Beat The Morning Rush
I first wrote this in 2001, and it was published in the February 2002 edition of The Cheapskates Journal.
Just recently, a friend showed me a copy of this article, that she'd printed from our first website (the original Cheapskates design - it was like looking back in time seeing the screen shot on paper), and she told me she still used the routine, although it has adapted over the years as her family dynamic changed.
Well I still stick to this routine too! I've been doing it so long that until Maureen mentioned it, I had forgotten that once I had to think about how our mornings run.
Nothing much has changed: mornings are still the busiest part of my day.
Here's the original article:
How is it in your house? Our house can be quite chaotic in the mornings. We are a family of five - working mum and dad, son 10, son 8 and daughter 5. As you can imagine the morning rush hour and half (because that's how long we take to get out of the house in the mornings) can sometimes be nerve wrecking to say the least!
I have found that in the mornings we need to stick to a strict routine or else the day is just ruined, for me at least. Our alarm goes off at 6.30am and we stay in bed, listening to the news, weather and traffic reports before we spring out of bed at 6.45am. DH goes into the shower and I head off to the kitchen ready to hit the switch for coffee and pour the cereal for the kids. I set the table the night before with bowls, cutlery, glasses etc. All I have to do is add the cereal and the milk as each child appears for breakfast.
The lunches I make fresh each morning. I like to make the sandwiches or roll fresh because I don't like the 'fridge' taste they get if I make them the night before. I do use muffins, patty cakes, etc from the freezer for treats. I also half fill the drink bottles as soon as the children come in from school and put them in the freezer. Then all I have to do in the morning is top them up. Fruit and snacks are put into insulated lunch sacks the night before, after dinner. So all I have to do is make the sandwiches, fill the drink bottles and put them in the lunch sacks. They are lined up with homework and library books, swimming gear etc. and each child is responsible for packing their own school bag. If anything is left behind, I don't take it to them at school. They have to face the music. This may seem harsh, and I know some of my friends think I am heartless and cruel, but I work and I don't have time or the money to waste on fuel running backwards and forwards to school.
When DH comes out of the bathroom, one of the kids goes in. They have 5 minutes to shower and dry themselves. While they are dressing another child has a shower. When they are dressed they are allowed to come and eat their breakfast.
While the little people are eating, I am putting on a load of washing and making beds. I know the boys could make their own beds, and they do during the holidays, but I truly can't stand a poorly made bed and so it is easier for me to do it.
I clean and tidy the kitchen and sweep the floor when the children pack their bags. By now it is 7.30am and everyone should be ready for school. I check hair, uniforms, nails and shoes and go and have my shower. I allow myself 20 minutes in the bathroom and everyone knows that unless the house is on fire, they do not interrupt me. It is my time and I use it to think and plan and, in a way, relax.
After I'm dressed I hang the washing on the line. Daughter usually helps sort the clothes and hand me the pegs. I always line dry, even in winter because I can't stand to use the dryer. Such an expensive way to dry clothes. I also hang the clothes in 'people', then in pants or dresses, shirts, jumpers, nightwear, singlets, underpants and socks. It may seem odd, but I can save time in the evening because they come off the line in 'people' and I just hand each pile to the appropriate 'people' to put away.
Last thing to do is take tonight's dinner out of the freezer. I try to have a cooking day once a fortnight and prepare at least 14 dinners to keep on hand. When I come home I usually only have to prepare some veggies or a salad and heat something delicious up and dinner is on the table.
It is now 8.15am and we are all ready to walk out the door and face the new day. And I can do so happily, because I know that I am coming home to a tidy home, with a wonderful dinner all ready to heat and eat and I can be proud of what I've accomplished in an hour and a half.
I wouldn't get so much done in that time if I didn't have a morning routine and stick to it as closely as I possibly can. Of course, there are always going to be mornings when it all comes undone, and I live with them. But they are few and far between, and having a routine helps to keep the thread that binds us together as a family from unraveling.
So, 17 years on, not much has changed.
These days the alarm still goes off at 6.30am, we still listen to the news, then get up and shower, dress and make our bed. Open the curtains, collect any laundry and our bedroom is done for the day.
We still get breakfast ready before we go to bed. The kettle is filled, the coffee machine is prepped, table set. We all get our own breakfast and put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
And I still make lunch for Wayne and myself. I still prefer freshly made sandwiches or rolls or wraps. It only takes a few minutes, and the kids either prep their lunches the night before or on the fly in the morning.
I fill the washing machine and add the powder the night before, just adding any extra laundry in the morning before turning it on. Still line dry, although in this house we have a combustion heater so in winter I use the clothes horses to dry the washing.
Dinner is still planned ahead, and if necessary, taken out of the freezer either the night before or in the morning, depending on how long it takes to thaw.
And I don't make beds - come on, they're adults now, they can make their own beds. And they mostly do - if I come across a closed door then I know they stayed in bed too long and didn't get it made.
Just recently, a friend showed me a copy of this article, that she'd printed from our first website (the original Cheapskates design - it was like looking back in time seeing the screen shot on paper), and she told me she still used the routine, although it has adapted over the years as her family dynamic changed.
Well I still stick to this routine too! I've been doing it so long that until Maureen mentioned it, I had forgotten that once I had to think about how our mornings run.
Nothing much has changed: mornings are still the busiest part of my day.
Here's the original article:
How is it in your house? Our house can be quite chaotic in the mornings. We are a family of five - working mum and dad, son 10, son 8 and daughter 5. As you can imagine the morning rush hour and half (because that's how long we take to get out of the house in the mornings) can sometimes be nerve wrecking to say the least!
I have found that in the mornings we need to stick to a strict routine or else the day is just ruined, for me at least. Our alarm goes off at 6.30am and we stay in bed, listening to the news, weather and traffic reports before we spring out of bed at 6.45am. DH goes into the shower and I head off to the kitchen ready to hit the switch for coffee and pour the cereal for the kids. I set the table the night before with bowls, cutlery, glasses etc. All I have to do is add the cereal and the milk as each child appears for breakfast.
The lunches I make fresh each morning. I like to make the sandwiches or roll fresh because I don't like the 'fridge' taste they get if I make them the night before. I do use muffins, patty cakes, etc from the freezer for treats. I also half fill the drink bottles as soon as the children come in from school and put them in the freezer. Then all I have to do in the morning is top them up. Fruit and snacks are put into insulated lunch sacks the night before, after dinner. So all I have to do is make the sandwiches, fill the drink bottles and put them in the lunch sacks. They are lined up with homework and library books, swimming gear etc. and each child is responsible for packing their own school bag. If anything is left behind, I don't take it to them at school. They have to face the music. This may seem harsh, and I know some of my friends think I am heartless and cruel, but I work and I don't have time or the money to waste on fuel running backwards and forwards to school.
When DH comes out of the bathroom, one of the kids goes in. They have 5 minutes to shower and dry themselves. While they are dressing another child has a shower. When they are dressed they are allowed to come and eat their breakfast.
While the little people are eating, I am putting on a load of washing and making beds. I know the boys could make their own beds, and they do during the holidays, but I truly can't stand a poorly made bed and so it is easier for me to do it.
I clean and tidy the kitchen and sweep the floor when the children pack their bags. By now it is 7.30am and everyone should be ready for school. I check hair, uniforms, nails and shoes and go and have my shower. I allow myself 20 minutes in the bathroom and everyone knows that unless the house is on fire, they do not interrupt me. It is my time and I use it to think and plan and, in a way, relax.
After I'm dressed I hang the washing on the line. Daughter usually helps sort the clothes and hand me the pegs. I always line dry, even in winter because I can't stand to use the dryer. Such an expensive way to dry clothes. I also hang the clothes in 'people', then in pants or dresses, shirts, jumpers, nightwear, singlets, underpants and socks. It may seem odd, but I can save time in the evening because they come off the line in 'people' and I just hand each pile to the appropriate 'people' to put away.
Last thing to do is take tonight's dinner out of the freezer. I try to have a cooking day once a fortnight and prepare at least 14 dinners to keep on hand. When I come home I usually only have to prepare some veggies or a salad and heat something delicious up and dinner is on the table.
It is now 8.15am and we are all ready to walk out the door and face the new day. And I can do so happily, because I know that I am coming home to a tidy home, with a wonderful dinner all ready to heat and eat and I can be proud of what I've accomplished in an hour and a half.
I wouldn't get so much done in that time if I didn't have a morning routine and stick to it as closely as I possibly can. Of course, there are always going to be mornings when it all comes undone, and I live with them. But they are few and far between, and having a routine helps to keep the thread that binds us together as a family from unraveling.
So, 17 years on, not much has changed.
These days the alarm still goes off at 6.30am, we still listen to the news, then get up and shower, dress and make our bed. Open the curtains, collect any laundry and our bedroom is done for the day.
We still get breakfast ready before we go to bed. The kettle is filled, the coffee machine is prepped, table set. We all get our own breakfast and put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
And I still make lunch for Wayne and myself. I still prefer freshly made sandwiches or rolls or wraps. It only takes a few minutes, and the kids either prep their lunches the night before or on the fly in the morning.
I fill the washing machine and add the powder the night before, just adding any extra laundry in the morning before turning it on. Still line dry, although in this house we have a combustion heater so in winter I use the clothes horses to dry the washing.
Dinner is still planned ahead, and if necessary, taken out of the freezer either the night before or in the morning, depending on how long it takes to thaw.
And I don't make beds - come on, they're adults now, they can make their own beds. And they mostly do - if I come across a closed door then I know they stayed in bed too long and didn't get it made.