5 Ways to Win Back Time in the Morning

Good Morning.

The very phrase conjures up a wide variety of images that range from sipping a lovely cup of tea while reading the paper to walking the dog or feeding the cat and of course, to getting the kids ready for school, juggling lunch boxes and morning cereal selection all to the endless litany of “I don’t want to wear thaaaaat.” And yes even if you don’t have kids, the morning routine can be fraught with tension and stress…or not!

Starting the morning in a harried manner, rushing around in a disorganized state, well, that’s no way to greet the day, and while not all of us are in a position to loll about, read the paper and do the crossword, all of us can certainly get a better grip on our morning schedules with a few home organizing ideas. Here’s how from the professional organizer in NYC:

• Organize your “stuff” the night before. Lay out your clothes and accessories so you don’t spend precious time in the morning hunting around in your closet or drawers. You can change it up in the morning if the weather turns out differently than was forecast, but for the most part you’ll be pretty close on how to dress for the day. And decision-making is often easier in the evening too!
• If you have children the same applies. Take out their clothes the night before and allow them to participate in selecting their clothes so that they don’t have an emotional melt down in the morning. Ask them to organize their backpack and place their homework within the bag. The biggest nightmare of all is trying to find last night’s homework when there is a screeching child in the wings.
• Here’s one of our top home organizing ideas: Tidy up your papers and folders and get your tote bag ready for the day ahead. Rushing around in the morning trying desperately to find a missing file folder is a nightmare. Pack up your work you brought home the night before and you’ll be all ready to go in the morning.
• Place your car keys in a designated spot near the front door. Be sure you have your Metrocard, change for the bus or any other commutation “requirement” their assigned spot in your handbag. Once again hunting for these things in the morning is a disaster.
• Prepare the lunches for the next day. Make the sandwiches, gather dessert, drinks and snacks and do any other prep work so that all that needs to be done in the morning is bagging each lunch.

Apply these tips and you can leave ten minutes earlier than you must. It’s an absolute glorious feeling to be early to work or school and to arrive in good spirits and not out of breath. The professional organizer in NYC is recommending you make it a commitment to take back the time and understand that it will help you to have a much better day if you start the morning with serenity and organization.