Over the past few months, I have felt overwhelmed to say the least. With a new house and a new baby and six and four-year-old, there is never a dull moment (or should I say there is always drama drama drama!) I am struggling to figure out the tricks of the trade to conquer the chaos that has become my daily life.
I was inspired by Luanne’s blog post “A Basket a Day Keeps the Clutter Away .” I loved this concept and I think all of us moms have our little secrets that make our lives less stressful! Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing some of the things we have implemented in our family that have helped us function a little bit easier and I hope that all of you mom’s will share things that have worked for you! It takes a village, right?!
A Typical Morning…
Our morning routine was rocked with the addition of our third. I struggled with getting up to get the kids ready for school, lunches packed, baby fed and loaded in car seat etc. Add my moody six-year-old daughter to the mix and we are talking difficulty of epic proportions. “Mommy, you pick out my outfit and I promise, I’ll wear it… no… I HATE that… pick out something else and I PROMISE PROMISE I’ll wear it…. not sleeves… I HATE sleeves (even though it was probably cold outside).” When we finally settled on something it was time to do hair. I would search and search for a brush, just to never find it and send it her to school all nappy-headed with shorts and a tank top on in the middle of winter! Yes.. mother of the year, but whatever works right!?
I was tired of our daily morning struggles and needed a fix to make my life easier and less stressful each morning. Here are a few things that have DRASTICALLY changed our morning routine!
Pick out our outfit the night before.
So simple! She picks out her outfit every night before bed. All the way down to her shoes and hair accessories. Ever since we started doing that, NO drama the next morning!
Pack lunch the night before.
This makes my life so much easier. Lunches are made the night before and put in the refrigerator. Instead of spending 30 minutes packing lunches in the morning, I have time to sit and enjoy my mornings and visit with the kids vs. being rushed to get everything done!
The kitchen “Hair Drawer.”
This is my favorite! I cleaned out an entire drawer in our kitchen and devoted it purely to the daily grind of getting ready. The hunt for brushes and hair ties is no more. Not only has this helped with getting ready in the morning, but also with getting ready to play outside and also get ready for dance. Now, while my daughter has her breakfast, I can brush her hair and pull it back with no fighting, no drama, and no search for a dang brush!!!
I have everything that we might need to get ready for the day (whether school or play.) We have bug spray, sunscreen, hair gel and spray, detangler, brushes and all our hair ties ready to go in an easy convenient place. I’ll also throw in the that “Wet Brush” has been a God send. Seriously, it is God’s gift to mom’s with little girls. I found mine at Buy Buy Baby. It’s a detangling brush that brushes right through those “rat nests” in a second. AMAZING! This has been a lifesaver in our morning routine and just a great place for us to quickly access the necessities!
Are your mornings hectic? What are some of your tricks to conquering the chaos in your morning routine?
Oh my gosh, we need the wet brush at our house! Love the drawer idea….this would save me from having our go-to supply of sunscreen and bug spray all over the kitchen counter.
We have 2 wet brushes, love them!! Great idea about the kitchen drawer!
No kidding about the Wet Brush. It has removed the whining and crying form my daughter’s hair routine and even defrizzes and smooths my hair! Love it! Plus, you can get them on Amazon for about $8.
I love the drawer idea! Great post!
Great ideas! Love the kitchen drawer and wet brush. Will need these as my world is about to get “rocked” with baby number 4!