IKEA would like to hear your tips for making the weekday school routine as stress-free as possible

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Getting your kids out of the door for the morning school run is not for the faint hearted. It’s a task that hardly ever goes to plan, with the potential for things to go wrong always lurking around the corner. With this in mind, IKEA would love to know hear your advice on how you make the weekday school routine as stress-free as possible, and any hacks you might have to make your life easier.

Here’s what IKEA have to say:
“A key way to keeping morning madness to a minimum is involving everyone in the home. When your home is set up so that your little ones don’t need constant help, everyone’s a winner. Put dinnerware and food in places your children can easily reach so they can set the table while you focus on making breakfast. A light step stool can help in the kitchen and bathroom.
In the bedroom, our STUVA range is designed from the ground up ensuring interiors are all easily reachable by little hands, with most parts being adjustable, meaning the furniture can grow your child. But one of the best places to keep well organised is the hallway. A bench with hidden storage will work wonders, just pop their bags inside and add a coat rack at their height nearby to give them a one stop shop before leaving each morning.”

Have you established an efficient system to get your kids out of the door on time? How do you deal with unexpected obstacles that get in your path when trying to leave? Do you prepare meticulously the night before, or do you wing it in the morning and hope for the best - maybe the latter works best for you!

All who share their tips on avoiding the stress of the weekday school run will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win £300 in IKEA vouchers.
Thanks and good luck

MNHQ
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I enlist as much help from my 16 year old as possible! He usually makes the packed lunches and gets everyone to eat breakfast while I shower and pack bags. If we've got a particularly early start we'll do lunch and sometimes prepare breakfast the night before. Definitely makes for a speedier exit.

We rely on routine, and everything being as accessible as possible! Hooks at the right level; bags always left in the same place; a stool in the bathroom for independent hand washing and tooth brushing....it's all little things but it makes a big difference by letting every member of the family pull their weight!

Bags for the younger two are sorted out the night before. Uniform is kept in one place or sorted the night before. We were struggling to get out on time so we brought everything forward 15 minutes which makes it less stressful. The oldest is now pretty self sufficient and gets his own breakfast, bags and uniform sorted. All bags and kit etc are kept in one place so no wandering around trying to find them in the morning.

Shared family calendar which DH and I keep fully updated so we always know who is where when and what everyone needs!

Lunches are made the night before and breakfast is laid out on the table too (choice of cereal, bowls, plates etc) so that all I need to do is bring milk, tea and toast in in the morning.

I have 3 children (7, 3 & 9mo) so it would otherwise be chaos. The buggy is loaded the night before with bookbag, pe kit etc. I keep a list in my phone of everything that is needed for each day of the week and things I need to remember to do. I try to keep cash in the house for last minute emergencies and deal with anything on parentpay on a Friday when I do emails/read the newsletter.

I always leave by a set time and know that if I leave any later then we're stuffed. I need to get a buggy organiser though because I'm always scrabbling in the morning for somewhere to put my keys and phone when I realise the outfit I'm wearing doesn't have pockets (I don't like carrying a bag for the school run).

Everything is ready the day before meaning that we can we just shove the kids in their uniform, stick them in front of their breakfast while we get ready and rush out the door (always too late) grabbing book bags on the way.

Each child has a Trofast unit in their room with the small trays in it, and I have labelled five trays with the days of the week. When I put laundry away I put a full set of uniform into each tray, and can add in PE stuff or whatever. So all they need to do is pull out a tray and all their clothes are in there.
Speeds them up and I can easily see if there is enough for the rest of the week or if I need to do laundry.
Maybe I should do it for myself!

A timetable on the kitchen wall to remember which day is swimming/ library books/ homework/sports clothes etc etc. Plus getting everything ready the night before regardless of how tired!

Always make sure everything is ready to go the night before, lunches are made before bed and uniform is out ready to be worn the next day. I hate getting up in a morning so we need to be organised to keep the stress levels down.

Oh wow, people seem to be really organised. We just get up, DD goes for a wee, puts her clothes and shoes on (whichever pair she could find) and then out the door. Luckily there's breakfast at school and they brush their teeth after that. I probably really should be more organised.

Book and reading record in book bag after bedtime, school meals so no pack lunch required, shoe rack in hall plus baskets for hats and gloves, low pegs for kids coats/blazers.

@tiintoon if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Prep the night before.
Storage boxes are fab. Each child has a different color & each box contains whatever it is my kids have abandoned around the house when they got home (shoes/homework/pe kits/headbands) so they know where to find it.

I only have one still at school but best top tip is live less than 10 mins walk from school - lots of his friends have a long commute involving a walk, train and bus journey so he really is ahead of the game already. I appreciate that is not a very practical tip!

My practical tip is get an Ikea Raksgog (?) three tier trolley. With a storage box in the top shelf to store exercise books upright it is the ideal size for separating work books, text books and stationery and rolling out the way when not needed.

Clothes (for everyone) put out the night before
Packed lunches / snacks made the night before
Bags packed the night before

Then in the morning everyone knows what they've got to do so they're left to get on with it - with gentle nagging along the way!

We start every morning with a family breakfast. My husband, three kids (aged 11 to 5) all sit down together and chat about the day before making a start on the jobs we each need to do to get ourselves ready.
Somehow, this communication helps us all get straight in out heads what is going to happen and by whom and when. Also, sitting down together to eat, puts us all in a good mood for the day and not only helps with the routine but sense of purpose for the day ahead.

Pack everything the night before. Also, things like swimming kits go straight back in their respective bags after washing so they are ready to go next time.

do the uniform the night before also the packed lunches x

Get everything ready the night before and put it all in one place near the door. Sounds silly but we were leaving lunch boxes in the kitchen, school bags in the hall and coats in the sitting room and would have to rush around collecting it all.

We have a box for DS1 and a bag for DS2, me and DP. In the long run, esp when DS2 goes to school we want to get a Kallax unit with one box allocated to each person. Everything for the next day goes in the box and then is grabbed on the way out of the door.

A family calendar has also been a good way to get a bit more organised in general.

Big whiteboard for PE kit days, clubs, special things. Any letters that come home get photographed straightaway and then attached to a calendar invite for DH and me. If its a party invite the venue goes in the header.
Anything needing a response or paying gets done as soon as it comes out of the bag

I am in Ikea right now. I may be buying some of the stuff mentioned on this thread!

Book bags are by the door. The 2 that are at school make their own breakfast and get them self’s dressed. I often feed the youngest 2 after the school run if they don’t wake up in time ( they sometimes lay in until after 8).
I have lots of uniform so they can always find some!

Routine, routine, routine!
A specific place for everything. Yes, it's Kallax.
A check list by the door.
Reminders on phones!

It sounds obvious but everything ready the night before - uniform, bags, water bottles, sports kit, homework checked etc.

The days when I decide to 'chance it' are inevitably the day that someone sleeps in or we discover that PE shorts are still in the washer.

When DC were little they didn't leave the kitchen in the morning. Clothes on the kitchen radiator, bags ready, breakfast at the kitchen table and teeth brushed at the kitchen sink (we kept a second toothbrush and toothpaste in there). It saved DC disappearing upstairs to get ready and massively reduced potential distractions.

Most days we are all be up, showered, breakfasted, dressed and out the door in 30-40 mins.

I do the homework with dc as soon as they get in and check for/sign letters (keep a bag of coins and little envelopes in the mug cupboard so I sort that straight away)

I prepare the lunches then too and leave in the fridge. Uniforms go in for a quick wash.

I have two boxes one for each child and put pants socks shoes and their whole uniform in them so nothing gets mixed up. Child knows all is in there for them (reception age).

Decluttering the house and having good storage is key. Love ikea for all the bits and pieces particularly the sandwich bags.