Ok--I thought we could start a thread to help parents cope with time constraints.

1. When my children were small and I had to be somewhere on time early in the morning (and my kids hated changes in routine so things went R-e-al-l-y slow), I'd dress them in comfortable knit clothing the night before--no wrinkles, no dressing hassles, no (I don't like that outfit minutes before you have to leave).

2. I clean the bathroom while my kids are in the bath. They are supervised and the bathroom gets cleaned.

Now, how about your tips?

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), November 07, 2001

Answers

Combine activities whenever possible:

Fold clothes while listening to spelling words.

Do handwork in the same room while the children are cleaning up something and need that supervisory presence.

Do some baking (cookies, from premixed dough kept in the fridge, are ideal for this) whenever the oven is already on for something else.

If knit clothes won't be suitable (that's a great idea, by the way, wish I'd thought of it:)), do the picking and choosing the night before and lay it all out in a pile with the first things to go on on the top of the pile.

When the mirror fogs up from the shower, wipe with clean dry towel-- clean mirror without cleaner.

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), November 07, 2001.

Never leave a room without taking something with you that doesn't belong there, and then deliver the object to its proper place, or at the very least, to the proper room. It really does help, as long as you can remember what your original purpose was long enough to get there! Sometimes I can spend half an hour just going from room to room picking up something, taking it to its room, picking up something in that room, etc. (I might mention that I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old, that is how most of this stuff gets OUT of its proper place!)

-- Christine in OK (cljford@aol.com), November 07, 2001.

I try to never go to bed with the house in disarray. I can't stand to face a mess in the morning!!!

I have the kids lay their clothes for school out the night before, and I iron all of them and look them over for stains, tears, and suitability for the weather.

While the kids are getting ready for bed, I wander around the house, picking up stray items and putting things away.

Each child must make sure the bathroom is cleaned up after they are done, and their laundry is in the proper basket in the laundry room.

Bedrooms must pass inspection before the kids get on the bus in the mornings.

This all helps a little!!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), November 07, 2001.

We have checklists-one for evening that has to be completed before they get their "dessert" (bedtime snack) School clothes laid out, backpacks ready, notes signed, chores done-(I make sure these are done well before bedtime) allergy meds taken. The we have a morning list- Did you brush teeth, brush hair, take meds,vitimins, feed the animals, do you have your jacket, lunch box, back pack etc. Everybody checks thier list-this works great-no more half way to school and "Mom! I forgot my lunch!" I put the dog out on a lead each morning-takes about five min. and they go through their list while I'm doing that.

-- Kelly in Ky (ksaderholm@yahoo.com), November 09, 2001.