A Bundle of Myrrh

I found this list on another site, planningwithkids.com. I don’t have 5 kids yet and my life though busy at home isn’t busy outside of the home yet either but I think this could be a good reference in several years. I do have a list of things I do before I “turn out the lights” for the day, I clean up the kitchen table, the kitchen counters, sweep kitchen floor, clean high chairs and pick up toys. That does seem to help me start out fresh the next day or at least not feel swamped as soon as I get out of bed! Anyway here’s this list for reference.

1. Set Table For Breakfast.

We set out the place mats, bowls, spoons, glasses, cereal boxes so all that is required in the morning is for the juice and milk to be taken out of the fridge. This means that everyone can serve themselves as they get up.

2. Prepare Lunch Boxes.

This is by far much easier to the night before than in the morning. You can see my process in detail here at Preparing School Lunches.

3. Complete Notices.

The children have a folder where they place any notices from school when they arrive home. I will fill them in as required and place them in their lunchbox for collection. It is their responsibility to then see that it makes its way to school.

4. Ensure Clean and Available Uniforms/Clothes.

We don’t actually put the clothes out for the school kids, but Mr I and I will will make sure that their uniforms are in the right spot for the children to get them. I will work with the preschooler to lay out clothes for the next day. He is at a stage where he is very particular about what he will and won’t wear. Having them organised the night before means that if he wants to wear his “motorbike t-shirt” that I have the time to calmly find it for him. If I leave this to the morning, I find that this sort of demand more frustrating and time consuming and it starts to build up stress in the house if it takes me some time to locate the desired t-shirt.

5. Un-stack Dishwasher.

Depending on what I have cooked and who we have had to visit, our dishwasher can do 2 -3 cycles in a day. Almost always we put the dishwasher on after dinner and Mr I then empties it before bed. As one of the kids jobs is to stack the dishwasher in the morning, it is so much easier if it is emptied.

6. General Tidy.

With 5 children, I have realistic expectations about the tidiness of our house. One thing I find really helps is to try and start each day with a relatively tidy house. This doesn’t mean perfection, but means all things back in their place, so when the toddler makes his way into the lounge room for the first time in the morning and starts tipping out the blocks, it is just one layer of toys on the floor!

7. Empty The Bin/s.

We have three small bins inside: rubbish, recycling and compost. It is most likely that one of these will need to be emptied and Mr I does a check of these at night. Having them emptied means less running around for me the next day.

8. Check The Calendar.

As dates for events come in, they all go up on the family calendar. Checking it regularly means that I have a better idea of what is coming up and can then make the appropriate plans.

9. Make To Do List.

I find that once I have written down my to do list, I automatically feel more in control of what I have to do the next (few) day/s. It also means that I can plan the best way to prioritise the activities that need to be completed and reduce the level of running around that I do.

10. Wind Down.

This is a new one for me. I am now trying to turn the computer of 30 minutes before I want to go to bed and having time to just potter around, read etc, before I hop into bed. This should mean that I go to bed calmer and feeling more relaxed.

What is your night time routine? What things do you do, to help make mornings easier?

I came across this today:

Moms everywhere seem to share the same problem: There’s not enough time to get everything done, let alone do it well and quickly. Meanwhile, we’re tripping over piles of toys and can’t find anything in our closet because we never have time to organize it.

Our families are counting on us, too, which means more pressure to whip through all our duties, from grocery shopping to scrubbing bathtubs. “Moms are always on call,” says Susan Newman, mother of five and author of The Book of No: 250 Ways to Say It — and Mean It — and Stop People-Pleasing Forever.

“You’re on call with your cell phone. You’re on call with e-mail. You’re on call 24 hours a day. You’re on call when the baby wakes up in the middle of the night.”

When we add our regular on-call status to our already long to-do list, we’re left exhausted, wishing we had more time just to be with our families instead of running errands.

Some “Time Saving” tips:

6. Skip ironing and get wrinkles out of a shirt or pair of trousers by putting them in the dryer for 15 minutes with a damp hand towel.
7. Stop wasting time looking for things you use often, like scissors, reading glasses, or baby wipes. Stock up and keep duplicates in the rooms where you spend the most time.
8. Designate 30 minutes after dinner for cleaning —
9. Organize your favorite articles, parenting information, and recipes so you can find them more quickly. Place pages from online sites, magazines, and newspapers in page protectors and stash them in a three-ring binder.
10. Shop for holiday and birthday gifts year-round. Whenever you see a great gift for someone you love, buy it and set it aside for giving later.
11. Set the table the night before and put items like bowls, utensils, cereal, fruit, toaster, and bread out to avoid a morning rush.
12. Limit personal e-mail and computer time to twice a day.
13. Hire a babysitter for a couple of hours on the weekend so you can tackle household duties and errands without kids in tow.
14. Chop all your vegetables, fruits, and herbs for the week’s meals at one time so everything will be ready for cooking.
15. dd important appointments and activities to a master calendar in your e-mail in-box and set up reminders for up to one week ahead.
16. Sort belongings into clear, labeled bins that can be stacked and stowed so your child can easily find things like DVDs and toys without your help. Use brightly colored labels and picture labels for toddlers and preschoolers who can’t read.
17. Keep disinfecting and glass wipes in the bathroom for quick cleanups around toilets, sinks, and mirrors. You could even do a speedy wipe-down while you bathe the kids.
18. Keep cardboard boxes labeled “donate,” “trash,” or “consign” in the garage or storage closet to routinely rid your house of unused items and clutter.
19. Designate a cabinet in your kitchen for medicine so you’ll have easy access to everything from pain reliever to bandages when and where you need them. Make sure it’s secured with a child-safe lock.
20. Sort medicine into small, labeled storage bins — one bin for children’s medications, one for adult cough and cold remedies, one for first-aid supplies, and so on, and keep them in the locked cabinet.
21. Keep a pack of thank-you cards in the glove box of your car or in your daily planner so you can write notes while sitting in the car or waiting for a doctor to see you.
22. Keep an assortment of greeting cards on hand, filed by occasion. You’ll save time on trips to the store, and you can quickly take care of an unexpected birthday or send off a heartfelt condolence.
23. Forget sorting laundry. Wash everything in cold water.
24. Soak before you wash. Fill your sink or a bucket with soapy water and place dirty dishes, bottles, and other cooking and eating items in there. When you get around to them, they’ll be much easier to clean