6 Ways to Get Out the Door Faster On School Days

OUTFIT DETAILS:

On Me: Striped Shirt, Distressed Jeans, Baseball Cap, Zip Up Sneakers c/o Rack Room Shoes

On B: White tee, Gray Pants, Adidas Sneakers c/o Rack Room Shoes, Nike Lunch Box c/o Rack Room Shoes, Adidas Backpack c/o Rack Room Shoes

On Fos: White Tee, Blue Jogger Pants, Nike Sneakers, Nike Lunch Box c/o Rack Room Shoes, Adidas Backpack c/o Rack Room Shoes

On San: Tiger T-Shirt, Gray Joggers, Adidas Sneakers

We’re officially in our second week of school now, and although it was definitely an adjustment the first few days, I’ve figured out six things that make our school mornings run so much more smoothly.

Today I’ve teamed up with Rack Room Shoes to share them, as well as their line of back to school products!

Pack lunches the night before. I hate packing school lunches. Hate it. Especially ten minutes before school. So this year we’ve gotten in a routine to make them every night after dinner. I always make dinner, so my husband is in charge of cleaning up dishes, so while he does that, the boys and I work together to pack their lunches. It takes a little longer with their help, usually, but it helps them feel responsible and learn food prep skills. We pop them in our lunchboxes from Rack Room Shoes and toss them in the fridge, and they’re all ready to go for the next morning.

Lay out their clothing the night before. My boys have uniforms for school, so getting ready is one step easier. But even so, I always lay their clothing out the night before, including their socks. They’re expected to come down to breakfast fully dressed, and it’s easy for them to do it themselves cause it’s all set out. Also, I always make sure the top button of their polos or pants are un-done so they don’t yell for help while getting dressed.

Have a hair drawer in the kitchen. I obviously don’t have girls, but two of my three boys have longer hair that requires some kind of “doing” in the morning before we leave. I leave a tub of their hair gel in my kitchen drawer so it’s easy to do their hair before we walk out the door. If you have girls, leave bobby pins, hair ties, and a comb in a kitchen drawer. Saving yourself a frantic trip upstairs to grab hair stuff is worth every bit of drawer space.

Get up early. I am NOT a morning person, and I’m an absolute night owl. BUT this school year I’ve been forcing myself to go to bed early and get up early to exercise and get ready. I miss an extra hour of sleep, but being completely ready for the day before I interact with the kids at all makes a huge difference.

Pick shoes that are easy to put on. Let’s be honest, even when we’re all prepared and ready, there’s always a last minute rush to get out the door. It’s always perpetuated by someone needing their shoes tied, and although I love lace up sneakers for my boys, I’ve learned that I just can’t do it for school shoes. Velcro is my best friend.

I picked this pair of Nike’s for Fos’s back to school shoes, and he can put them on himself in under thirty seconds. B is still learning to tie his shoes, so I swapped out the laces on his pair of Adidas and replaced them with stretchy laces so he can slip them on and off himself. And of course velcro shoes for the baby are a must — I’m obsessed with his tiny Adidas sneaks.

Oh, and this applies to my shoes too — I love a pair I can slip on quickly and run out the door. These zip up sneaks from Rack Room Shoes are a new fave, and so cute.

Give your kids some responsibility. When we all come downstairs for breakfast in the morning, I’m the one making breakfast, unloading the dishwasher, and feeding the baby. So the boys are responsible for cleaning up their own dishes after breakfast, and also getting their backpack out of the closet and packed for the day. Put those kiddos to work in the morning to help everything go more smoothly!

You know what else makes things easier? When you can shop for a bunch of things in one place. I love that Rack Room Shoes added lunch boxes and backpacks to their site this year so we could pick up all the school essentials in one place. Now if only they sold #2 pencils and composition notebooks!

Thank you to Rack Room Shoes for partnering on this post!