Crazy Mornings

Around here our mornings are CRAZY! I am a natural night owl, I don’t fall asleep easily, and end up staying up till at least midnight most nights. Monkey follows in my footsteps and is impossible to get to bed at night, and almost near impossible to wake up in the morning. Alligator is pretty good at going to sleep and is usually awake around 7, assuming he isn’t sick or didn’t have a bad night (meaning he wasn’t up for 2-3 hours in the middle of the night).

So our mornings are hectic. We are all running around crazy, trying to find things; mittens, hats, coats, shoes, socks, sippy-cups….

So I created our Morning Bins. Each child has their own. These are plastic bins that are see-through. Monkey and Alligator each got to decorate their own with stickers. Then every night before bed, I place all the things they will need the next morning in them.

Monkey’s bin contains:

Clothes, underwear, socks, shoes, hat, mittens, coat, and a loaded book bag.

Alligator’s bin contains:

Clothes, diaper, wipes, socks, shoes, hat, mittens, coat and a clean sippy cup.

I can’t tell you what a difference this has made in our mornings. After breakfast, when it is time to get ready for school I grab the bins, and get one child ready at a time. I don’t have to be running around asking where things are…I just get them dressed. In fact, it has even helped Monkey do some of his own preparation in the morning.

I was not born-organized. So I need these little systems to get me going in the morning. I have also added two other bins to our lives the shoe bin, and the hat/mitten bin. When we come in from outside shoes and hats and mittens go in the bins. Then I am not looking for them all over the house.

Don’t you just love ORGANIZATION!