Which morning scenario sounds more appealing to you?Â
- A chaos free morning where you sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee with breakfast in a clean house
- A mad rush to get everyone dressed and fed and out the door on time with a messy house you get to come back home to and clean up later?
If you’re reading this, I bet the second option is what your mornings currently look like and you are desperately trying to change.
So, what makes our mornings run so smoothly and remain peaceful? Waking up to a clean home and being prepared for the day (especially on Mondays!) is our trick. Does that mean I scrub and deep clean every night before I go to bed? NO WAY! I spent 20 minutes each night picking up, lightly cleaning, and getting ready for the next day. It has completely transformed our mornings and eliminated the morning chaos.
Waking up to a messy house really stresses me out and does not put my head in the right frame to start the day. Our life with three kids and two dogs is already crazy and messy enough but if my house is clean and tidy when I go to bed, it helps start the next day calmly and peacefully.
Your morning sets the tone for the entire day so if your house is a hot mess, you’re getting off on the wrong foot – stressed out, chaos ensues and messes you have to tackle at some point… aw, the dread! Do you really want to come back home and deal with a mountain of dishes sitting in the sink or pile of laundry waiting in the dryer? The answer is no.
Here are the steps I take the NIGHT BEFORE to the eliminate morning chaos:
PREP LUNCHES
- My husband eats leftovers for lunch so he’s easy but the kids have packed meals for school. I pack lunches and fill up water bottles and put them in the fridge so the kids can easily grab them on their way out the door in the morning.
PREP BREAKFAST
- This doesn’t necessarily mean I make breakfast the night before, nope. It means I have a mental note of what we’re making in the morning and the items are set aside in the fridge.
- If I have time, I bake a dozen egg, cheese and bacon muffins, muffins or a huge batch of pancakes or waffles to free on Sunday before the week starts. These are great to pop in a toaster or in the microwave to heat up.
TIDY + PICK UP
- My kids are responsible for cleaning up after themselves when they move from activity to activity and before they go to bed, so tidying up toys is pretty minimal but I still always find a couple that fell behind.
- Tip: Keep a basket in the living room and one in the playroom or wherever the most play takes place, to toss spare toys that have been left out. Our kids know they have to clean up the toys left in the baskets and put everything back in the right spot or they may loose the item.
WIPE DOWN KITCHEN COUNTERTOPS
- Clean up your kitchen counter space – the least amount of items you have on the counters, the cleaner your space will be, feel, and look.
- Put things away. If you have anything out that can be washed or stored, do it. Don’t wait until the morning.
EMPTY THE SINK
- Clean out your sink. This may mean you need to unload or load the dishwasher, or both, so that there are dishes left on the counters or in the sink.
SWEEP/MOP FLOORS
- This isn’t an every night thing, it’s every 2-3 nights and mostly because we have two dogs that track in dirt, mud and shed A TON. If I sweep and mop it takes me 10 minutes and I do it every couple of nights to keep our hardwoods clean. We have dark hardwoods that show EVERYTHING and its drives me nuts to see footprints and crumbs all over the house.
FOLD A LOAD OF LAUNDRY
- First thing in the mornings, I run a cycle in the washing machine and throw it in the dryer as I’m heading out the door so it’ll be ready to fluff and fold at night.
- This is my least favorite chore but if I do it while I’m catching up on a show on my DVR, it goes fast and I’m done before I know it.
- Nothing is worse than a growing mountain of laundry you’re going to have to wash and fold at some point. If you wash and fold a load of laundry every other day, this pile will remain relatively small.
Every morning we’re on the clock to get three kids changed, fed, teeth brushed, shoes tied and out the door on time. If I come downstairs and things are straightened out and the day is prepped for, I actually have time to enjoy the morning.
Believe it or not, our family sits down to have breakfast together most mornings because of these simple steps. The alternative is telling the kids over and over to eat, eat faster, get dressed, find their shoes, brush their hair, and so on. I don’t want to be a drill sergeant and I bet you don’t either and I don’t want to start each and every day on the wrong foot with my family.
Use these seven simple steps and 20 minutes of your night to start your mornings peacefully.
