Getting into the groove after coming off of maternity leave took a little adjustment. I’m not going to lie, the mornings and the evenings are controlled chaos a lot of the time. Everyone needs something right now, a lot of the time simultaneously. There are a few key things we do each week that have helped our work weeks become less (not perfection here people, but much improved) chaotic. Let’s just call it controlled chaos. 😉
1 // Wake up before your kids
I get it, waking up at the crack of dawn is no fun, but I’ve had zero success trying to get up around the same time that they’re getting up for the day. I end up totally late and off schedule, barely getting myself presentable by the time it’s time to walk out the door. To remedy this, I get up at least 45 minutes before everyone and get myself 90% ready before the busy-ness of the morning begins. Set that alarm! I’ve found the quietness and the calmness before the storm is quite nice. 🙂
2 // Prepare clothes for the work week ahead of time on Sundays
This is a huge time saver for us. On Sundays, I pick out outfit combos for each child that includes top, bottom and socks for each day of the week. I stack each combo up in a pile and put them on the top of their dresser. Once the busy work week is in full swing, you have to spend zero time thinking about what matches what, pulling pieces out of the clean laundry basket and checking the weather because you’ve already got this covered. You could always do this for the adults if you want to be extra ambitious, but we don’t. We just do this for the kids.
3 // Prep all lunches, bottles, backpacks/diaper bags the night before
Stephen and I tackle this together. We each have our “things” that we own. He sets the coffee on timer for the next morning and packs all lunches. I take care of the baby bottles and putting the kids backpacks in Stephen’s truck (he’s the morning drop off person for both kids and I’m the pickup person in the evenings. PS. they both go to different places – Emerson goes to preschool and Elliott goes to her sitter) By taking the time to knock out all these little items, it’s less tasks to complete during the morning rush.
4 // Cook double batches of dinner meals
We only cook MAX – 3 days a week. Typically Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. I always cook a double batch of any meal that I cook, so we can have leftovers the day after. I hate cooking, but it must be done, so in order to maximize my time in the evenings with my kids, I purposely cook less often. Not rocket science here, but the crock pot is also your friend. Set it and forget it.
5 // Shower the night before and don’t wash your hair every day
I used to be a morning showerer…. before kids. 😁 Unless I want to be up an EXTRA 30-45 min earlier than my early pre-kids waking up time (see #1) I have to shower the night before. My hair is usually a hot mess, but it’s nothing a styling wand or straightener can’t fix in five minutes. Especially during the colder months, not only do I not have time to shower, but I definitely don’t have the leisure time to blow dry. Also – don’t wash with shampoo daily! Use a shower cap and dry shampoo go get more life out of your hair.
Are there any things that you do to help with your early morning routine? I’d love to know!
clothing sources:
Mallory – jacket, dress, boots ~ Stephen – sweater, shirt, similar ~ Emerson – sweater, jeans similar, shoes ~ Elliott – bow, romper, knee-high socks
