This is part 2 of a three part series on routines. If you haven’t read the first post, check out My 5 AM Morning Routine.
Last week I shared about my early morning routine. Early mornings would not be possible without – you guessed it – a solid evening routine! Everyone knows that a good morning routine starts with the night before, so let’s dive in.
My husband and I have always been fans of early bedtimes for the kiddos. Once each kid started sleeping through the night, which may have been around nine months old (hard to remember exactly, those days are a bit of a blur), we settled in on a 6 PM bedtime.
This happened naturally with our first daughter and we loved the routine so much that we were intentional about it with our second daughter. Even now that our oldest is almost four, she still goes to bed between 6:30 and 7PM.
Because I value going to bed early myself, but I also need time for myself before going to sleep, I’m intentional about getting the kids to bed early as well. If they were going to bed at 8:30 PM, I would not be able to follow my evening routine AND get up early the next day.
If you read my post the other day about my stay at home mom schedule, this evening routine is what fits into my evening block. It’s that time of the day after the kids are in bed and before I go to bed myself.
Evening Routine Checklist
There are a few essential items that need to get done every night for me to feel like it’s a successful evening routine. For our family, that evening routine checklist includes:
- Clean up the kitchen
- Load & start the dishwasher
- Pick up toys
- Throw stray clothes in the laundry
- Put everything back where it belongs
- Prep breakfast for the next day
- Set out exercise clothes for the next day
Here’s how it goes down on a typical evening. After we get both kids to bed, my husband and I immediately start in on the kitchen. If we leave it for the end of the night, it’s less likely to get done, so we tackle it first.
Cleaning up the kitchen includes putting away any leftover food from dinner, loading the dishwasher, and wiping down all countertops. That last one is very important if you want to wake up to a fresh & clean kitchen (sticky countertops are just nasty).
After the kitchen is done and dishwasher is running, we do a clean sweep of the house. This is when toys get picked up, clothes get thrown in the hamper, and every single item that is on the floor or on a surface gets returned to where it belongs. We lovingly refer to this exercise as our “ten-minute tidy” which essentially resets the house. It often doesn’t even take a full ten minutes.
My next step is to prepare our breakfast go-bag for the following morning. My kids are almost never in the mood to eat after waking up, so we always bring breakfast in the car with us to eat on the way to preschool. Our breakfast go-bag typically includes bananas, granola bars, and peanut butter crackers, along with filled up sippy cups (or some variation of similar items). I set it by the door for an easy grab and go the next day.
Finally, the last step of my evening routine checklist is to set out my workout gear for the following morning. By laying my exercise clothes out ahead of time, I can get up and get moving quickly.
Once all of this is done, it’s time to relax! With all tasks completed, my husband and I can enjoy our evenings without anything looming over our heads. This is our time to catch up on our hobbies or get lost in a good book. My husband is into videogames and has been playing Halo with friends of his since middle school (they started almost twenty years ago!)
I love using this evening relax time to sew, crochet, or curl up and read.
Benefits Of A Night Routine Checklist
Following an evening schedule is important in order to wrap up each day feeling refreshed, nourished, and accomplished. I try to avoid screens in the evening, both through television and mindless scrolling on my phone. I actually recently deleted every app on my phone that I felt was distracting me too much (Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, you know, the usual offenders). I’m currently taking a break from all of these as a mindfulness exercise, but more on that later.
One of the biggest advantages of skipping the screens at bedtime is that it’s easier to get to sleep on time. I don’t know about you, but there have been way too many nights when I got hooked on a good show and ended up going to bed way later than I originally intended. I seem to have a bit more self-control in getting to bed at a reasonable hour when I’m just reading a book or working on a hobby craft.
By following your evening routine checklist every night, you will add a layer of consistency to your days that will help you bring closure to each day and go to sleep peacefully. You won’t be stressed about how dirty your house is or feel like you didn’t get any “you” time, because you built it into your evening.
Getting Ready For Bed
I usually turn in for the night between 8 and 8:30 PM. My bedtime ritual is pretty simple: I take off my makeup, wash my fash, brush my hair and teeth and snuggle into bed.
I write in my journal most nights to process my thoughts, feelings, and record anything significant that happened that day. I have grown to love looking back on my journals over the years to look back on how I’ve grown, reflect on things that I’ve been through, and see how God has answered prayers.
After journaling for 10 or 15 minutes, I’ll either do lights out or jump back into an easy read. I avoid reading anything too engaging right before going to bed so I don’t get mentally wound up before sleep. There have been times when I’ve been engrossed in a good crime novel or murder mystery, which doesn’t quite put me to sleep very well. I’m currently reading The Joy Of Less by Francine Jay, which is a nice happy read before bed – although I do get pretty fired up about minimalism and decluttering, lol. I have been known to stay up late organizing and purging cabinets.
I digress.
The goal is always lights out by 9 o’clock, asleep by 9:15 or 9:30 PM. By getting to bed nice and early, I am able to wake up feeling rested the next morning, ready to take on the world again.
On nights when I don’t get get to bed early enough, I do have to adjust my alarm for the following morning and push it back. I just can’t survive on less than seven hours of sleep. I do prioritize getting a solid eight or more hours each night so that I can be a well functioning human for my family. Anyone else turn into a rage monster when sleep deprived? Just me?
So there you have it! Our evening routine checklist consists of cleaning up the kitchen, loading & starting the dishwasher, picking up toys, clothes, and any other items strewn about, prepping breakfast for the next day, setting out exercise clothes, washing up, and journaling. It all culminates in a good night’s rest 9 times out of 10.
What is your evening routine? Let me know in the comments!