After getting the little ones to bed each night, you are probably just about ready to turn in yourself. It can be hard to motivate yourself to do anything more than scroll through your phone while brushing your teeth! Although this may be your own night-time ritual, spending a little bit of time away from the screen to get a few things done might make your tomorrow go a whole lot smoother.

A good morning routine starts with a little bit of preparation the night before, so here are our ideas for some little habits and rituals that might make life easier in the morning for families, and can be done before anyone hits the hay.

Pack lunch for the next day

You’ve probably learned the hard way that packing lunches in the morning may make you late for work, school, or kindy. Leftovers from dinner packed in a contained whilst dinner is being served makes it nice and easy to grab in the morning, alongside some fruit and snacks. Or, get your child involved in lunch preparation! By letting them choose what fruits, veggies, and snacks they will have for lunch means they will more likely eat what’s in their lunchbox.

Tidy up

There’s nothing like a tidy kitchen bench to wake up to in the morning! Cleaning up the kitchen after you finish eating closes out the last meal of the night and ensures you have clean surfaces to wake up to in the morning. Run the dishwasher before you go to bed so you can wake up to a full set of dishware in the morning – no one wants to wake up to dirty dishes in the sink.

Besides the kitchen, give yourself some time to tidy-up the house before going to bed. This will make your home feel nice and fresh in the morning and everything will be much easier to find as it will be where it is supposed to be! If you’re struggling to feel motivated to tidy-up, set a timer for 15 minutes and see how much you can tidy before turning in. Include the whole family by making it a competition to see who can do the most in the time allotted. You’ll be surprised just how much you get done!

Prepare Breakfast

Some people might even like to prepare breakfast the night before, like soaking overnight oats or making hard-boiled eggs. Prepping breakfast muffins or mini quiches on a Sunday afternoon are great options for a ‘grab and go’ breakfast come Monday morning.

One of our favourites from the Little Scholars Summer menu is our Breakfast Cookies which are super simple to make and a delicious, easy breakfast for the morning.

Set out clothes the night before

A great habit to get into is choosing everyone’s outfits the night before. Have your child choose what they want to wear the next day, including socks and shoes. This saves the out-the-door battles you may face with your little ones, who are never prompt when you need them to be! Set out what you’re wearing the next day as well, and that includes getting any ironing that you need done in the evening, or when putting laundry away. This is much better than running around the house in the morning looking for your favourite shirt or work uniform! Gather any sports uniforms, workout clothes, or a spare outfit for your little one and put them in a bag next to the front door.

Wind down

After getting ready for the next day, it’s important to remember the one thing that will make tomorrow go smoothly and that is getting a good night’s sleep. Set yourself a little bit of time to wind down before going to sleep. This can be whatever relaxes you, watching TV, showering (which can also save time in the morning) or reading. Try to avoid scrolling through your Instagram feed or checking your work emails. You deserve the rest!