Makeover Your Mornings: A Simple Routine to Get More Done In Less Time

Need a better Stay at Home Mom morning routine to transform your days and be a happy Mom again who isn’t buried under a pile of laundry  Use this simple Stay at Home Mom Routine for more happiness, time with your kids and less chaos! 

Makeover Your Mornings with a Better Routine (And be a happier Mom in the process)

The other morning while I was siting in the kitchen waiting for my coffee to brew, I caught myself looking around.  The house was picked up. There were no dishes piled high in the sink. The floor was free of toys and kid’s shoes. My dogs were spread out on the floor panting from their morning walk and a load of clothes was humming along in the dryer.

Was this a another person’s tidy house? 

No.

Did I suddenly have maid service at my house I had forgotten about? 

Nope.

The truth is, this is what it’s like most mornings in my house. Once I’ve finished my daily morning routine, I’m able to sit down and have a cup of hot coffee by myself before my kids are even awake.  And it’s glorious!

My morning routine is simple, yet it’s transformed my stress levels, keeps our house running like a well-oiled machine and sets me up to be a happier mom most days when I start it off right.

And to think, my morning routine started years ago by making my bed as soon as I climbed out of it.

BUT….If your house needs an organization makeover before you makeover your morning routine, my friend Hilary has an insanely helpful class called The Organized Home which will take you room by room with practical organization steps, and the best part? Less cleaning and clutter in the long run!

 

Transformation Starts with Your Morning Routine 

Last year, I decided to stop being a night owl and staying up wayyyyy too late after the kids had gone to bed to try to squeeze in time for myself.

I was exhausted every morning from staying up so late to get kid-free time and then would be dragging all the next day.

Honestly, I wasn’t productive or getting anything done other than crashing on my couch after tucking them in.

My laundry would sit in the dryer for days until one of the kids ran out of socks or pants first, and I woke up with a sink full of dirty dishes.

It felt like I was getting further and further behind.

Something had to change.

And that’s when my friend couldn’t stop talking about this course called Makeover Your Mornings and swore it changed her life.

I was skeptical.

But I took a leap of faith and signed up because I desperately needed things had to change.

I will tell you, waking up at 5:30am, something I hadn’t done since my college swimming days a lifetime ago, was not easy.

Not easy at all, but I kept setting my alarm and kept dragging myself out of bed.

Slowly, things got better and waking up was easier.

And then, I started noticing something incredible happening.

I was happier, was sleeping better, had more energy during the day and people could come over unannounced and I wouldn’t be embarrassed about the state of my house.

I also had more time to spend with my kids and not trying to tacking my to do list.

This is why Mom’s Morning Routine Matters…

My days used to be a lot more chaotic and far less productive before I took the Makeover Your Mornings mini course by author, Crystal Paine.

When I got up in the morning, there were dishes still piled high in the sink, a load of laundry (or four) needing to be done and messes everywhere.

No matter what I did, I could never get on top of the mess.

It felt hopeless.

But my friend was right, this little course has changed everything!

It’s made my life – and my family’s life – so much better.

Crystal’s 14-day mini course helps you wake up and tackle the important stuff that will set up your day for productivity, more peaceful relations with your kids and spouse, and overall happiness.

I like to think I can tackle problems on my own, but I knew to create a better morning routine, I needed help and accountability.

 

Find a Plan and Stick With it to Have a Better Morning Routine

Sure, homemaking tasks seem simple and they aren’t rocket science, but unless I had a plan, I knew I would have trouble making a long-term improvement.

This is why the inspiration for my own Stay at Home Mom morning routine comes from one of my favorite bloggers, Crystal Paine who wrote the book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode.(and of course, then created an amazing online course based on the book.)

Once I read her book, I jumped on the bandwagon and signed up for her 14-Day Make Over Your Mornings online course and it’s made the difference between struggling at homemaking and mastering my mornings.

Here’s my run-down about the Make Over Your Morning Course if you’re interested in more information:

• This 14-day course is designed to help you revolutionize your productivity, streamline your routines, invest your time in things that truly matter, and find more joy and peace in the process.
• 14 high-quality videos with motivational encouragement from Crystal herself.
• A behind-the-scenes peek into Crystal’s everyday home and lives via short video clips.
• A comprehensive workbook with 14 chapters filled with practical ideas and inspirational encouragement.
• Daily projects to guide you on your 14-day journey and help you implement what you learn.
• Printable worksheets to walk you step-by-step and motivate you to follow through.

Simple Morning Routine: Pick Your 5 Tasks

My suggestion is that if mornings, or evenings, are a rough spot, is to pick five (5) tasks you do every single day to start or end your day.

For me, this means I do these things every day:

• Work Out – I really like the app opengym app which is a 20-minute bodyweight and high energy workout that gets my body energized or go for a walk with the dogs, depending on time of year and the weather here in Colorado.
• Write in my 6 Minute Journal (practicing gratitude makes you happier – it’s science – and takes little effort to think of a handful of daily things you’re grateful for to boost your happiness & change your perspective.)
• Clean up the Kitchen and countertops or straighten up the house if it’s needed
• Brew coffee, check work emails for 10 minutes and write in my Erin Condren planner 3 items on my to do list for the day (I only write the three most important things I need to get done every day, any more than that is overwhelming for me.)
• Make the kid’s lunches

You can choose whatever you want for your five morning tasks.

It could be a chore, self-care, praying, working out, reading, listening to a podcast, etc.

I like to keep my tasks simple, that don’t take very long yet when they’re done, make me feel like I’ve accomplished a lot. When these thing get done, I know it’ll be a good start to the day.

The key is to make sure you plan for at least one thing you enjoy doing like exercising or having a cup of coffee.

Your morning list isn’t meant to be grueling, it’s meant to be productive for your home and your heart.

If you need a reminder, keep the list of five things on your fridge or taped to your bathroom mirror where you’ll see it first thing when you wake up and go to brush your teeth.

 

My Own Simple Stay at Home Mom Morning Routine 

6am – Wake Up and Make my Bed (I usually make my side of the bed because my husband is still asleep and I don’t want our dog crawling under my covers…. it’s a thing!) 

6:15-6:45am – Workout or go walk the dogs

6:45am – Write in my 6 Minute Journal

7:00am – Put a Load of Laundry in the Washer (Keep that laundry a-movin’ so it doesn’t back up!) 

7:05am – Clean up around the house

7:15am – Coffee Time, quickly check emails and make my to do list with 3 most important tasks for the day

7:30am – Get the Kids Up by 7:30am if they aren’t already on their own.

 

Do Something for Yourself  

When you make your list of 5 things to accomplish in the morning, make at least one of those something that’s important to you, and a part of taking care of yourself.

This could mean an array of things such as exercise, reading, journaling, praying or sitting with a cup of coffee to watch the sunset.

• What is important to you?
• What makes you happy?
• What gives you inspiration for the day?
• What do you like to do by yourself?
• What do you want to make more time for?

For me, I like to start the day off with exercise, walking my dogs and having coffee. This trifecta always puts me in a happy place to start the day. Plus, being able to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee versus choking down reheated day-old coffee is a simple reward for finishing my list of five basic tasks in the morning.

As you build better habits, these are the types of things you want on your list because you’re more likely to stick with it when you do something enjoyable and because it feels like a reward. Your brain loves positive feedback and when it receives those feel good messages, it literally becomes addicted and wants more of your good habits!

 

Habits Rewire Your Brain for a Better Routine & Happiness

After a few weeks (precisely two weeks) of implementing my personal Make Over Your Morning Routine, I realized I was naturally waking up without hitting the snooze three or more times, and was enjoying my morning routine without forgetting to do any of the steps.

Into the third week of my Stay at Home Mom morning routine transformation, because I was moving through the routine so well, I realized I had enough time to throw in an extra task like sweeping the floors, wiping down all the counters in the bathrooms or packing lunches for the kids.

Want to hear the craziest part? 

I didn’t dread any of the chores on my list and knew that if I got through them before the kids were awake, I’d have more time to do other things I needed or wanted to do later on. My afternoons and evenings began to open up more and I could play outside with the kids instead of straightening up.

 

Download Your Daily Routine Printable to Help You Start Transforming Your Days

More Stay at Home Mom & Routine Related Articles:

• 10 Effective Strategies for Being a Happy Stay at Home Mom
• Simple Self Care Practices Every Mom Needs
• 10 Positive Parenting Tips to Become a More Patient Mom
• Get Your Mom Groove Back: Pulling Yourself Out of Mom Burnout
• Stop Being a Stressed Mom and Start Living With more Happiness & Joy
• 11 Helpful Charts for Kids: Chores, Reward & Daily Routines to Help Kids Thrive