Mondays with Martha

This morning's Martha tip is a real time-saver.

Save Time in the Morning

Wardrobe Shortcut

If you store jackets and dresses in garment bags, this trick will save you valuable minutes in the morning.

Digital pictures, tucked into card-stock tags with windows, identify the contents inside each garment bag. Breathable and inexpensive, the canvas bags can be dressed up with colorful bias tape, applied with an iron and fusible webbing.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Time-Saving Tips - Martha Stewart

So, after you spend a full day decorating your garment bags and making cute little tags, then this will save you maybe 30 seconds. And how many of us actually store clothes we wear regularly in garment bags? But if this little project floats your boat, have at it!

 

I've been a little unmotivated on housework since our trip to Florida last week. But I do want to keep my three or four readers happy, so let me share my morning time-savers. These are not the least bit clever, but maybe they'll trigger something for you that you've fallen out of the habit of doing.

 

1) Have the kids (and maybe yourself) lay out their clothes for the next day when they go to bed. This makes the most difference in our morning.

 

2) Make sure backpacks are hung by the door and all homework, library books, etc. are in the backpacks before the kids go to bed. I hate hunting for these things or finding them an hour after the kids have left for school. And I really, really hate discovering in the last five minutes before they leave that one homework item isn't done. While you're at it, make sure the diaper bag and anything you need for your work or errands the next day are by the door or in the car.

3) Make sure the kids' rooms are relatively tidy before they go to bed. I hate waking up to a messy room (so maybe they do too), and it slows them down in the morning. To make this more palatable, I often read to them while they are cleaning. If they slow down on the cleaning, I stop reading.

 

4) Get up before the kids. I try to have my shower out of the way before I wake them up. That way I can hover around while they are getting dressed, making their lunches, etc. If I am hopping in the shower when they are supposed to be getting dressed, they usually still aren't dressed when I get out of the shower. Plus, you'll be less stressed in the morning if you're mostly dressed before the morning really starts.

5) Have the kids make their own lunches. Yes, it takes them longer than it would take you. But you are teaching them responsibility, they can't complain about what is in their lunch if they made it themselves, and it enables you to be a helper rather than being stressed by hurrying to make lunches while you are emptying the dishwasher, getting ready to leave yourself, dressing the baby, or whatever. I have tried having them make their lunches the night before, but that doesn't work for us.

 

One tip I've read about but haven't tried: make sandwiches (pb&j or lunch meat without toppings) and freeze them. Apparently this works and they are thawed by the time the kids eat them. I think this is a little gross-sounding, but lots of people swear by it.

6) If I want to be really on top of things, I plan breakfast and set up the coffee the night before. In the winter I often make overnight oatmeal: Boil 4 cups of water, add 1 cup of steel cut oats and simmer 1 minute. Cover and leave on the stove overnight. Reheat in the morning, adding a little water if needed.

Okay, I've given the basics. Does anyone have a more clever tip for helping things run more smoothly in the morning?