10 School Morning Hacks to Make Busy Mornings Easier

AD. There's something about September and the start of a new school year that makes you realise just how much has to happen before 9am. Spoiler alert - It's a lot! Uniforms need to be found, breakfast needs to be eaten, school bags need to be packed and if you're anything like me, you'll have probably said “Come on, we need to leave!” about 47 times before anyone actually gets out of the front door.

I love to stay organised and try and keep on top of everything, but I'm certainly not interested in creating one of those perfect Pinterest-worthy morning routines. You know the kind where everyone wakes up at ridiculous o'clock, exercises, journals, deep cleans their kitchen and somehow has time to watch the sunrise. My alarm goes off at 6.30am and, quite honestly, that's early enough for me! Personally, I think making mornings easier is more about finding small things that save time, reduce the number of decisions I need to make and to make the school run feel slightly less chaotic.

So, as we head into a new school year, I've been thinking about some of the school morning hacks that can make a surprisingly big difference. None of them are particularly ground breaking I'll be honest, but they work! And you certainly don't need to completely overhaul your morning routine. Sometimes it's the smallest changes that make the biggest difference.

10 School Morning Hacks

1. Get as much ready as possible the night before

I know, I know. It doesn't take a genius, right? This is probably the oldest school morning hack in the book, but there's a reason people keep recommending it! Anything that can be done the night before is one less thing to think about when you're trying to get everyone ready in the morning.

Uniforms can be laid out, school bags can be packed and shoes can be left somewhere sensible rather than being discovered underneath the sofa at 8.27am. If there's a PE kit, musical instrument or anything else that needs to go to school the following day, get it ready too.

I also find it helps to have a little “launch pad” near the front door. We have a handy little built in shelf near the front door and anything we need to take with us in the morning goes there. This means there's way less of a chance of me forgetting anything on the school run.

It's a simple habit, but taking 10 minutes in the evening can save a lot more than 10 minutes the following morning.

2. Take the decision-making out of breakfast

This has been a game changer for me! Usually I'm such a people pleaser and before I'd give my kids 101 different options on what they wanted for breakfast that morning. Which obviously led to some rather long and decisive decision making from the kids... Especially for my eldest! The one who absolutely cannot make a decision quickly.

Rather than standing in front of the fridge at 7am asking “What do you fancy for breakfast?”, I find it much easier to have a couple of easy options that I know the children will actually eat. It doesn't have to be anything exciting. Toast, cereal and fruit, yoghurt and granola, porridge, eggs or a smoothie can all make perfectly good school day breakfasts.

You could even create a little weekday breakfast rotation. Having an idea of what's on the menu each morning means you're not starting the day with yet another decision to make. Plus if your kids are anything like mine, they'll enjoy that routine familiarity.

3. Have a quick on the go breakfast option for mornings when you're running late

Let's be real, there's always going to be some mornings when things don't quite go to plan. The alarm doesn't go off. Someone can't find their school jumper. The dog needs letting out. Somebody has forgotten to tell you that they need a particular item for school. On those mornings, having a quick on the go breakfast option can be a lifesaver.

One of my favourites is a smoothie because it's quick to make and an easy way to combine fruit with other ingredients for a filling, healthy breakfast.

This is where having the right kitchen appliance can massively help remove any friction from your morning. I've been using the NINJA BlendBOSS as a quick smoothie option, particularly on mornings when sitting down for breakfast isn't quite going to happen. I like the NINJA BlendBOSS because you can blend directly into the tumbler, pop the lid on and take it away with you. It actually couldn't be any easier to use. It means breakfast can come with you if you're in a rush and heading straight out after the school run. I also really like the Auto-iQ Technology. Once you've popped your ingredients in, press the button, and the BlendBOSS just knows how long to blend for. You don't need to watch over it, it's not going to leak everywhere, it just does it's job... Which is more than can be said for the kids sometimes!

For a rushed school morning, it's these practical details are hugely beneficial.

4. Get dressed before you start doing everything else

I love being in my pyjamas as much as the next person. But there's something about still being in PJ's at 7.30am that makes the whole school morning feel kind of behind schedule.

I try to make getting dressed one of the first things on the list, rather than leaving it until after I've sorted everyone else out. It sounds obvious, but it's amazing how quickly the morning disappears when you're making breakfast, finding sock and sorting school bags.

Getting yourself ready first isn't selfish. More often than not it's the most beneficial way to start the day.

5. Give the kids their own morning jobs

It's very easy to fall into the trap of doing everything for everyone. As mums I think it's something that kind of comes naturally to us. You make the breakfast, find the socks, fill the water bottles. You pack the bags, remind them to brush their teeth, find the shoes. It's a lot!

But even then, somehow, you're the one running late. Make it make sense?

One of my favourite school run hacks is to give children their own little responsibilities. Obviously, what they can do will depend on their age. But even young children can start to take ownership of small parts of their morning routine. My two are seven and four now so they're at a great age for taking on a little bit more responsibility.

This could be putting their pyjamas away, getting dressed, putting their breakfast bowl in the sink, finding their shoes or checking that their school bag is ready.

It might not save you loads of time immediately. And let's be honest, sometimes letting them do it themselves takes longer, but you're gradually taking some of the responsibility off your own shoulders. And I can promise you, in the long run it'll be so beneficial.

6. Create your own ten minute morning ritual

The idea behind “your 5-9 before your 9-5” sounds lovely, but I'm going to be realistic here. For me personally, I'm not getting up at 5am for an hour of yoga before my children wake up. It's just not my jam!

However, I do think there's something to be said for having a little ritual that makes your morning feel like your morning. Rather than simply the start of a long list of things you need to do for everyone else. For me, that's getting up before the kids and having my own private time to enjoy a coffee and a quick read of my book. The weather is starting to turn a little chilly now, but if I can get outside with my coffee, I absolutely will.

Those ten minutes doesn't have to be productive. In fact, I kind of think that's the whole point. Romanticising my mornings before the chaos of getting ready for school is pretty crucial for me. That slow start to the morning really sets the tone for the rest of the day.

7. Don't underestimate the power of a timer

If your mornings have a tendency to disappear without you quite knowing where the time went, try setting little time markers. Rather than constantly checking the clock, you could have an alarm for ‘breakfast finished’, another for ‘shoes and coats’ or one for ‘we need to leave’.

You can even turn it into a bit of a game with younger children. Instead of repeatedly saying “Come on, we need to go!” give them a challenge: “Can we get shoes and coats on before the timer goes?” It won't magically turn your children into perfectly organised little people. Chance would be a fine thing! But having a few clear points in the morning can stop everyone getting distracted and make the routine feel a little more structured.

8. Give yourself a “leave the house” time

If you need to leave the house at 8.30am, telling everyone that you're leaving at 8.20am might just save your sanity!

There's always going to be something getting in your way. One of the kids will need the toilet. Then suddenly the other one will have forgotten to brush their teeth. Then the first will remember that their reading book is upstairs. School mornings can be chaos!

And if you've got children, you'll know that the phrase “we need to leave in five minutes” mean absolutely nothing to them. Giving yourself a small buffer means you're not instantly thrown into panic when something unexpected happens.

9. Keep a simple school morning checklist

There are some things that we need to remember every single day, so why rely on our brains to remember them? A simple checklist by the door can make a big difference. It could be something like:

School bag ✓
Lunch ✓
Water bottle ✓
Coat ✓
Shoes ✓
PE kit ✓
Reading book ✓
Children ✓

That final one might be the most important!

A checklist is particularly useful when routines change throughout the week. If Monday means PE kit and Tuesday means swimming kit, having everything written down means you're less likely to forget something. You could also get the children involved and let them tick things off themselves. It's one less thing for you to remember and another small way of encouraging them to take responsibility for their own morning routine.

10. Don't try to make every morning perfect

Perhaps the most important of all my school morning hacks is to accept that some mornings are simply going to be chaotic. You can do all the planning in the world, but somedays there will be something that gets in your way. That's life with children!

The goal isn't to create a perfectly calm, Instagram-worthy morning where everyone leaves the house looking immaculate and feeling wonderfully organised. It's simply about finding little ways to make busy mornings easier.

Maybe that's preparing breakfast the night before. Maybe it's having a smoothie ready to blend when you're short on time. Perhaps it's making yourself a coffee and taking five minutes before the chaos begins. Or maybe it's simply moving the school bags from the middle of the hallway to somewhere you can actually find them.

School Morning Hacks: Small Changes Can Make A Big difference

I think we're often guilty of making morning routines much more complicated than they need to be. You don't need to completely transform your life when September comes around. And you certainly don't need to wake up at 5am, meal prep for seven days or create a colour coded family timetable to have a successful day. I mean you can if you want? It's just not my kind of thing!

For me, it's about making a few small changes that remove some of the friction from your day.

That's what a good morning routine looks like. It's realistic, it works around family life and, most importantly, it doesn't require me to become a completely different person before breakfast!

And if a handy kitchen appliance can make breakfast or that all-important morning coffee a little easier along the way, even better. If you're looking to make your own mornings a little easier, Very has a range of practical kitchen appliances, from coffee makers and blenders to other useful additions for a busy family kitchen.