Get the kids to school faster: 9 tools for a happier morning rush
Who here dreads the mornings? You don’t know where you left the keys, you’re hollering at the kids to get out of bed or put on shoes, and someone always spills the cereal. No matter how much you hurry, you still end up running late.
But take a deep breath, because we’ve got tools to make your mornings happier. If the morning rush is consistently the most stressful part of the day, it’s time to invest in a few alarm clocks, kitchen tools, and organizers that will get you up and out the door with time to spare—and maybe, with a smile on your face.
Let’s start with a wake-up call. Literally. If you—or your kids—have a habit of ignoring the alarm, it’s time for a change. The right alarm clock will get you moving and add another 10 minutes to your morning, making you 10 minutes closer to getting out the door on time.
If you’re the type of person who hates getting jolted out of sleep by a buzzing alarm clock, try seeing if a more gentle wake-up will improve your day. I use the vibrating alarm function on my Fitbit Flex, and every morning it calmly wakes me up by buzzing against my wrist. It’s much nicer than being woken up by a beeping alarm—or worse, talk radio.
I set my phone alarm to go off five minutes after my Fitbit, giving me five minutes to transition from sleep to wake, and then I’m up and ready to go—and ready for Fitbit to start counting my steps!
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Some parents act as their kids’ alarm clock, hollering “Wake up!” followed by “I mean it, get out of bed!” and “You’re going to be late for school!” (Sound familiar?) That kind of nagging interrupts your own morning routine and adds negativity and stress to the family day.
So stop yelling and outsource the wakeup duties to an alarm clock. It’s hard to imagine anything that makes waking up “fun,” but the Clocky Alarm Clock might actually pull it off. Clocky won’t let you snooze for very long; instead, it’ll start rolling around the room, making noise until you get out of bed to chase it down.
Pro tip: put Clocky on the floor or on a low nightstand where it doesn’t have far to fall. Don’t put it where it could fall on sleeping children, adults, or animals.
Once kids get out of bed, it’s time for breakfast. Now, you probably already know that there are a couple of ways this could go: You could stand by the refrigerator taking each child’s individual cereal order, or you could let your kids pour themselves the inevitable overflowing bowl of cereal and milk, making a mess and wasting food in the process.
Do you want to waste your morning wiping milk off the counter and cereal off the floor? You don’t have time for that. Instead, empower your children to handle their own breakfast with Cool Gear Stay-Fit EZ Freeze DLX Cereal to Go containers. When you’re making lunches the night before, put individual servings of cereal into the bowls and pour milk into the lids. In the morning, kids can get their own bowls out of the refrigerator, unscrew the lids, and pour on the milk. Plus, now you have a set of to-go containers that keep food cold when you need to eat on the road.
This means that you now have time to sit down—I know, right?—and eat breakfast with the family. What do you mean, you don’t eat breakfast? Would a Nordic Ware Microwave 2-Cup Egg Poacher change your mind?
I use my microwave egg poacher all the time because it’s so quick and easy. Crack one or two eggs into the poacher and microwave for one or two minutes. Drop your perfectly cooked eggs onto an English muffin or piece of toast, or eat them as-is if you’re avoiding heavy carbs.
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Don’t forget about that coffee. We’ve written before about the Krups XP3200 Pump Espresso machine. Don’t waste valuable morning time sitting in a drive-thru to get your espresso. Make it at home and put it into a to-go container if you need to. I use a Klean Kanteen which keeps my coffee warm all morning long.
When you’re trying to get out the door in a hurry, you need to worry about four things: Shoes, coats, backpacks, and keys.
Solve the shoe problem by putting an attractive shoe rack right next to the door. The Threshold Shoe Rack gives you three rows of storage. Get in the habit of taking shoes off when you enter the house; it’ll keep your floors cleaner, and you’ll be able to put the shoes on this shoerack so they don’t get lost.
Next, backpacks and coats. Store ‘em either on the top shelf of your shoe rack or hang them on sturdy hooks. The Brainerd Manufacturing Heavy Duty Coat and Hat Hook Rail works for both backpacks and coats, so get your family in the habit of hanging up their gear.
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Lastly, you need a good key rack for yourself, so you put your keys in the same place every time. You can get an ordinary key rack, but why not add one more tool that’ll help you streamline your mornings: the Legacy Studio Décor Message Center. Use the chalkboard function to write notes like “don’t forget book report,” stick field-trip permission slips and other important papers to the corkboard, and put outgoing mail in the mail slot.
Oh, and put a flower in the vase for you. Because you worked hard, got everyone out the door, and made a happier morning rush for your family.
Yahoo readers, what are your own tips and tricks for getting the kids ready on-time for school? Leave your tips in the comments section below.
What’s your favorite tip for improving the morning rush?
