5 Morning Routine Ideas to Get Kids (And Parents!) Out the Door Faster
Sep 07, 2023Get ready for school and work faster with easy morning routine ideas for the whole family
If back-to-school season is causing more rush than routine around your house, you’re not alone. But with a little bit of prep and organization, you can transform mornings from a frantic frenzy to smooth sailing. These five morning routine ideas can be adapted for kids at any age – and work great for grown-ups too!
BED & BATHROOM MORNING ROUTINE IDEAS
1. Get Ready Bin Basics. Speed up everyone’s bathroom time by giving each family member a fun bin or basket to fill with their essentials. Start with a toothbrush and toothpaste, hairbrush, and deodorant, then customize from there.
Facewashes, moisturizers, razors and shaving cream, makeup, and hair styling products can all be corralled neatly. Make sure everyone puts each item back in their bin so it’ll be right there waiting for them the next day. Looking for extra credit? Store each bin under the bathroom sink or in a linen closet to keep items from cluttering the vanity top.
RELATED: Great Ideas for Update Teen & Family Bathrooms
2. Weekend Wardrobe Wonders. Once teeth are brushed, it’s time to get dressed. Help school work workday mornings run smoother by planning outfits in advance. A hanging storage cubby is a great for separating outfits by day of the week. Don’t have enough pairs of jeans or leggings to make it through the whole week? No sweat! When clothes are clean enough to re-wear, simply fold them up and place them in the right compartment to wear another day.
Young kids also respond well to sorting clothes in rainbow order. Try hanging clothes this way (instead of tricky folding) to making picking out – and putting away – outfits easier.
Kitchen Morning Routine Ideas
3. From Junk Drawer to Lunch Drawer. Instead of digging through disorder, conquor the notorious kitchen junk drawer to make mornings easier. Keep school lunch calendars, labels, sticky notes, and pens handy for those last-minute permission slips and out-the-door reminders. If your drawer is deep enough, use it to store lunch boxes and water bottles all in one place.
RELATED: 4 Ways Natural Lighting Benefits Your Kids – and Their Report Cards
4. Take Charge of Charging. The kitchen is also a perfect place to set up a centralized charging station for the whole family. With one spot to keep phones, tablets, and laptops, it’s easy to have everyone plug in their devices before bed, and grab them – fully charged – on their way out the door in the morning. No more searching for charging cables or desperately plugging in devices moments before the bus arrives – plus you get the added benefit of knowing the kids aren’t on their phones into the wee hours overnight.
5. Shoe Basket Bingo. What’s worse than an uncharged iPad in the morning? A lost shoe. Whether it’s under the couch, lost in a closet, or somehow got left outside…overnight…in the rain (we speak from experience), missing shoes are the fastest way to ruin a good morning routine. Prevent this by keeping a big basket by the doors in your home that get the most use.
When kids (and grown-ups!) come home for the day, they can kick off their shoes right into the basket. When it’s time to head out again in the morning, voilà! The shoes are right where they’re supposed to be. No more last-minute shoe hunts making you late for the bus.
People Also Ask: Functional Family Homes
Whether it’s siblings fighting over shower time, or simply too many people needing to use a small space, shared bathrooms can be challenging. To help improve how your family’s shared bathroom functions, make sure it has these four features:
- A tub-shower combo to accommodate all family members’ needs
- Easy-clean acrylic surfaces that won’t degrade over time
- Plenty of storage inside the bathing space
- Additional storage-focused accessories throughout the bathroom
READ MORE: Updated Bathroom Ideas for Teens & Family Bathrooms
Keeping your family running on schedule in the mornings often comes down to having enough space to store and organize everything you need. If your kitchen is cramped or cluttered, you may be able to add a kitchen island for more functionality.
Kitchens require a minimum of 36 inches between the perimeter cabinets and an island, so ensuring your kitchen is big enough to accommodate an island is the most important step.
From there, work with your installer to determine if your island must have seating, and the type of storage you’ll want to incorporate (open cabinets or drawers). Use our Kitchen Island resource guide to walk through these and other considerations step by step.
READ MORE: Kitchen Island Resource Guide
Yes! Even before e-school and hybrid learning gained popularity, researchers found that access to natural light improved kids’ educational performance. Study and homework spaces with more natural lighting:
- Help kids stay more focused and engaged.
- Contribute to improved test scores.
- Improve mood and reduces school absences.
- Regulate sleep-wake cycles for more alertness during the day and better sleep at night.
Make the most of your smaller bathroom space with smart storage and visual tricks to help the room feel bigger.
- Light finishes, mirrors, and glass help create visually open spaces.
- In-shower storage keep necessary items handy without cluttering the shower.
- Vanities with cabinets and drawers keep items organized without creating convenient catch-all spaces.
READ MORE: 7 Big Ideas for Remodeling Small Bathrooms
Get Ready for School & Work Easier (& FASTER!) Every Day
These are just a few of the g. Visit our Facebook or Instagram pages to let us know which one you find most useful, or share others we’ve missed!
And if you find your home needs more than a get ready bin or a charging station to help your family’s morning routine work better, give Improveit a call. Our team is ready to help update your bathroom for better organization or improved use of space. Looking for help in the kitchen? Get the added storage you’re looking for with a new kitchen island, plus a beautifully updated look for all your cabinets – including all the cabinet accessories you need.
Click here, use the form below, or call 855-637-2999 to get started!
