This post is part of the HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® 2014 program by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. and The Motherhood, who sent me a box of products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are all my own, and I hope you enjoy them.
I’ve written about my oldest starting kindergarten this year over and over and OVER again (I had a lot to process, y’all!). But I’ve been much more quiet about my little Layah starting school. Her adventure started just yesterday, and I sat in her classroom to help her feel more comfortable with the transition (school rules, not me trying to be a helicopter mom!).
I’m so glad I was on hand to observe her first day, because my suspicions about how Layah would handle going to school were spot-on. Every single time her teacher introduced her to a new lesson, she SQUEALED with delight! This kid is ready for a few hours of Montessori education, and some fun with new friends, too. I teared up a bit while watching her, but those were happy tears because I knew she was so ready.
But as it turns out, our morning routine is about to get even trickier as we have to get both girls packed up and ready to go (and I just learned that Layah will be eating lunch at school before heading home at noon…gotta go get another lunch box!). I’ve been doing some experimenting with our evening and morning routines to figure out what simple changes make the biggest impact on our routine. As much as I’d love to make 15 changes that all promote efficiency, that isn’t going to happen. But here are 3 that are sticking for us:
1. Laying Out Clothes the Night Before
There are 4 people in this house who need to be dressed and ready for the day by 7:45 am. Two of those people need some form of assistance getting ready (our 5-year-old can’t reach some of her clothes in her closet, and our 2 year old, when left to dress herself, puts on an owl costume, so there’s that…). Now that I know this routine is going to stick, I’m going to get some extra hooks for the girls’ rooms so that their clothing options don’t go on the floor. You may be able to get away with laying out just one outfit for your kiddos, but my girls MUST have choices. 🙂
2. Cleaning the Kitchen Before Bed
This is really a huge gift to myself, even though I grumble about it after dinner while cleaning up. I get up REALLY early and do my early morning work at our kitchen table, which boasts a million dollar view of our kitchen. It is very deflating to start my day off by staring at a pile of dishes and junked up kitchen counters. I’m left feeling guilty that they are dirty, and conflicted about whether I should spend my precious morning time doing my job (the blog) or doing housework. A dirty kitchen also makes breakfast prep and lunch box prep more difficult. Starting the day with a clean kitchen has been truly wonderful, friends. And I aim for about 90% clean…if I insisted that it be perfect, I’d just give up!
3. Washing My Face with Something Invigorating
Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit helps get me going in the morning in a major way. I skip right over waiting for the water in the faucet to warm up and go for a cold wash. The scent and the little scrubbies in this cleaner leave me feeling so fresh and so clean, clean! Whatever you choose for your morning face care routine, know that there are some wonderful products out there to meet specific needs, whether it is spot treatment, wake me up, or make me glow (or all of the above!). Healthy Essentials can make for easier morning routines, and right now you’ll find more than $40 in savings on Neutrogena products, as well as a whole host of other items. So go get something to help you wake up a little easier in the morning, and save some $$ in the process!
I’d love to hear about routines you have in place (evening or morning!) that help your family get out the door faster and with less stress!