chaotic mornings a thing of the past.

Picking An Entire Week’s Worth of Outfits

Every weekend we put together outfits for the week and hang them on the same hanger. I’ve been doing the same thing with my kid’s clothes for years OR, my kids do it themselves. Not so much Jett or Dash, but Emery and Annie know what outfits they like and what looks good together.

SHOP MY GIRL’S CLOSET

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We will layout as many outfits as we can: a top, bottom, and a hair accessory. For Jett and Dash: top, bottom

Once selected, place these items on a hanger. When kids get up they grab a hanger which has their entire outfit picked out for the day! It’s ridiculously simple!

The other upside to this is that it saves space elsewhere like drawers and shelving because multiple pieces of clothing are going on one hanger. If you want to see how we do this, I wrote an entire blog post on it last year that you can check out HERE.

Lunch Prep

Some of my kids like lunches from home and some don’t. For those that do, I have them help make their lunches the night before. They are each in charge of picking out what they want to eat the next day and I will make myself a lunch right along with them! I even make Jett one as well. If we make them in the morning, we are usually too rushed and make a lot of unhealthy decisions.

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LUNCH BOXES: PLANET BOX |YUMBOX |OMIE LIFE |BENTO

You can FREEZE peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! About every other week, I will grab an extra loaf or 2 of bread at the store and whip up a whole bunch of PB&J’s. I freeze them in individual sandwich bags and then put them right back inside the bread bag. The kids can then grab out a sandwich if we are in a rush to get somewhere or if they want to add that to their lunch, they can do that too.

Wash and prep your fruits and vegetables at the start of the week. Try doing it together on Sunday. That way when it comes time to prep your lunches, you can grab a few containers out of the fridge and the kids have healthy options right at their fingertips!

For a full list of our school lunch shopping list and other must-have items, you can check out my school lunch blog post HERE.

The Hair Drawer

You’ve seen it a million times on my feed and it’s easily one of the most asked about things I’ve done – and it saves lives. Too dramatic? This is the drawer that prevents your kids from having complete meltdowns in the mornings over brushing their hair.

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CONTAINER | SCRUNCHIES | COMB | BOBBY PINS | CLEAR ELASTICS | HAIR GEL |SPRAY BOTTLE

I keep this container in a drawer in my kitchen for easy access so I can do my kid’s hair while they eat their breakfast.

SHOP MY HAIR MUST-HAVES

Everyday Routine

Breakfast is typically the same routine so that we have some normalcy in our schedule. The kids shower at night which frees up so much time in the mornings AND ensures that my kids are getting into bed all nice and clean.

As the kids get older, they each have started to help out in their own way. Emery has started making overnight oats and Dash insists on helping with the morning music.  Music helps wake my kids up so we have Alexa playing happy stuff quietly as we eat. (but sometimes Dash totally takes over and tries to play “Monster” by Skillet ☠️… that’s the quickest way to RUIN your morning so don’t do that 😂)

As I mentioned above, the way we send our kids off in the morning is really important to us. Braun reads them a story from the Book of Mormon made easy as I do their hair. It brings a feeling of peace and happiness to our home and reminds our kids of Christ’s work before they head off to school. If you aren’t a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints but would like to learn more you can visit Mormon.org.

Grab It & Go

And last, but not least,  we have backpacks, shoes, and socks all ready the night before by the garage door. (and if I remember to hang them up, my keys are right there on the hooks!)

This girl gets so sad when the kids take off in the morning! She checks this door multiple times a day to see when they’re coming home!

SHOP MY HOME DECOR FAVORITES

Ever since we started implementing these simple changes to our daily and weekly routines, mornings go so much smoother around here!

And when our mornings start off smooth, more often than not, our kids come home happy. They’re prepared to take on hard stuff because they’re attitudes help them navigate everything that comes from being a kid.

If you’ve got questions, leave them in the comments below. And if there’s something you do that I need to know about – do the same!

xx Tara