Many families cringe at the thought of hectic school mornings and the struggle to get out the door. Make your mornings manageable with a few planning and preparation strategies!

Let's talk about weekday mornings. Are they rushed? About an hour too short? Do you stagger out the door with your heart pounding, only to discover you forgot to brush your hair? Or your teeth?

Wouldn't it be grand to turn your morning rush hour into morning power? Imagine the feeling of walking — not racing — out the door with all family members still on speaking terms. Impossible? Maybe not. In a word: preparation. Prepare for your morning rush hour well before the sun peeks over the horizon — the night before, the week before and even one month prior. If you have a game plan and positive mental outlook, you'll be ready to take on the stress of the morning rush in style. Forthwith, some advice from cool women on top of their games:

Breakfast in a Breeze

Christi Gillentine, author of the ebook Freezer Cooking on a Budget (30 Day Gourmet), knows about hectic mornings. As a mother of three toddlers, it's essential she make mornings as smooth as possible. One trick up Gillentine's sleeve is freezer cooking. "Mornings would not be the same if I didn't use freezer cooking to help me along," she says.

Gillentine prepares breakfast foods in advance and freezes them in single servings. She begins by preparing a large batch of pancake batter. "Then I pour about six or seven cups into quart-sized freezer bags, seal, label and freeze. When I plan to cook pancakes for breakfast I put a bag of the batter into my fridge the night before to defrost," Gillentine says. "In the morning, I just heat up the griddle and clip a small hole into a bottom corner of the bag." Squeezing the batter directly from the bag saves time and cleanup.

Frozen Assets (Champion Press) author Deborah Taylor-Hough also maximizes the morning hours by preparing ahead. "Taking an hour or so on a weekend to prepare breakfast items for the freezer can take much of the insanity out of the weekday morning rush," she says.

Forget cold cereal! Coming up short on a list of what you can make and freeze for breakfast? "Sausage and egg casseroles, egg sandwiches, breakfast burritos, pancakes, French toast, waffles, muffins, baked oatmeal," Taylor-Hough suggests. Now that's a lineup any weekday breakfast table would be proud to host.

Another way to ensure your family leaves the house well-fed is by planning ahead with mixes. On Sunday, prepare a big batch of a dry oatmeal mix, muffin mix or granola mix. During the week, you can whip up a batch of muffins to bake while you're getting dressed, or sit the kids down with a bowl of granola and their choice of toppings — yogurt, honey or fruits. Set a bowl of oranges or bananas on the table for easy eating.

Kill the Chaos

What really makes a morning rush hour derail into a disaster? Lack of routine. Establish a reliable routine, and you'll sail through the morning with ease. For that, we turn to the woman known to tens of thousands of loyal Internet fans as the FlyLady.

Marla Cilley (nicknamed FlyLady for an affinity for fly fishing) empowers her readers by offering them baby steps toward an organized lifestyle. At the top of her list? Her "Before Bed" routine. "It's my favorite routine," Cilley says.

Cilley advocates preparing for the morning rush hour as early as the afternoon prior. "When the kids come in from school, dump the backpacks, clean up the lunch things, and get things lined up at the door," she says. You'll be that much ahead in the morning when you're trying to get your children off to school.

Then at night, "Start with three simple things for an evening routine," Cilley says. "Make sure the kitchen is clean. Lay out clothes for tomorrow. Look at the calendar."

As you look at your calendar, take note of what is happening the next day so you won't be surprised in the morning. Is there a soccer game? Get the soccer gear laid out. Need to get groceries on your lunch break? Write out your list, and tuck it into your briefcase so you're not scrambling for ideas in the morning. Gather what you need for the next day — the night before.

The idea, Cilley says, is to ensure you don't have to rush around in the morning — everything has already been taken care of. "It's about going on automatic pilot," she says. "Not having to think because your routines are your foundation."

And Cilley's final word of advice? "Go to bed at a decent hour. Set a bedtime and stick to it. You need to take care of yourself in order to take care of your family properly."

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