Morning routine craziness…

The level of craziness at our house in the morning varies on how many times I’ve pressed the snooze button. The boys are used to getting up early from a young age but now I start work a tad later, their little bodies are learning to sleep a bit longer… sometimes to the point I’m opening up blinds and turning on my hairdryer making sure the bathroom door is open.

I’ve blogged about my colour coded family before but there’s more than just colour coding that helps me keep organised… some of the time.

At the beginning of this year I thought I’d try something new and made a morning routine list for the boys (‘cause I love a good list). I thought a routine of jobs they needed to do before we flew out the door might help me out, especially now the youngest was starting school. Now he couldn’t read when he started school but the list has pictures he understands.

I googled many a kids routine (there’s great ones on Pintrest), found the ones I loved and put those bits together and made my own. It was time consuming but I enjoy that sort of thing so it wasn’t a chore. The routine style I mainly based mine on I found later had been based on one that is available for purchase which is why I haven’t included a picture (not sure of legalities). Some of my inspiration came from printables like these ones:

I Heart Organizing – routine (you need to do a bit of scrolling)
Laura’s Crafty Life – routine
The Happiest Home – how to create your own routine chart

The morning routine list was working so well for my oldest son, he asked if I could make one for the afternoon. What was I going to say? I don’t think I would ever say no to creating a list!

So there we go – a morning routine, an afternoon routine and while I was creating the newest edition, why not try an after dinner routine? I was pleased with the way they turned out so I popped them into some pretty frames and up they went. Even though I have boys, they still need to be exposed to pretties…

These routines have not only helped me out but also benefitted both boys as their jobs get done most days. This then helps their hip pocket when it’s pocket money day. Yes, I provide pocket money when they do their jobs, I know everyone has differing views on this. You can see their sense of achievement at the end of the week. I love it in the morning when they realise they’ve done everything and they have guilt free “free time” which almost always includes a ball of some description, usually a football.

I do have my own organisation board in the kitchen for meal planning. It’s a whiteboard with a funky frame I picked up cheap as chips from the Reject Shop and is updated each week (in an ideal world). I plan the week out which makes it easier to do the shopping and also to pull something out of the freezer as I fly out the door in the morning (or forget, as I did this morning…). Everyone gets to contribute to meal ideas for the week so hopefully one person will be happy with the meal. I also try and bake a cake or biscuits or some other snack if time allows. Some great free printables I’ve used before or found recently are here:

Planning with kids – Meal planning
Sheridan Anne – Meal planning bundle
Juggling Act Mama – Menu planning bundle
Fab n Free – a whole bunch of meal planners in the one spot

I’m not saying the system is fool proof by any means or the be all and end all of organising mayhem, but it’s a system which is there so on crazy head days, I don’t have to think too much. There are weeks when I don’t have time to plan meals for the week and I do a random shop and that’s just how that week goes. Not as smooth as I would like, but we eat and some stuff gets done.

But when the flow is on the run, the shopping gets done, the meals are planned, uniforms and work clothes are washed… well I’m half way there. Not so many things I need to think about. I then just wish for a cleaning fairy…

Bling and Butterflies xo