can we have a definitive thread of what we all do to make going to out to work managable?

[overthemill]

eg get cleaner, online shopping etc
it would really help I think!!

i have got a cleaner
set up online shopping
got home based childcare

do everything possible the night before
no telly in the morning until breakfasted, dressed, hair brushed and shoes on (it's amazing what the promise of Peppa Pig before leaving the house will do to speed up my snail pace dd)
batch cook freezable meals so that you just have to warm something up for tea in the evenings

Gin

I do on-line shopping
I want a cleaner
My work,school and nursery are all nice and close together
We cycle everywhere
If anybody does anything daft - or worse - slow in the mornings - I turn into beastly shouting harridan mother!

everything sorted the night before - bags packed, lunchboxes in fridge, clothes laid out.

always set alarm for 10 minutes earlier than you think you need to get up.

develop cast-iron morning routine that works and stick to it (i have this down to a fine art now: get up at 7am, shower, get dressed (meanwhile ds (6) is getting his own cereal), get dd (2) up and dressed. make her cereal which she eats while ds is getting his school uniform on. dcs reconvene on sofa for toast and juice and cbeebies/cbbc (in strict rotation on alternate days). they brush their teeth while i throw down a cup of tea tea simultaneously putting up buggy and weighing it down with school/nursery bags and we're all out the door at 8am.)

repeat for 5 days and keep the friday night bottle of wine dangled in front of you like a carrot in front of a donkey...

caffeine intravenously
use commute to do admin stuff (making shopping lists, haranguing electricity company, etc)
live near relatives to pick up slack in crisis (have failed to do this but envy those who do
menu plan, cook and freeze in bulk: hoard basics (pasta, rice, fishfingers, tinned tomatoes etc) so that you never run out. keep an emergency sliced loaf and pint of milk in the freezer for when you run out.
buy things like toothpaste, shampoo, babywipes that you use all the time in bulk so you don't run out so often (preferably when on bogof)
obssessive listmaking and ludicrous multitasking
dishwasher, tumbledryer, cleaner; bank and pay bills online/over the phone
form a babysitting circle with similarly working mums so you can each occasionally have evening out with dh to remember what they look like
never feel guilty in (rare) spare time about dumping boring chores and just playing with the dcs
buy birthday cards and/or presents in bulk when you see them and stash away (i have a file divided into months of the year, card for appropriate person each stashed in appropriate month, and i buy 'em all in january but i realise this is anal)
write in your diary every january things like tax deadlines, when car MOT due, when insurance runs out or mortgage deal expires etc. then write a reminder in the week before.
and critically for parents of under-fives: do not put on work suit until they have had breakfast, or they will cover it in porridge

if you've got home based childcare, you;re larfing.

Having a reliable emergency contact would be a godsend. That's what I'd like.

Online shopping
Cleaner
No dog (I would love a dog). I have a cat.
Saturday to do list - stick to it (as soon as I get up, change beds etc/school uniform/paperwork, washing/help with homework), wind down and MN around 8pm.
Sunday - rest/gardening/anything else and some ironing after 6pm

I have worked full time, and nearly full time with dc's........and have never made a list

Am very organised though..........

fizzbuzz the to do list is in my head, its done robotic style, with lots of coffee. Sometimes I don't do all the beds! The shame!

this is probs not going to work for everyone but it works for me

I get ds (3) up showered and dressed before me. I then make his breakfast, cereal, toast, fruit juice and yogurt. I then leave him to have his breakfast while I get dressed. I find it gives him time to eat without me saying hurry up we are going to be late

Shop on line
Keep cleaning to a minimum
Iron on a Sunday night
Cook extra and freeze meals for children
No TV in the morning
I'd love a useful relative nearby but I don't have one.