Mornings could be a very hectic time in any household, especially if everyone is on a very tight schedule, and in a hurry to get ready as fast as possible, and to move on.

It is even worse if you are not a morning person, and you have to drag yourself out of bed, even after the alarm goes off, and the snooze button is hit few more times (this is not a good idea).

Here are some of my suggestions to make the best of your busy morning, but it requires good planning the night before:

• Prepare a list of things to do in the morning, and follow it for a while until the routine is somewhat mastered by everyone  (This will work for  any household; singles,  married, families, or even retired couples)

• Keep the list  posted on the fridge, or any area in the house, where it can easily be viewed by everyone

• Delegating daily tasks, and engaging the whole family, is  another great idea to get tasks accomplished as a team

• Get as much accomplished as possible the night before (well began, half done…there is a lot of truth to that expression)

• Empty your dishwasher

• Fill it up with dirty dishes sitting around (much more pleasant to be greeted in the morning by an organized kitchen)

• Prepare the next day’s lunch bags, by at least putting in the drinks, snacks, and napkins

• You can even make the PBJ sandwiches, but spread both pieces of bread with PB then put the jelly in between the two, to prevent the bread from getting soggy

• Making a meat sandwich, place the meat on each piece of bread, then put the mayo or mustard between the meat, also to prevent the bread from getting soggy

• Check the weather forecast for the next day, and make sure everyone lays out their clothes out before going to bed  (this really cuts down on the morning confusion, not to mention the numerous outfits ending up on the floor)

• If you are sending off a child to daycare, pack their diaper bag and fill their bottle (store the drink it in the fridge of course),  and leave a reminder on your diaper bag to take the bottle

• Supervise your school age children to pack their school bags, special projects, instruments, sports equipment, before going to bed

• Replenish the water for your pet

• Schedule your children bedtime at least an hour or more before your own, to free up some time for yourself

• Insist that everyone places their dirty clothing in the laundry basket, not on the floor, after changing into their pajamas

• Everyone should have their own alarm clock set up with a wake up time. Best way is to get up as soon as the alarm goes off, rather than dragging it out and hitting the snooze button, as this may cause you to fall asleep again (you should try to get at least 6-7 hours of sleep, and 8 – 12 hours for children)

• Wake up time should be moved up, for days with inclement weather, which required earlier departure time, to allow for slower driving and traffic

• Don’t skip breakfast! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, as it provides your body with needed nutrition to start the day, even if it is only a piece of fruit and a glass of juice, it is better than not eating at all

Also, just like breakfast gives you the energy to start your day, organized morning contributes to an overall better day.  Speaking of a better day, check out these suggestions on how to free up some of your time during the day.

I know, this looks like a lot to accomplish the night before, but these tasks require only few minutes each to complete.  But the key factor is the planning, organizing, and  delegating, which requires to select one person to be in charge of this.   You will be surprised how smoothly this whole process will proceed, and I assure you that there still will be free time for family fun, and less grumpiness in the morning.

I can speak from my own experience, as a morning person, if I don’t complete most of my unfinished tasks the night before, and especially select my next day attire, my morning is very unproductive, time flies by, and I end up leaving the house with breakfast on the go in one hand, and the car keys in the other, and no prepacked lunch.  Not to mention the mess I made of my closet, before I decided on the outfit for the day.

I am sure that many of you have lots of wonderful ideas of your own, and we all would love to hear about them, so please share and leave comments.