Welcome back to my series, 31 Days Of Purpose!  If you are just joining in, you can find all of previous challenges here!

Are your mornings stressful, rushing around trying to find a pair of shoes, lost homework, or trying to figure out what to wear?  If so, a few simple changes in your evening habits could set you up for a less stressful morning!

I can honestly say that when I do each of these habits in the evening, our mornings are calm, I yell less, and I don’t have the mom guilt of sending a kid to school that has been scolded when the problem was easily avoidable in the first place!

Here are my 7 simple evening habits to set up successful mornings:

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1. Load the dishwasher.  By washing your dishes after your evening meal, you will wake up to a dishwasher full of clean dishes.  If you put them away as one of the first things on your morning routine, the kids can put all of their breakfast dishes into the dishwasher and your kitchen will stay clean!
2. Clean up the kitchen and wipe down the counters. Waking up to a clean kitchen is a beautiful thing.  I don’t know about you but when my kitchen is a disaster, it seems like my entire house is a disaster.  When I wake up to a clean kitchen, I have more time to do other tasks that are on my list.
3. Do a 10 minute bedtime pick-up.  I think this is one of the most important evening routines for my family.  It’s amazing what 5 kids and a mom (and sometimes dad when he’s home) can do in 10 minutes!  In our house that’s equal to 1 hour of cleaning!  Before I set the timer, I make sure everyone is clear on their specific jobs.  Here’s an example of one 10-minute bedtime pick-up:
   • Maddie will put away a pile of clothes that have been folded.
   • Blake will vacuüm the living room and kitchen.
   • Nora wipes down the sink in the bathroom and cleans up anything on the floor.
   • David helps Maddie take a load of clothes upstairs to put away.
   • Ari cleans up the Legos on the floor.
   • I will do random jobs and keep an eye on everyone to make sure they don’t need help.
4. Check your calendar.  This is a life saver because it reminds me who has P.E. the next day, who might have a field trip that we need to pack snacks, and all the other errands and activities we have planned for the following day. This keeps me organized and not rushing the following day looking for items for show and tell, library books, or things they need for a school project.
5. Write out your to-do list for the next day.  This is optional for those of you who prefer to do this in the morning but if you are like me, I have a morning routine of getting the kids ready for school, exercising, and then really starting my day so by the time I get to my to-do list it’s usually around 8:30.  I’d rather use my morning time to get tasks done than make a list since that’s my most productive time of day.  Here are a few things I include in my to-do list:
   • What is your frog?  Brian Tracy’s book Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time talks about tackling your biggest task that will lend the greatest results first thing in the morning.  I like this concept because after I get that big thing done, I feel like I accomplished something!  This concept works well for me because I am most productive in the morning.  If you are more productive in the afternoon or evening, it’s still important to know what your frog is to put on your to-do list but feel free to wait until you are most productive to do your best work!
   • What is on my meal plan for dinner (if I need to pick up any food or get anything out of the freezer).
   • One fun thing that is just for me.  It’s way to easy to overlook ourselves (have you tried my free monthly self-care calendar?)
6. Lay out your clothes and pack your bags for the next day.  I love this habit because it has made our mornings not nearly as hectic as they used to be!  The kids lay out their clothes (including shoes and socks), make sure they have everything in their backpacks (library books, homework, show and tell, etc.), and in the morning all they need to do is change their clothes, eat breakfast, brush their teeth and hair, and they are ready for school.
7. Charge your electronics every night.  Whether it’s your laptop or cell phone, we use electronics every day.  It’s important to keep them charged so they are ready to be used!

What do you do to make your mornings less stressful? 

Have you enjoyed what you read here today?  Do you have friends or other women you know that could benefit from this resource?  If so, please do me a favor!  I have included the links below to share with other intentional women!  They’ll be glad you did!