How to Create an Evening Routine

By now, you've likely heard me preach about my morning routine. My incredibly important morning routine. And maybe you're tired of hearing about it.

That's okay. You're in the clear this time.

Because I'm not talking about my morning routine.

I'm talking about my evening routine. Which - I'm sorry - is every bit as important as my morning routine.

When building your evening routine, you're going to want to use much the same approach as you do with your morning routine. Basically, ask yourself: 1) what needs to be done and 2) how much time do I need to do it.

I will share a brief rundown of my basic evening routine. The whole process is pretty self-explanatory, but always feel free to reach out with questions.

I start my evening routine at 8:00 p.m. and it goes - mostly - like this:

• Laundry. Never ever ever leave wet laundry in the washer overnight. It will smell. You may tell yourself it doesn't smell, but I'm telling you - you smell. If the day has gotten away from you, this is the time to remind yourself - set an alarm on your phone if you have to - to check the washer and dryer. Finish up your laundry.
• Meal prep. I will make lunches in the morning if I have to. But, I would really prefer to make them the night before. Even better, I'll prep a few days or even a week's worth of lunches.
• Dishes and clean kitchen. If the dishwasher was unloaded properly in the morning and people have been putting their dirty dishes in it as the day goes on, this shouldn't be much of a chore...says the lady who has seven children (plus friends) in and out of her house on a regular basis. In reality, I'm doing the dishes every evening. You should be, too. There's just something relaxing about going to bed with a clean kitchen.
• Spend 15 minutes picking up. Whether it's stray items in the living room, organizing craft supplies, sorting through clothes that need donated, it doesn't matter. My recommendation is to use this 15 minutes to make a small dent in a project I've been dreading (e.g. organizing the garage), but it's my 15 minutes. I use it wherever I need it.
• Clothes for tomorrow. This saves so much time in the morning. I encourage the kids to do it, too.
• Plan for tomorrow. I like to start tomorrow's to-do list before going to bed.
• Wash my face and brush my teeth.
• Read. I'm trying to incorporate nightly journaling, but it's not happening. Maybe a future goal. For now, I just try to spend at least 10 minutes reading every evening.

So that's my evening routine. Again, it doesn't always work out perfectly, but I can speak to the fact that it helps me transition so I fall asleep faster and sleep better. You may find that other things work better for you: hot tea, meditation, etc. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to comment and share them with me. And, as always, if you have any questions, let me know!