Does trying to get everyone in your family out the door in the morning drive you out of your mind? Help is right here.
Prep in the PM
We know the couch is calling, but trust us on this one: It really pays to take 10 minutes each evening to pick out what everyone’s going to wear the next day. Make a game of it with a home weather station, and let your child be the official “weather forecaster” so you can choose clothes together. Storing socks and other accessories in hanging shoe organizers with clear pockets will help simplify the search for the perfect outfit.
While you’re at it, pack up any extra items needed for the coming day, including bags for after-school sports, supplies to bring for a class project, or gear for day care. Ideally, older kids can take charge of this themselves. And don’t forget to set a (cool, kid-friendly) alarm for tomorrow! Everyone can take a turn selecting the next day’s wake-up song from a wireless alarm. Even small children love having their own special moon/sun wake-up clock.
Kitchen Wake-Up Call
Good morning! The day will look a lot brighter once you’ve had some coffee, of course. While you do that, let the kids help themselves to cereal from fun-to-use dispensers. Add personalized bowls for the win. Encourage everyone (including yourself) to eat more fruit by keeping it displayed in an eye-ap-pealing way on the countertop or tabletop. Think a banana hanger seems kind of, well, bananas? It’s actually pretty helpful for keeping bananas from getting banged up or browning too fast.
As the command center of your home, the kitchen is also a smart spot to keep a weekly calendar of events and activities to check during breakfast. A wipe-off memo board/shopping list will get lots of use, too. For younger kids, a calendar of their own with stick-on pieces to move each morning is a positive and empowering way to kick off the day.
Give Yourself a (Lunch) Break
That lunch won’t pack itself, unfortunately. But a bento-style lunch kit can help. Just pop in a little bit of anything you have in the fridge: cubed cheese, veggies, yogurt, tortillas, hummus, chicken breast, leftovers. Even picky eaters love grazing their “lunch laptop.” You can also get a lot of mileage out of clever containers that hold dips (or even milk!) in separate, cold compartments. Cut prep time further by keeping chips, snacks, granola bars, juice boxes, and other grabbables in clear, labeled containers.
The Launchpad
The average family wastes 437.5 hours a year looking for lost items on the way out the door (according to our very unscientific estimate). A few clever tweaks can help you find things when you’re in a mad dash out the door. Start by clearing a little entryway space—it doesn’t have to be much, as one wall can do a lot here. Hang one “in/out” box, labeled for each person in your home, with hanging storage (or even wall-mounted cubbies) beneath each for backpacks and jackets. With one glance, everyone will be able to keep an eye on their own personal homework folders, papers to sign, and more daily to-dos.
Make your entryway work even harder with all kinds of hanging organizers. Try an over-the-door hat holder, and a cubby for stashing smartphones. Pockets can hold so many things: sunglasses, mittens, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, library books to return. And don’t hold back on the hooks. They’re ideal for organizing everything from shopping bags and keys to dog leashes and scarves (we’re hooked, obviously). Finish off with a memo board for quick, written reminders or last-minute love notes.