I am not a morning person, and what I mean by that is I am super, super slow-moving in the morning, so expecting myself to get stuff done in the morning is practically asking for trouble.
I used to say to myself all. the time. - "I'll just do that in the morning. I'm too tired now." Y'all, those days are so over because I ended up even more stressed in the morning.
So here's to the thought that maybe some of you are like me, and can learn how to save your own sanity as I share how my "morning routines" really start the night before.
So.... The Night Before, I Do These 3 Things:
- Prep My Meals
- I prep my breakfast and lunch the night before. I'm a simple gal, so breakfast might be prepping hard-boiled eggs in my Instant Pot (just 1-2 minutes does it - so easy!), or cutting up some fruit! Then, in the morning, all I have to do is pull it out of the fridge!
- When it comes to lunch, I usually gravitate towards simple and usually the same old things like a sandwich, granola bar, fruit, La Croix sparkling water (Mango is my favorite flavor, but unfortunately Prime Pantry doesn't carry that flavor!)
- Most of all though, I prep my meals based on what I already have in the fridge or pantry! This not only gives me instant variety (and I don't have to be the one choosing), and it helps us stick with our $600 monthly budget for our family of nine! If you need tips on saving on groceries - check out my post here!
- Things that need to be kept refrigerated, I will toss in storage bags and keep in the fridge. Those that do not need to be kept cold, I will just put directly in my lunch tote. The fewer items I need to put in my lunch tote in the morning, the better.
- Get my Outfit Ready
- When it comes to picking outfits, I struggled for years, waking up and scrambling to find something that was "just right". I'll be honest - I love putting together that perfect outfit. However, in the morning, it was just a frustrating, hot mess.
- Now, I piece together my outfits the night before - all the way from my top to my bra (if you know me, I absolutely HATE wearing regular bras - I basically live in sports bras whenever I can) to my pants to my shoes.
- I lay out my outfits behind my bed, and when I wake up, I don't even need to think about what I'm going to wear because I've ever done that job ahead of time. It's an amazing feeling, let me tell ya.
- If you have trouble choosing your outfits, check out Prime Wardrobe where they'll send a couple different pieces for you to try and you can send whatever you don't like back! It's included with your Amazon Prime membership!
- Pack my Gym Bag
- If you've been following me for a while, you know that going to the gym every single day to work out is a huge priority for me. Even if I am having a rough day, going to the gym gives me so much energy and afterwards, I'm feeling so much better than when I walked in.
- Therefore, packing my bag is a MUST the night before. I currently use this Nike Gym Bag (I couldn't find the exact one since I got this one years ago, but I've linked to a very similar one here if you wanna check it out. I love how spacious it is, and how much room I have to fit all of my workout stuff.)
- The night before, I always pack my workout gear (top, bottoms, sports bra, socks, and shoes), towel for showering afterwards, and toiletries (shampoo, body wash, deodorant, etc.) It seems like such a simple task, but doing it the night before has seriously saved my sanity in the morning.