The 5 Most Important Things I Do In The Morning

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*Note- These are not in order of importance but in the order I complete these things each morning.

1. Get dressed to shoes.

Several years ago I discovered Flylady.  If you are struggling with setting up cleaning routines and are a fairly detailed person, this program is great!  I thought one of the biggest advantages of Flylady is that it is very encouraging.  I learned so much about developing routines and being kind to myself when I get off track (which is often).  One of the themes of Flylady is to get dressed to shoes. It is easier to face the day, wake up, and get something accomplished when I have my shoes on.  I know some women feel they need to have their hair and face done (and if you are one of them, by all means do it), but for me just being dressed really gets the day going in a positive direction.

2. Unload The Dishwasher

This is relatively easy at my house because by the time all of the kids are sitting down for breakfast, the dishwasher is already half unloaded!  I work on unloading the rest as they eat breakfast and we are able to have some fun morning conversations.  It also makes it easy to clear off the table after they are finished, having an empty dishwasher to reload into. The reason this is so important to me is because before 8 A.M. I have a clean kitchen again.  In the past when I haven’t done this, I have noticed while preparing lunch that there are still breakfast dishes on the counter.  In our farmhouse, the kitchen is the room visitors first walk into, and I hate when there are dishes or a dirty table when the door is opened!

3. Kiss The My Kids Before The Bus Comes And They’re Off To School.

My kids get on the bus in between 7:15-7:20 A.M.  I want them to have a wonderful day at school and miss them like crazy while they are gone.  When we see the bus head to the neighbors, they line up for their kisses and they know that they are going to hear, “Have a purple day!” (The twins’ Kindergarten teacher has a behavior chart where purple is the best behavior at the top of the chart). When the kids go off to school with a happy heart, I start my day in a much more positive way as well.

4. Start A Load Of Laundry

Laundry at my house became much less of a chore earlier this year when my husband surprised me with the LG Mega Capacity Washer & Dryer.  With a family of 7, this has really lessened the time I spend in our small laundry closet.  Our 2 year old is obsessed with changing her clothes at least five times a day and somehow most of those clothes end up in the hamper.  Yes, I’m still processing the amount of laundry I was before, but it has significantly cut down on the amounts of loads I do each week.  Each day, my laundry routine in the morning and evening is:

• take the dried clothes out of the dryer
• move what was in the washer to the dryer
• throw a new load in the washer
• fold the clothes that were previously dried
• put them away.

5. Get Something Out For Lunch And Supper.

This is one of my most important tasks of the day. Part of being an intentional mother and wife is intentionally planning to make healthy meals for my family to enjoy together. I know if I don’t do this, the chances of us eating take out or fast food increase substantially.  Many times if I have to brown ground beef for lunch, I will also brown the ground beef to use at supper that evening.  It saves on time, money, and my sanity!

Do you have a morning routine?  What have you found to be the key to make your mornings successful?