Ten Timesaving Items for Parents

Always Late for School Drop-off? Invest is Some Gadgets to Speed Up Departure

Don't even think about hitting that snooze alarm. You don't have a minute to spare. Combine kids, traffic and a busy schedule and you'll need the skill of a tactician to make the morning bell and your morning meeting. Rather than receive the scorn of your child's preschool teacher there are some easy fixes to make the morning manageable.

1. Pack lunch the night before. Invest in some good reusable containers (I like Fit and Fresh and also Tupperware) and load when your are putting away the dinner dishes. And since you already have to tackle the dinner leftovers (maybe you can even incorporate them into lunch) this is one less mess to clean in the am.

2. Load up and all you kids' gear in cool backpacks and leave them by the door ready for the school-bus dash. Make sure to stuff permission slips and milk money into the bags.

3. Simplify breakfast. Got a baby to feed? Skip the bowl and shovel baby's food in faster with a Boon Squirt feeding spoon. Contain the mess of your toddler with a Kiddopotamus Tiny Diner Place mat.

4. Keep a stash of Shout wipes handy. There is no time to change outfits after the baby smears yogurt on your top. Make sure to keep your blazer, jacket or tie off until the very last minute.

5. Tame bed head (yours and the kids) in seconds with Mop Detangler. Mom's hair can also transformed in a flash thanks to the prevalence of sleek headbands.

6. Buy a few step stools for the kids and strategically place them near sinks. Have the kids wash their own hands and faces and brush their own teeth.

7. Can't find your umbrella? Clean up the closet clutter. I love the StrollAway. It's a stroller storage system that hooks over your closet door to create space. Give everyone in the family a bin for their shoes, hats and gloves.

8. Invest in a quality organizer and use it. The chic MiniDaily Momagenda planner tracks up to four kids and still leaves room for your pursuits. Refer to the calendar at night while prepping for the next day.