One of the most common questions I get from readers is – “What is your morning routine like with 5 kids?” I’ll be honest – it’s not smooth and easy and carefree. I’m always running around like a crazy lady! There’s not one day that’s alike, they all seem to have their own challenges when it comes to getting everyone up and out the door on time1 My Morning Routine is always set in stone for myself – I know when I need to get up and I know what I need to do… but my kids? They’re wild cards every morning!

My Morning Routine with 5 Kids

As much as I know it’s easiest to jot it out in a timeline:

6AM: Wake-up

6:15AM: Wake-up William, Alex and Ben

6:20AM: Rush downstairs and start lunches with Matt

6:30AM: Make sure the boys are moving and getting going

6:35AM: Coffee is brewed (I should set this on a timer to start earlier)

6:40AM: Make sure boys are downstairs and eating breakfast

6:45AM: Backpacks need to start getting packed

6:50AM: I make sure everyone has brushed their teeth and (hopefully) brushed their hair and have clean socks on. Literally – this is something I need to check

6:55AM: Start making sure everyone is ready and inhale one more cup of coffee

7AM: TODAY Show is on and I watch the headlines news for 2 minutes (then pause the TV)

7:02AM: Make sure we’re out the door driving down to the bus stop (it’s about 1/2 mile down the road)

7:05AM Bus arrives – first 3 out the door

7:10AM: Sit down and (TRY) to go through my morning emails and drink one more cup of coffee

7:30AM: Wake up Henry and Victoria (sometimes takes me a good 10 minutes)

7:40AM: Make sure Henry and Victoria are up and dressed and downstairs

7:45AM: Get breakfast for Henry and Victoria (and even when they tell me they’re not hungry, make sure they still eat)

7:50AM: Do Victoria’s hair for the day

7:55AM: Make sure Henry and Victoria have their shoes on and that they’re backpacks are packed

8AM: Out the door to drop them off at school

8:10AM: Drop Victoria off – I always walk her into her classroom

8:25AM: Drop Henry off at school

8:35AM: HOME and start my DAY (phew!)

Yesterday I finally decided to film my morning routine from beginning to end. I’m telling you – it’s always funny to sit back and watch it because I always feel like I’m a train wreck in the morning. Here’s a video of my morning routine with my 5 kids from yesterday (3/20/19)

Listen – as moms – I feel like we’re all just trying our hardest to survive the morning, especially on days when you’re not feeling 100%. There are days I’m so tired that I don’t even want to get out of bed! I just want to stay curled up in a little ball for hours and hours. As we all know – that’s not reality!

How can you make your morning routine go smoother? I feel like there’s so many different strategies that you can implement. I’ve tried a bunch of these throughout the years and I do think that some of they are gold!

1. Try to make lunches the night before. We actually do this every single night before we head up to bed. I don’t make the sandwiches the night before, but any dry foods I can put in baggies and drop in their lunch bags is a really big deal for me. I love how simple and easy it is to do everything the night before.
2. This is something I don’t do, but mentioned above that I need to start doing this – get a coffee timer! Coffee takes all of 2 minutes to kick off in the morning, but to come downstairs and have it ready and warm and right there would be a great time saver and sanity saver! Imagine a nice brew when you walk downstairs! SIGN. ME. UP.
3. Get up a little earlier. This one will kill me right now, I’m not going to lie. I actually used to get up at 5:15AM and workout before getting the kids up. I never felt better! I honestly will repeat that – I never (ever) felt better! It was amazing to rise and shine and get it done! Getting up earlier too allowed me to get the boys moving in the morning a little earlier, too. My guys are on slo-mo in the morning, so an extra 5 minutes of getting up early is a big deal for us!
4. Have the kids get their clothes laid out the night before. HUGE time saver in the morning. I’ve been doing this with the kids for years and it really is a great and easy way to do it. Henry actually SLEEPS in his clothes now! I’m not kidding – he gets dressed for school at bedtime and wakes up and rolls downstairs. He doesn’t have to worry about getting anything picked out in the morning. He loves that it saves him so much time in the morning! It’s hilarious!
5. I have my kids shower and bathe the night before. I used to let them do it in the morning, but it was taking too long. Now it’s all about making sure they are clean and set before bed! The only caveat is that their hair in the morning needs a little tweaking! But that’s it!
6. STAY ON SCHEDULE! I know the bus schedule like clockwork. As silly as it is to say that we leave the house at 7:02AM – we do! I know it’s the time we need to make it down to the bus without missing it. Make sure you know the exact amount of time you have in the morning for certain things. You don’t want to miss anything! Even for Henry and Victoria – I know exactly when I need to drop them off! I make sure not to miss a time frame at all. If I do – we’re late – it’s that simple.

My morning routine is one that I stick with and try not to deviate from at all. I know the kids know it, but they don’t always want to stick with it. I’m keen on making sure there are plans set in place for us and they know that they need to help me out in the morning too with everything!I hope my morning routine has inspired you to get one in place OR made you realize that you have one that is pretty amazing!

Check out How to Have the Most Productive Day Ever, too!

We’re all in this together – it’s about sharing what works and even what doesn’t work that will help us all continue to rock it!

I also am obsessed with having a planner that had everything down, too. Right now I use the Purposeful Planner by Corie Clark – it’s worth checking out for you and your family!