Our challenge from a few days ago was getting up earlier. I hope you have been enjoying the benefits and blessings of getting up early. It's never too late to start!
Today we are going to look at our morning routines - how we get ready in the morning and get out the door on time. First, lets review our morning routines (a combo of my plan and Fly ladys) and then lets look at some ways to help us accomplishing those.
Daily morning routine (pinned on my fridge in a sheet protector, marked off with dry erase marker - can use a cute picture frame because you can use dry erase markers on glass too)
~Get dressed to shoes including Hair/Face, brush teeth (she recommends a lace up shoe so that you are not tempted to take them off and sit back down)
~Make Bed
~Swish and Swipe (wiping down bathroom sink and toilet and quick scrub of toilet - no need to use cleaning products)
~Empty Dishwasher
~Reboot Laundry (a load a day keeps the CHAOS away)
~Check your calendar (where do you need to be today?)
~Check your control journal (a journal created by you to keep things under control - see her site to see how to create one)
~What's for Dinner? (take out freezer meal or think about what you are going to have and prepare accordingly)
~Drink your water
~Declutter something for 15 minutes
~15 minutes of loving movement (exercise)
This routine for me is usually completed by 8am. How can I help you accomplish this so you can enjoy the rest of your day?
First, get up early (or earlier)! Hop out of bed and make your bed - if there is not someone still in it! Then work out and/or do your quiet time. Then its shower/dress time. During this point I check my calendar and think about dinner.
Calendar time
I think having a family calendar is key. I am still a fan of the regular paper kind of calendar that the whole family can see. FlyLady supports both the paper kind and a virtual calendar. The virtual calendar is called Cozi. I have signed up for it – it’s free but since I still have a phone from the dinosaur ages, I don’t find it that useful. I like FlyLady’s paper calendar because the spaces are big – I keep track of my chores, places to be, meal plan, and other things to get done on it. It is $10 for 18 months and has fun stickers to go with it. It also has a student sticker kit that has 600 stickers for around $6. I recommend getting a calendar that can be hung so that everyone can see and stuff doesn’t get piled up on it. I hang it in the kitchen since it is the heart of our house and everyone can check it there.
Daily morning routine (pinned on my fridge in a sheet protector, marked off with dry erase marker - can use a cute picture frame because you can use dry erase markers on glass too)
~Get dressed to shoes including Hair/Face, brush teeth (she recommends a lace up shoe so that you are not tempted to take them off and sit back down)
~Make Bed
~Swish and Swipe (wiping down bathroom sink and toilet and quick scrub of toilet - no need to use cleaning products)
~Empty Dishwasher
~Reboot Laundry (a load a day keeps the CHAOS away)
~Check your calendar (where do you need to be today?)
~Check your control journal (a journal created by you to keep things under control - see her site to see how to create one)
~What's for Dinner? (take out freezer meal or think about what you are going to have and prepare accordingly)
~Drink your water
~Declutter something for 15 minutes
~15 minutes of loving movement (exercise)
This routine for me is usually completed by 8am. How can I help you accomplish this so you can enjoy the rest of your day?
First, get up early (or earlier)! Hop out of bed and make your bed - if there is not someone still in it! Then work out and/or do your quiet time. Then its shower/dress time. During this point I check my calendar and think about dinner.
Calendar time
I think having a family calendar is key. I am still a fan of the regular paper kind of calendar that the whole family can see. FlyLady supports both the paper kind and a virtual calendar. The virtual calendar is called Cozi. I have signed up for it – it’s free but since I still have a phone from the dinosaur ages, I don’t find it that useful. I like FlyLady’s paper calendar because the spaces are big – I keep track of my chores, places to be, meal plan, and other things to get done on it. It is $10 for 18 months and has fun stickers to go with it. It also has a student sticker kit that has 600 stickers for around $6. I recommend getting a calendar that can be hung so that everyone can see and stuff doesn’t get piled up on it. I hang it in the kitchen since it is the heart of our house and everyone can check it there.
How are we dressed and ready by 8am? One thing we do to get out of the door on
time, is have a getting ready spot and/or drawer. My daughter goes to pre-school
3 days a week so I know that at least 3 days a week, she is going to need to get
out of her pajamas and be presentable. In her room she has an empty dresser
drawer. On Sunday nights I have her pick out 3 outfits and put them in the
drawer. Then she is to bring her outfit of choice down the night before or the
morning of. This allows her to pick from three outfits that I have already
approved of – meaning everything matches and is the right season – and she still
feels like she got to pick it out. This avoids morning drama and taking up too
much time.
I also have a place that I put my clothes
for the next day. This basket sits in my bathroom behind the door…it has my work
out clothes and my outfit for the next day. If my work out clothes are in there,
I am more likely to work out then if I have to go pick something out that early
in the morning. I fold it and put it all in this basket...putting my robe on top for when I get out of the shower (including in the basket are socks, bras, etc too...everything I need besides shoes.)
How can we do swish and swipe when my vanity is full of products? You need to find a spot for your products! I think the key to being organized is being clutter free as possible. I like to leave the tops of things empty…counters, coffee table, vanities in bathrooms – empty. I’ll explain each room what I do as we go. Having the tops of things cleared off makes them easier and quicker to clean…and they just look, nicer if they are not piled up with stuff. So think of it this way – “top-less”. (You’ll tell your hubby all the stuff you learned about today and all he’ll hear is “cleaning topless” and he’ll be happy).
How can we do swish and swipe when my vanity is full of products? You need to find a spot for your products! I think the key to being organized is being clutter free as possible. I like to leave the tops of things empty…counters, coffee table, vanities in bathrooms – empty. I’ll explain each room what I do as we go. Having the tops of things cleared off makes them easier and quicker to clean…and they just look, nicer if they are not piled up with stuff. So think of it this way – “top-less”. (You’ll tell your hubby all the stuff you learned about today and all he’ll hear is “cleaning topless” and he’ll be happy).
Now, I
don’t have a medicine cabinet and have limited drawer space in my bathroom. I do have a
shelving unit that is hiding behind the door in the bathroom. I have created bins to organize stuff so that it is easier to find. This is my getting
ready bin…it has all the stuff that I do with my face and my deodorant…I bring
the bin down, use all the stuff and then put it all away. This is how I have
nothing on my bathroom vanity…easy to wipe down every morning.
I also put my make up in a bin and store it in my drawer. This is the basic stuff I use everyday. I get it out, put all my stuff on, and then put it back in the drawer. I don’t have to dig through a drawer to find what I need…this is just every day stuff. This little basket you can get a the Dollar Tree - 2 for $1.
And I have to do her hair too?
When you have a little girl you will find that you have access amounts of hair accessories. Organizing these will help you easily find and choose things to put in her hair. Here are a couple of ways that I organize hair clips:
I also have bins for eyes/lips - this one has all my contacts, solution, glasses, extra lip glosses. I don’t have to dig through shelves of things…same for nail polishes. When you do have time to declutter something, it's simple...just go through one tub at a time. There is no emptying out large spaces of things that take hours to go through.
I also put my make up in a bin and store it in my drawer. This is the basic stuff I use everyday. I get it out, put all my stuff on, and then put it back in the drawer. I don’t have to dig through a drawer to find what I need…this is just every day stuff. This little basket you can get a the Dollar Tree - 2 for $1.
And I have to do her hair too?
When you have a little girl you will find that you have access amounts of hair accessories. Organizing these will help you easily find and choose things to put in her hair. Here are a couple of ways that I organize hair clips:
Rubber bands and small barretts here
headbands are here:
this idea I got from www.iheartorganizing.blogspot
All it is is a paper towel roll and some old scrap fabric. You’ll have to fit it to the smallest headband and take off the extra towels. Wrap the fabric around and tuck into the holes…no sewing! It fits right in the shelf with the rest of the tubs…easy to see them all and easy to get off.
After all this and the kids are awake and ready, I have one of them unload the dishwasher with me (if I ran it the night before) and I through in a load of laundry. My laundry is always in the dryer before 9am. It is the first thing I do at nap time - fold it quickly. Then I let the kids help me put it away when they get up from nap time. One load is quick and easy to fold and put away.
I use to run around trying to find shoes in the morning. We keep the nicer (more Sunday shoes) upstairs in their closets. Every day shoes we put in bins in the garage. They take them off and put them in their bin before coming in. And right before they get in the car, they grab the shoes they need and put them on. This bin I got from Ikea...want to say it was around $30. Each member of the family has their own bin.
If you have time after all of that, de-clutter something for 15 minutes - when your kids are eating their breakfast and watching their cartoon. I usually focus on de-cluttering something that is in the room/zone that we are focusing on that week. This week I did my tupperware/rubbermaid drawer and will be getting rid of a ton of stuff!
That's it...that's the morning routine. Sounds easy, right? Pick one thing and start tomorrow...my recommendation is laying out clothes the night before. It seriously cuts down on time in the morning! Next week, we will head to the kitchen and start organizing there!
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