I have two kids 17 and a half months apart. My oldest is 2 and a half, my youngest just turned one. These toddlers are a handful and I love them to pieces. Getting out of the house had a learning curve, but I can now get everyone ready and in the car in 7 minutes in the winter time without the help of my husband. This is how I get out of the house in 7 minutes in winter time with 2 kids 2 and under. I’ve simplified it down to 5 steps all starting with the letter P- pack, prepare, potty, pinafores, and pickup.
Pack
Pack up whatever you can ahead of time. Anything that you can get ready and leave out, get it ready. Have a to-go bag that has whatever you need to bring with you when you leave. Some ideas include a water bottle, extra clothes, diapers, and snacks.
I always have my diaper bag packed and ready to go. When I use something from the diaper bag I refill it as soon as I get home. I also try to empty out the dirty diapers from the wet bag as soon as I get home. Check out my post on what I keep in the diaper bag here. Sometimes I grab some last minute snacks and pack them before we head out, but usually we keep non-perishable snacks in the diaper bag.
Related: Diaper bag checklist
Prepare
Make sure you let your kids know that they will be getting ready soon. Give them as much notice as you can. Make sure that you prepare them mentally for as much as you can. Grab whatever you need ahead of time to get it all set up and ready to go.
I sometimes have plans come up unexpectedly and can only give 5 minutes notice, but my kids know the routine pretty well so it seems to work for them. We have a baby gate before our mud closet so I also try to grab the coats from there a bit early so the kids see them and know that they’re expected to be getting ready soon.
Related: 2 under 2
Potty
Everyone in the family needs to at least try. When I was little and I went to my cousin’s house, my Aunt always made sure all 5 of her kids tried before they went anywhere. Bathroom trips are easier at home than while out and about especially with little kids.
I go potty, my son goes potty, my daughter gets her diaper changed. My son still needs lots of help with getting his pants up and down, so I’m right there with him helping with this process.
Related: Why potty training has put me in a frenzy
Pinafores
I know this doesn’t quite mean what I want it to mean, but I liked the alliteration so I’m keeping it. Since we live in Alaska, outdoor gear is part of the routine for a long part of the year. When we leave the house, coats, hats, and boots need to be on. I usually get my daughter’s coat on right after I change her diaper so she can just wander free while I’m taking care of her brother. He’s actually getting really good at putting his own boots on and we recently started practicing the Montessori coat flip, so he can almost get ready himself!
Get everyone’s shoes, coats, hats, gloves etc. Get whatever they need to leave the house onto their bodies.
Pickup
Okay, so we don’t use a pickup for driving, but I needed to keep that alliteration going! So once we’ve got all our coats on, we head to the car. I still carry my daughter to the car as she is struggling with walking in winter boots, but my son walks. I put my daughter in her car seat first while my son hangs out in the garage. Then I go around and strap my son in his car seat. When we are leaving a store and we don’t have a garage, I put my daughter in her car seat over my sons not buckled in while my son is touching the car wheel and then strap my son in and go around to the other side to buckle my daughter in. I want the outside doors open as little as possible to keep the warmth in.
Get everyone into the car! Make a routine for which kid goes in first, if it’s feasible, get one into the car then go back for the other, if not then get both in and strap in one first, then go for the other one.
Plan For Disaster
There you have it, we’re out the door in 7 minutes! It’s not always 7 minutes, there are times when my son throws a tantrum and refuses to go potty or put his boots on. Or my daughter decides it’s time to run away as I’m trying to grab her to change her diaper. I usually allow for 10-15 minutes to get ready in case this happens. When my husband is helping it actually takes at least 15 minutes to get into the car! So to make sure that we leave when I want to leave, I give us extra time. We still end up late to everything.
Related: How To Make Traveling With Young Kids Easier
Getting out of the house is so important to my own sanity. So having these routines set up has been invaluable to help my family get out and do stuff.
