Sometimes you get out-the-door on time and sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you get out-the-door on time but everyone is unhappy. One child doesn’t have the shoes they want to wear, another is missing their lunch and clutching lunch money for a school lunch they won’t eat and you are frazzled and stressed on the way to your own job.

 

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Parenting is not easy, to say the least. Organizing can help you out, especially on school day mornings. Here are some tips that can help out your household.

 

 

Clocks- Get every child a clock and show them how to use it. When you tuck the youngest ones in bed, you can check to see it is set. Not racing around to nag everyone to get up is a great step in personal responsibility. Also add a clock to the kids’ bathroom. Add a taped-on arrow pointing to the time they need to be at the door ready to go.

 

 

Set a buzzer- Set a timer to buzz five to ten minutes before they need to walk out the door. Instead of shouting at everyone that it is time to go, they will soon learn to hear the buzzer. After all, they hear buzzers and bells at school when it is time to change rooms or leave.

 

 

Lay out clothing- Eliminate arguing about what to wear by having them lay it out at bedtime. Establish a rule that they may choose the clothes but then must wear them. No switching up the next morning. For those in uniforms, it is even more important to lay out clothing because if you can’t find something or it is not clean, there are no other alternatives.

 

 

Lunch packing center- Organize your cabinets so there is one that holds everything needed to pack lunches. No wasting time going to this cabinet for bread, that one for plastic bags and yet another for raisins and finally another for a container.

 

 

Create a breakfast menu- Lots of morning time is wasted discussing what there is to eat and trying to get your child to pick one. Create a menu for breakfast on a dry-erase board so they can choose one from that.

 

 

Have a launch pad- This is a spot where everyone, even mom and dad, put the things that must go out the door with them in the morning.

 

 

Bedtime- The more exhausted you are, the harder it is to get up and get going. It is the same for children. Sticking to your guns on a bedtime can really pay off in smoother mornings. Keep in mind it takes repetition for a new habit to stick so hang in there when setting a time for bed.

 

 

About Lea Schneider

Professional Organizer Lea Schneider’s organizing advice has appeared in Woman’s Day, Natural Health and Better Homes and Gardens Kids’ Rooms magazines. She is the Grand Prize Winner of the Rolodex Office Makeover Challenge. Her team of professional organizers, at Organize Right Now, provides organizing assistance through her Organize Online program. She is the author of Growing Up Organized: A Mom-to-Mom Guide. Learn more at www.organizerightnow.com.