GTKY - Morning routine

violetmarie61516

I will be returning to work after two years of being a stay at home mom and I'm curious how long it takes everyone to get ready in the morning?  What is your morning routine?  Any tips on how to cut down on time for more sleep?

meggyme

My routine for getting both of us ready and out the door takes about an hour. I get up at six, hopefully get myself read, make coffee, eat breakfast before DD wakes up (not always the case) then I get her up, dressed, give her milk/Cheerios (she is fed real breakfast at daycare) and out the door.

Tips for cutting it down for more sleep: Do as much as you can the night before. Set up your coffeemaker if you can, pack a lunch, pick out everyone's clothes. It will be a pain at first regardless, but as you get into your rhythm, you will slowly start to shave time off and maybe be able to sleep in, or at least get ready without rushing all the time. Good luck!

bdesterhouse

My morning routine is horrible, so I’ll be the worse to take advice from. I am not a getting ready morning person. I’m not crabby, but I hate doing my hair and makeup first thing. 

I do  try and shower at night, so I don’t have to in the morning. If I just brush my hair and throw it up in a pony, no makeup kind of day, I’m ready in ten mins. 

If I need to do my Makeup and hair, then I’m looking at closer to 1 1/2 hours if not two... hence why I distest it in the morning. Sleep is more important to me. 

I work in analytical position where I barely see anyone all day except my team. We aren’t business casual, we are allowed pretty casual attire. So no makeup is usually an okay thing since I don’t really talk to anyone all day. 

mayoduck

I don't currently have kids, which I'd guess makes a huge difference, but I take about 30 minutes to get ready for work. I shower at night. In the morning, I eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast (now that I'm pregnant. I skipped breakfast before), brush my teeth, splash my face with water, grab a Tupperware of leftover dinner for lunch, and go.

I really like my sleep in the morning. The best way to have a short morning routine is to not have a lot of steps to complete. I can't be bothered to put on makeup, do anything fancy with my hair, etc.

ashley14598

I shower at night and let my hair air dry over night. In the morning I’m up at 6 and go straight to the bathroom. I do my make-up, straighten my hair, and brush my teeth. I’m usually in the kitchen by 6:30 to eat breakfast sometimes I get DS up on the way. Then I’m back to my bedroom to change and out the door by 6:45-7. My DH packs my lunch so I’m very fortunate for him. If he didn’t I’d probably do it the night before. I have a 40-45 min commute. 

purpleteacher82

I’m so not a morning person, but find I am more productive at work in the mornings vs. after school. So I usually get up around 5:30. I do spend some time watching the news with a cup of coffee while I become human again. Then, it usually takes about an hour to get ready. (I don’t usually shower in the mornings.) However, if I have clothes picked out, lunch packed, etc. the night before I can get ready in a lot less time. I try to leave the house around 7am, so I can get to work and have at least an hour before my kids walk in the door. This all, of course, is my school year routine. My summer routine involves a lot of coffee and TV time. 

lovesclimbing

I get up at least two hours before I need to be anywhere. I don't NEED that much time, but I hate being rushed, and I always build in extra time because I hate being late. 

First thing, I shower or nurse my daughter. I prefer to shower before she wakes up, but that doesn't always happen. I'll jump in the shower right after if she nurses first. Then, I wrap my hair in a towel and put on the first step of my makeup - an eye primer/shadow combo. Then I wait at least five minutes and pluck or start getting breakfast ready while it dries and sets a bit. Then, I do the rest of my eye makeup followed by my foundation. I wait a few minutes to let that set a bit while I get dressed or do breakfast or whatever. Then I do blush and brows or whatever else I'm doing for makeup that day. I take off the towel and then just tousle my hair and flip it from side to side so it dries with some body over the next however long. I don't blow dry or curl or straighten or anything. In between stuff, I'm usually checking on my daughter and poking H to get him up and working on breakfast. We don't usually have anything fancy for breakfast, so it's not complicated. 

Then I get my daughter changed and dressed and I'm pretty much ready to go. 

I can get ready in less time. I always wear at least foundation because I have bad adult acne, but if I'm in a super hurry, I'll just do foundation and no other makeup and that take just a couple minutes. And I don't shower every day so I can throw my hair in a ponytail get myself and my daughter ready in less than half an hour if I need to. 

My routine might be changing slightly. I've never been a night showerer, but I recently discovered I LOVE how my hair looks when I shower at night and then French braid it while wet and sleep on it. Lovely body and some light texture! So if I start doing that, I will definitely cut some time off my routine. 

mamakate1616

I also have a long commute and struggle getting out the door on time. I’m blessed with a MIL that comes over every morning before we leave for work (5am) so we don’t have to wake up and get DD ready too. 

Before I was a mom I showered/blew dry/curled my hair every single morning, plus all over makeup (nothing crazy, I think it takes me longer to brush my hair than apply my makeup).

When she was a baby I kind of let go of my hair for a while because I had to spend that time nursing instead. I would sometimes do my hair while I pumped first thing at work.

Now I shower in the morning and dry my hair at work (don’t tell!) or I shower at night and curl at work. 

Things that save save time are definitely planning things out at night - packing bags, lunches, picking clothes, showering if you can. I have a friend who has her kids sleep in their clothes for the next day instead of pajamas so they can just roll in the morning, I have mixed feelings on that but if you’re desperate it’s a great idea!