2. Begin Dinner Prep: Getting a jump start on preparing for dinner makes dinner time so much more manageable when 5'oclock rolls around. I choose at least one thing that can be done from my dinner to-do's. If dry beans are on the menu, I let them soak overnight. This way all I do is drain off the water and pop them in the crock pot in the morning. I also defrost meat in the freezer overnight and season it in the morning. Making a habit of doing at least one thing in advance makes life easier at dinnertime.
3. Quiet Time to Plan your Day: Planning my day give me direction and a measurable set of goals. Having a plan allows me to manage my home and care for it effectively. I use this time to schedule not only my responsibilities, but to also organize skill building chores for my children.
4. Get Started on Home Keeping Tasks: I like to begin homemaking tasks early in the day, rather than cleaning in the evening when I could be resting and relaxing with my family. My husband once told me that as a stay at home wife, I was my own boss. He also said that if I am still working in the evening when the rest of the family is relaxing then I need to fire myself. Planning my day, getting started early and setting a quitting time helps me to keep a cheerful disposition.
5. Make Breakfast for my Family: When my children were younger I made their entire breakfast for them daily. Now that they are getting older, they each take part in preparing our breakfast meals. I am training them to manage the kitchen by guiding them and and instructing them on how to work together. Our children will remember the things that we do for them and with them. Meal preparation is a very important bonding time for our family.
6. Personal Grooming Time for Myself: This is one of the tasks that is beneficial to myself and my husband. Taking the time to get dressed, style my hair and put on makeup really makes my husband feel special. When I initially made a commitment to get dressed each day-- as if I were going to be leaving the house, my family would look at me strangely. They'd ask "Mommy are you going somewhere?".
They had gotten so accustomed to me wearing PJ's or sweatpants and uncombed hair that they were puzzled by the change. After some time, not only did they respond well to this change in my morning routine, but I began to feel better about myself. I would smile throughout the day when I would catch glimpses of myself in the mirror throughout the house.
These are just a few beneficial reasons for getting up a little earlier than the rest of the family.
Do you have a morning routine and what time does your day start? I'd love to hear what works at your house.
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I get up anytime between 4 & 5 a.m. I do my grooming and feed my pets, clean the litter boxes and start commenting on blogs all before breakfast which is at 5:30 a.m. On Friday's I'll throw in a load of wash. I'll read the newspaper while I eat and the pet my cats and dog and do more blog reading and commenting. I give my dog her Kong with broken up treats inside on my out the door to work at 7 a.m.
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