Organized Evening Routine
The discussion of routines, has turned into a three part series:
- Morning Routines posted in January 2017.
- Afternoon Routines posted in February 2017
- Evening Routines in this post.
This month, I share my evening routines. My afternoon and evening routines flow together, sometimes smoothly and other times with a great struggle. The later typically occurs when I haven't closed out my work day in the afternoon and am distracted by some unfinished business.
Our family consists of my husband, myself, two elementary aged children and one large dog. We value dinner together as a family and prioritize this with limited after-school activities. This works for our family now. Your evening might look different, especially if you are in another season of life.
Dinner together is the start of our evening routine. On a good day, the kids will have finished their homework, chores and music practice by dinner time. After dinner, the kids are expected to help clear and wipe down the table, while the adults wash the dishes and pack up any leftovers.
Once our kitchen is tidy and all homework is complete, we always have a simple dessert as a way of winding down and settling into our evening routine. In the cooler months our dessert consists of tea with a piece chocolate or a cookie. In the warmer months, we might have ice cream or fresh fruit after some time outside.
Following dessert, I take a quick scan of the kitchen and living room. We pick up any stray clutter and I get myself a glass of water before heading upstairs.
I do the same clutter scan upstairs. Truth be told, the closets and flat surfaces in my kids' rooms are quite cluttered. Before bed, the children are required to pick up everything off the floor (hence the cluttered closets and surfaces), choose their clothes for the next day, bathe, brush their teeth and read for a bit.
My evening routine also includes tidying up, choosing my outfit for the next day, changing into pajamas, washing my face, brushing my teeth, tucking my kids into bed, keeping a gratitude journal and reading. It pretty much happens in that order.
Some days I am so tired I doze off while tucking in my kids. Most days, I read for about an hour and go to sleep quite early in order to wake at 5 a.m. the next morning. This weekday routine may sound incredibly boring for some of you and that's okay.
The point is to develop an evening routine that sets us up for a successful morning the next day. It will be a little bit different for each of us. Have you created an evening routine that serves you well? Comment below!
