Streamlining Your Morning Routine

Hi, all, it's Jess.  As you might have heard, I recently went back to work as a teacher after summer vacation.  One of the best parts of the summer for me is having lazy, laid-back mornings with my kiddo.  Now that we're back to work, we have significantly less time in the mornings and are working on keeping things organized and simplified, especially in the mornings!  Here are some of my tips for making your morning little easier.

• Use your weekend and evening time effectively: Much of the morning craziness can be avoided by planning ahead as much as possible.  We plan all of our meals for the week on Sundays and do grocery and Target shopping on the weekend.  This way, we have everything we need (baring emergencies) ahead of time and don't need to run out after work.  We also split up the weekly chores on certain days of the week (i.e. cat box cleaning or laundry), so that things don't pile up too much.  Each evening, I prepare meals for the next day (more later) and choose and lay out the clothes my daughter and I will wear.  Now that she's older, she chooses her own things as she's getting ready for her bath before bed.  This avoids any arguments over clothing ("No, you can't wear that Moana shirt AGAIN!") and all she has to do is grab the pile off her dresser in the morning.  Laying out my clothes in the morning also takes out the guess work for me.  My tip is just to make sure you check the weather and try anything you haven't worn recently on ahead of time.  

• Divide and conquer if you can: I'm lucky enough to have a husband who is a pretty great household teammate.  We try to divide up our workload in the mornings, so that we can each get ready and help our daughter.  He gets up and ready early and then gets the kiddo up and at 'em while I am getting ready.  Then we trade off while he makes our coffee and I get the kiddo finished up.  If you're a mom, try and give your kids as much to do as possible.  Our kiddo is little, but she can get dressed, make her bed and brush her teeth on her own.  The more you can delegate, the better off you'll be!

• Meal planning is key:  As I mentioned, we plan all of our meals during the weekend and get the groceries ahead of time.  We usually plan one open night, so that we can either order in or eat leftovers.  We also plan for a few easy and healthy breakfast items that we can grab and eat on the run that are also kid-friendly.  These egg muffins, zucchini bread and blueberry muffins are favorites!  I also prep all of our lunches the night before, so that we don't have to pack anything at the last minute in the morning.  For our lunches, I usually try to pack leftovers, a salad or grab a Lean Cuisine if I'm crunched for time.  Look for a post on healthy pre-planned lunches coming up soon!

• Prep for your workout, too: If you plan to work out in the morning, make sure you get everything in order first.  Lay out your workout clothes so that you aren't searching around in the morning for a pair of running shoes.  It's hard to have the energy to get a good workout in unless you're prepared and ready to go right away.

• Treat yourself:  It's not easy to get up every morning and out of bed!  Give yourself something to look forward to each week by treating yourself to a fancy cup of coffee out or some time to listen to your favorite podcast.  Build something into your morning that you will enjoy and you'll have an even better day!

Do you have any tips or tricks for making your morning manageable?  Let us know in the comments below!