For my family, when the alarm clock goes off, we hit the ground running to school and work. In the busy act of getting out the door, my morning is much more calming if I do these five simple things to clean my house the night before.
1. Tidy the kitchen.
On most days, I wake up earlier than everyone else in my family just to sip my cup of coffee in peace. The days I don’t clean my kitchen the night before, I begin my morning feeling like my day already is a little chaotic. The good news is my family helps out with this one. I try to clean as I cook at dinner time. Then, after dinner, here’s what we do (as a family routine):
- I clear the table and wipe it down.
- My husband and kiddo do the dishes and start the dishwasher.
- We all collectively put everything back in place in the kitchen and wipe down the counters.
- Someone takes out the trash.
We often turn on our favorite playlist on iTunes while we do this to make it a little more fun.
2. Pick up everything off the floor.
When there’s nothing on the floor, you can feel like you’re on top of your game when you wake up. I have learned that if you are always “tidying” then you’re already a step ahead when the day comes to clean your house.
After dinner I usually gather everything in the living room and place them in piles, one for each family member, on our staircase steps. Each individual, including me, takes their stuff up to put it away.
3. Unload the dishwasher.
Each new day is a fresh start … even for the dishwasher. Beginning your day with an empty dishwasher, to me, creates the potential for your kitchen to be clean throughout the day. Each night, right before we sit down to watch our current favorite show, my husband or I unload the dishwasher.
4. Gather things together you need for the next day.
Everyone in our family packs their bag for the next day. I make my son pack his backpack and I pack my gym bag and my work bag with what I need. Everything is ready to go in our mudroom area. This really helps out when we oversleep or are behind schedule. We may not be ready but our stuff is.
This also helps clean up all the work and homework clutter on desks and the kitchen table.
5. Clean up after your evening activity.
Whether we are catching up on our favorite Netflix series, entertaining guests, or even working on projects … we always clean up before we go to bed. It’s easy to just leave everything “as is” and deal with it in the morning, but it’s so much nicer to wake up with everything in place. If you work out at home in the morning, this could help you get right to it instead of cleaning first. I am a morning reader and I can’t ever read in peace if my living room is crazy.
Tip: Most of our DIY projects are ongoing. It helps to have a basket or place to tuck these things away. Right now, we are renovating our basement. It’s never ending … and we work on it a little each night. We have a table near the project where we keep all of our supplies and tools we are using for that project. Keeping them all together and up off the ground is an easy way to keep you sane in the middle of a project.
Mornings can be hard to get up and get going. Finishing each day well can help the next morning be a little slower and more peaceful.
I also try (“try” being the key word) to work out 4-5 times a week in the morning, so reading Lidy’s tips on the 5 things to do each night to make working out in the morning a breeze was helpful! You should check it out!
