Making mornings easier with your kids

Today's organizing tip is on making mornings (and your whole day) go more smoothly.  I hate mornings.  I'm just not a wake up, jump up kind of gal.  I like to sleep.  And unfortunately we are always seeming to run behind in the mornings.  That lady above..that was me.

I remember when I was little my mom would be running around like crazy and I'd get in trouble for dittle dattling and not getting ready fast enough.  And it would just start my whole day off wrong. 

I really try to send Joshua off on a positive note.  But sometimes (I'll admit) when it's hectic I'm like come on come on come on!  And then we miss the bus.  And I'm still in PJ's, wild woman hair.  Do I take the chance of no one seeing me and drop him off at the door?  Or do I jump in the shower and get ready real quick?  Grrrr. No time.  Wild woman it is.  And that my friends is when someone, or MULTIPLE someones, say heyy Amanda and walk up to the car. Not that I mind seeing them.  I would just rather not have my slippers on. :)
So I came up with a list of things we do to help SIMPLIFY our mornings.  And they really really help.  They help both of us. 

1. So the old stand by -- picking out your clothes the night before.  Joshua is 7 and likes to pick out his own clothes. Uhh.  He comes up with some good ones. :)

And no wonder - when you think about it - opening your closet to this - is a slightly overwhelming task for a child.

So I pick out outfits for the week.  And hang up 7 outfits.  And he gets to pick one pre-matched outfit.  It works out for us.  {Josh has a big closet, so I use one of the front shelves to hang up his outfits for the week. Obviously today is Wednesday so there are only 2 left!}  I hang up the jeans/shirts (layered so he can see how to put them on...learned my lesson) on 1 hanger.  Because 1. this is visual for him (Joshua has Autism so we need visuals as do most kids) and 2. I may have a shopping problem. And although the picture of his closet looked full...it's not.  I just ran out of hangers.  I need hangers!! And this is my way of making it look like there isn't so much packed in there.  {And thus, avoiding Andy saying "Amanda.  This is ridiculous.  Seriously.  He doesn't even like clothes.  Stop buying them.  I think you have a problem."  Yes, I've heard that conversation waaaay too many times.}

Also, I stick a pair of socks in his tennis shoes.  Lesson learned here too.  Because we can be all dressed.  And he will miss the bus because he can't find a pair of socks that match.  Or he simply put on mismatching socks.  AND if I don't tell him to wear tennis shoes, he'll put on Crocs.  Unavoidable.  And when there is snow...yeah he'd still put on Crocs if he could.
2. I freeze leftover pancakes or french toast from the weekends.  Then I can just pop them in the toaster.  I know you can buy frozen boxes of these but homemade are better. And cheaper. 

3. I also have a stack of PB&J in the freezer.  You can freeze any kind of sandwich, Josh just loves PB&J.  I personally would get tired of it everyday but not him.  He even asks for one as a snack when he gets home.  So Sundays I make 5 sandwiches, and mix up 10 bags of sides (2 for each day - one maybe goldfish and the other has maybe a cookie).  That way in the morning I just grab and sandwich out of the freezer and he picks out his bags for the day. I throw a banana in there and boom.  Lunch is made.  (If your child eats an early lunch you may want to pull one out the night before and put in the fridge.  I know some schools eat as early as 10:30.)

4. After homework gets done we hang the bag on the front door.  No way to forget that sucker.  And it's nice that our coats are hung right there too. {P.S. Having a calendar right there next to the door was genius.  Seriously.  Now if I forget something at least I'm reminded of it early in the morning instead of 5 minutes ahead! Plus it works wonders with husbands and kids as they grab their stuff each day.}

Do you have any tricks that you do?