“Get me to the Church on Time!”
Like I said last week, we go to church every Sunday. We get 12 people ready and out the door by 8:50 a.m. every week! The first week we did it I felt like a super hero, and I’m just as surprised every week after that we got everyone ready and out the door! Granted I think our skills have been honed over the years, but we also have some tricks that really help the morning go smoother!
First, I’m ready myself (or mostly ready) before leaving my room to get the day started. Whether it’s showering the night before or getting up a little earlier to shower, I know once I get the kids going I usually only have time to hurry and change into my Sunday clothes before we have to leave.
Second tip starts the night before: gather everyone’s clothes the night before so it’s one less thing to think about. Saturday night I empty the dryer and find all the boys’ church clothes and put them in the dryer. On Sunday morning when I wake up, I turn on the dryer so the clothes are all wrinkle free (ish) and we know exactly where they all are. I know, I know, I should be ironing those but no one here has time for that!
If I were really on top of it, I’d also find shoes for everyone and place them together. In the past I’ve put them in their own basket so we there’s no running around 5 minutes before we leave looking for a shoe. Right now we’re running around, but I’m thinking I might get a container now just for church shoes! I also have a bag ready to go, or mostly ready, so all I have to do is grab it on the way out the door! You can read about what I put in that bag here.
Third trick is to have a simple breakfast. When we went to church later in the day I made a big breakfast for everyone, but there is just no time and energy when everyone needs to leave by 9! We have cereal or oatmeal. Something quick to get on the table and I can still be running around getting ready if I need to.
Lastly, we try and bathe the kids the night before. We are horrible at this, but when we do it, it always makes the morning easier. Right now we have them eat breakfast then hurry for a quick bath or shower. The oldest 4 kids rotate taking a shower in one bath while 3 or 4 are in the otherbath. If you are slow or dawdle you’ll probably get a cold shower or bath. Which isn’t that bad when you’re trying to hurry the kids along!
And that’s it! A quick breakfast, a quick shower/bath, grab their clothes from the dryer and shoes from a basket, and they get dressed and rush to the van. This is an occasion where I’m always so glad we have mostly boys instead of mostly girls, the boys hair is always so short we don’t have to style it and Lily’s hair only takes an extra 2 minutes.
It should also be noted that although we are all dressed and to church on time, we left a mess in our house. We don’t take the time to clean up after ourselves, our only goal is to get dressed and in the van!
