Organizing Tips For

Simplifying Your Morning Routine

Getting out the door on time each morning is as easy as 1, 2, 3 when you follow the steps outlined below:

Picture what needs to be done to get out the door on time each morning. 

• Create a checklist of the tasks that can be done the night before. Our evening to dos include laying clothes out the night before, getting backpacks ready to go, and making school lunches when needed.

• Think of what could go wrong and take steps to avoid these negative consequences. If, for example, your children spend too much time searching for misplaced items each morning, place everything you don't want to forget near the door. In the photo below, coats, backpacks and shoes await their next use.

(Click on photo to open it in a new window.)

2. Centralize

Save time by storing the items you need to get ready each morning in one central location. Because my daughters are in elementary school, most of what they need to eat breakfast and do their hair is kept in a cupboard within their reach. (See bullets below photos for a description of cupboard contents.)

Moving from left to right in the above photo:

• a clip adhered to the left cupboard door holds the school lunch menu
• labeled containers by Buddeez hold the girls favorite cereal.
• cereal bowls with spoons in them and the girls' vitamins are stored on and under a wire shelf  purchased from Wal-mart.
• two shower caddies with the suction cups removed hold hair products and brushes.
• On the right cupboard door, 3M utensil hooks  hold ponytail holders and a  favorite brush. (I purchased mine at Target)
• Also on the right cupboard door, a spice clip purchased from HarrietCarter.com holds medicine that my oldest daughter takes every morning before breakfast.

3. Minimize

In our family, an extra trip upstairs after breakfast can be the difference between making the bus or missing it. To reduce the number of unnecessary steps needed to get out the door, try one or more of the following suggestions.

• Have children bring sock downstairs with them when to come to breakfast in the morning.
• Keep hair accessories in your kitchen or a bathroom on the main level of your home.
• Store toothbrushes near the kitchen sink.