I find it really hard to prepare for the next day the night before. That time after the boys go to bed is my time, and honestly, the last thing I want to do is organize backpacks or lay out outfits when I just want to collapse into bed.
Instead, I focus on making our mornings predictable.
I give us about an hour to get ready and out the door. It took a couple of months to figure it out (and plenty of chaotic mornings), but now we have a routine that works really well for us.
One thing that helps is letting my boys wake up naturally — within reason. I don’t use alarm clocks or set their Hatch to a specific wake-up time. They wake up when they’re ready, and we start our day from there.
The real trick is setting up the morning in simple, repeatable steps. And the best part? It doesn’t require a lot of prep the night before.
They know exactly what to expect every morning.
Our simple morning routine looks like this:
- Cuddle with mom
- Breakfast at the table
- Get dressed
- Brush teeth
- Shoes and out the door
My job is pretty simple — lay out their clothes and make sure breakfast is easy (most mornings, that means microwaving pancakes).
Do I still have to remind them to move to the next task? Absolutely. But that’s nothing compared to trying to drag them through a routine they don’t understand. Once they know the flow, things run much smoother.
The biggest help, honestly, is giving yourself just enough time so you don’t feel rushed. When mornings feel calm, everyone starts the day in a better mood — including you.