Whether you have kids returning to school in a couple of weeks or you just have a busy life, routines can help you make the most of your time. They will help you accomplish all you have to do in your busy schedule, leaving time to enjoy life.

We all tend to have more time in the evening than we do in the morning, so it’s nice to accomplish the jobs can the night before. Here are some ideas for tasks you can add to your evening routine to make your morning less hectic:

• Lay out the clothes you plan to wear the night before so you are not running around in the morning looking for what you need or finding you need to iron an item.
• If you or your child takes a lunch, prepare lunches the night before and refrigerate it. Then you can just grab and go in the morning.
• Pack backpacks or briefcases and have them ready by the door to grab on the way out.
• Add the coffee and water to the coffeemaker the night before so all you have to do it press start. If you have a coffeemaker with a automatic start, set it to go off so that it is ready when you wake up.
• Set the table for breakfast the night before and have simple breakfast options that require little preparation and clean up.
• Before everyone goes to bed, have them make sure all bedrooms, living areas, and the kitchen are picked up.
• If you still find that you are too rushed, set your alarm 5-10 minutes earlier than you need to make time for those unexpected incidents.

By doing some of your morning tasks the night before, the family will rest well in a clutter-free home, knowing they are caught up and ready to begin a new day.

Cathy Bates is owner of Practical Solutions Professional Organizing. The offer hands on organizing for your home or office. Contact Practical Solutions for more information at 909.810.3719 or go online to www.psorganizing.com.

Of course trying to balance what I need to purchase against my budget is always a juggle. This year I decided to purchase some back to school basics online. Of course I also did some local shopping. It is important to support our local merchants !

My biggest obstacle this upcoming school year will be scheduling. My oldest son is heading into Jr High so I will have two schools worth of events to keep track of.

I purchased a large ‘desk calender and plan to reorganize my ‘family control center’ next week.  I have also started moving around every-one’s bedrooms – bringing my office upstairs (right next to the family control center. Hopefully the changes when they are all done will help keep us more organized and save time.

I have to admit I am counting the days down until school starts.  No more hot cranky kids at the end of the day and I am craving the morning routines.

This  morning found me up an hour early and my day seems off to a great start. While getting caught up with some emails I stumbled across a great little contest I though I wold share.

Organize 1 2 3 is offering a back to school contest giving away their books:

Three Steps to Decluttering
Three Steps to Organizing Your Child’s Room
Three Steps to Organizing Your Kitchen
Three Steps to Planning Dinner (ebook)
Hassle Free Dinners (ebook)

Click Here to enter