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?
Phil and I spent 3 days in Minneapolis last week. We attended the Association of Confessional Lutherans National Free Conference No. 21 and Luther Academy Lecture Series No. 17,
This mall is big, very big.
With an amusement park in the center.
And more places to eat than you could ever need. Clara would never have left if we’d have invited her.
Lego mania!
The Weeny Mobile, me and baby!
Our last night in the city we took the train and spent some time downtown Minneapolis. The tight sweater must have been squeezing my face…
We ate at a brew pub, I don’t remember the name, but it was very good.
And I got this special coffee. I knew I was on vacation then! This was a nice getaway for me and Phil but it was good to get home. I can definitely say I don’t miss big city life. I was missing my no stop light cow town! Oh and my babies.
(Chronicle Books).