Here's the honest truth about our first try at potty training: it wasn't our child's fault it took weeks. It was ours. We were trying to watch a toddler for potty cues while cooking dinner, folding laundry and juggling work and daycare. We kept missing the signs.

The second time, we did something different. We spent a week getting the house ready first. Then potty training took about a week.

Here's what our prep week looked like.

Potty training is mostly watching. In the first few days, you need to notice your child's cue and get them to the potty in time. If your hands are full every evening, you'll miss it. Clearing your schedule ahead of time is the single biggest thing you can do.

The goal is to make dinner take almost zero effort for at least the first week of potty training.

• Pick 4 or 5 easy dinners your family already likes.
• Cook them on the weekend before and portion them into containers.
• Make freezer meals like casseroles, soups or slow cooker dump bags.
• Stock easy backups: rotisserie chicken, frozen veggies, sandwich stuff.
• Prep snacks too. Cut fruit and grab-and-go snacks save you time all day.

When dinner is just "heat and eat," your evenings are free to watch.

You're about to do a lot of small loads: underwear, pants, towels and maybe sheets.

• Get to zero. Catch up on all laundry before you start.
• Stock up on underwear and pants. Have 10 to 15 pairs of underwear ready.
• Prep an "accident kit": towels, spray cleaner, a wet bag and spare clothes in each main room.
• Do one small load every evening so you never fall behind.

Look at the week you plan to start. Skip big outings, playdates and errands for the first few days. A long weekend or a week off work is ideal.

• A potty seat for the big toilet (or a potty chair) and a step stool
• A sticker chart and stickers
• A cue tracker to write down your child's signs
• Training pants for naps and nights

Make sure your partner, daycare, grandparents and babysitters know the words you'll use ("Let's go potty") and how you'll handle accidents (calmly!).

With dinners done and laundry under control, our evenings were free. We could "helicopter," watching closely the whole evening, and catch the cues. That's why it worked so much faster.

The Prep-First Potty Plan includes a Prep-Week Checklist, a Meal-Prep Plan and a Laundry Reset sheet, plus the full one-week potty training plan.

Just getting started? Grab the free Prep-Week Kit.