5 Tips To Get Out Of The House On Time

How nice it would be to have a smooth-flowing, (slightly) peaceful and organised morning routine?

Wouldn’t it be nice to leave the house for work in the morning, and you haven’t forgotten anything, or gotten into a flap because Little Johnny has lost his shoes?

Mornings are the hardest part of the day for mums and because they are so busy, it is so important to stick to a morning routine.

Not many of us are morning people, but with a bit of organisation (and bribery!) – we can do it – with aplomb!

1. Make a plan.

If you have kids, you really need to make sure everyone knows the rules for the morning. I set up a routine with my family so that everyone knows what to do, but even so, I need to be around so that nobody gets distracted.

One thing that helps is having a morning checklist for all of your children. Just remember to put a realistic time frame on your morning activities when you are laying out your plan for the first time. If you find that there just isn’t enough time, either cut out some of the morning activities or wake your kids up a little earlier.

It can be as simple as this:

• Make your bed.
• Eat breakfast.
• Shower and brush teeth.
• Get dressed.
• Put packed school bag at front door.

In order to get out of the door in time, kids need to know what to do, and the time frame in which to do it. It may take a few weeks to get used to – but it will make your mornings easier and will get them there on time!

2. Do the no screens rule.

One of my biggest rules in the morning – no screens until you are 100% ready to go! TV, games and iPads are a huge distraction for kids in the morning (well, anytime really) – and for you, too! If you need to get out at the same time everyday, make it a rule – no screens!

3. Cut out distractions.

My kids get distracted by everything you can imagine, toys, a bug crawling up the wall, or playing with the dog.

Cut out those distractions as much as you can – but a great method I’ve used is setting the alarm clock for 15 minutes before you NEED to be out the door – like a warning bell for everyone that it is nearly time to go!4. Pre-prepare as much as you can.

Give everybody a station or area for all of their school stuff, including sports equipment, books, bags, and lunches.

Make it a rule with your kids to put everything into the station when they get home from school so that you don’t spend the next morning searching the house for your son’s rugby ball or your daughter’s ballet uniform. Every night, run through everything in the stations before going to bed to save a few extra minutes in the morning that could be used for other things. You can also pack lunches the night before and keep them in the fridge so that you don’t need to scramble to get it done in the morning. If you don’t like doing that (some mums don’t!), have the lunch boxes all clean and tidy and open ready to go on the bench.

If you can, it’s always good to have tomorrow’s outfits ready to go.

I lay mine on the spare chair in my bedroom (hubby can do his own – hahaha) and the kids clothes are laid out on the dining room table, so they literally eat their breakfast – and get dressed. It works for me, so find what works for your family!

5. Clean up.

As a stay at home mum, this is easier for me, but if you have a job to go to, you should set aside 15 minutes to clean up the mess from the morning rush before heading out yourself.

Nothing is worse than getting home from work to find bowls of hard cereal still on the table.

You can really get a lot done in 15 minutes if you set a good pace.

If you’re pressed for time, have a few baskets that you can toss everything into to deal with later. Get everyone to pitch in and help. Train the kids to put their bowls in the dishwasher or sink when they have finished and to wipe the table down.

Once they are out the door, kick back and have a coffee – that’s a job well done!