How to Streamline Your Morning Routine

Leaving the house in a mad dash is more the norm than the exception
for many. Whether you live by yourself or with others, making a few
minor changes to your morning routine will have you heading out the
door on top of the world. The trick is nothing fancier than taking care
of as much as possible the night before.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

The night before

1. Check your calendar and to-do list to make sure you have everything you need for appointments the next day and to cue your memory for any other necessary items. See 3 Write an Effective To-Do List.

2. Program your coffeemaker to start brewing that black magic before you roll out of bed. Purchase an electric hot pot for tea, hot chocolate and instant oatmeal. Pull out the blender, bananas and other dry ingredients for smoothie production.

3. Set the thermostat to kick on 30 minutes before your alarm clock goes off so the house is toasty when you're climbing in the shower.

4. Move frozen food to the refrigerator to thaw for the next day's dinner. See 297 Plan a Week of Menus.

5. Choose your entire outfit for the next day and do the same for your young kids. Don't forget underwear, socks, shoes and accessories. You'll never have to stare blankly into the closet every morning-- plus you'll have time to iron, shine, hem or sew.

6. Ask older children and teens to lay out their clothes, too. Load up a hanger with a complete outfit, or spread out clothes on the floor snowman-style. If you sign off on clothes the night before, that's a power struggle you don't have to deal with in the morning.

7. Prepare lunch fixings. Divide cheese, cut veggies and fruit into small plastic bags that can be grabbed in the morning. Assemble sandwiches or dish up a large pot of soup or chili into individual serving containers. See 314 Plan Healthy Lunches for Kids.

8. Double-check supplies. Make sure there's enough milk, cereal, bread and fruit. If not, send an able body to the store after dinner. Have him or her put gas in the car too, if you're running on empty.

9. Sort vitamins or medications into labeled pillboxes and put them on the breakfast table. Pour the cereal, too, if that helps speed things along.

10. Make sure your children's backpacks contain everything they need for the day, including uniforms, signed paperwork, book reports and projects (set up a checklist for older kids). Get your own bag and files ready as well (see 186 Organize Your Briefcase).

11. Determine whose turn it is to walk and feed the dog. You don't want to forget about Rover while everyone is rushing out the door. See 18 Organize a Chore Schedule for Kids.

12. Hang a shelf at the door with hooks for keys, and use the shelf, a basket or an entryway table to stash sunglasses, purses, lunches, backpacks, hats, mittens, and leashes and plastic bags (see 70 Organize Entryways and Mudrooms). Keep a jar of change for bus, train, parking and toll money. If you have out-ofthe- ordinary items to remember, put a sticky note on your keys: "Bring snacks for soccer practice." Do a sweep to make sure important items are ready to go by the door.

In the morning

1. Set your clock a half an hour to an hour early to get some time to yourself. Work out, run a load of laundry, meditate, plan or prepare--in peace and quiet.

2. Get yourself ready first. If you're showered and dressed, you'll be better able to handle whatever comes up.

3. Use music to rock your routine. Choose one song to wake up to, another for someone's bathroom time and a third for someone else's dressing time. You can have a breakfast song, a gettingdressed song and a brushing-your-teeth song--whatever works. Burn a CD of everyone's favorites and make your morning an off-off Broadway hit.

4. Post morning to-do lists for each family member. Give prereaders one too, with pictures to cue their tasks.

5. Turn on the news only if you can resist watching for one more segment. Get the weather, the top news and the traffic report-- and get out. Same goes for the newspaper.

6. Give your spouse, kids and yourself a treat. Whether it's waking up 15 minutes early for some snuggle time or occasional fresh blueberry pancakes instead of frozen waffles, spiking the routine with rewards makes it smoother and more enjoyable for everyone.

Tips & Warnings

• Warm up kids' clothes in the dryer for a few minutes to ease them out of their pajamas and into clothes for a painless transition on frigid mornings.

• Keep your morning free of bicker and balking by listing one or two breakfast options that your kids can choose from on a white board the night before.

• Iron a whole week's worth of clothing over the weekend.

• A kitchen timer helps keep preschoolers focused and on task in the morning.

• See 68 Set Up a Bathroom Schedule.

• Keep a stash of emergency supplies in the car: changes of clothes, hair brush, clips, pencils, snack bars and juice boxes. Stock a supply of portable yogurt, milk boxes (that don't need refrigeration) and small plastic bags packed with cereal for those mornings that are a complete disaster.

• If you have young kids, use morning TV time strategically or not at all. Save "Sesame Street" as a reward for when clothes are on, breakfast is eaten and everything is ready to go.