Nighttime Routine for Busy Moms
Hey Mama,
I see you there, about to collapse into bed after a long day of working (weather you stay at home or work at home or work out of the home!). I'm just here to offer a suggestion.
You deserve a little time for you.
"But!" you say, "I still need to do the dishes, and I need to get the kids lunch ready for school tomorrow, and I need to talk to my husband about this, that, and the other thing."
And I know that ALL of this is true. But I also know that you can't give what you don't have. If you are feeling drained, trust me, your fam is feeling it to.
But I wanted to share with you what I've been doing in the evenings that still allows me to get my most important tasks done, while also allowing me to wind down and prepare my body and mind for sleep.
So here is MY nighttime routine! I've written up a handy dandy worksheet/planner page/checklist for you because I love sweet FREE printables, and I hope that it is helpful as you create a peaceful end to your day.
GET FREE PRINTABLE HERE!
Now I also love hearing about people's routines so I thought I would share a little bit of the specifics here to give you some ideas!
Tidy Your One Thing
For me this is the dishes. They get done by me every night at the beginning of the night. Once they are out of the way and I do a quick wipedown of the counters and table I can mentally move on to my evening.
I really try to keep it to just one chore at night because one thing leads to another and then all of a sudden you've cleaned the entire house... As for the rest of the cleaning I typically handle that while the girls are awake (they are 3 and 1.5 for reference) because I don't like to waste their precious sleeping moments on anything other than sewing or something that would be relaxing for me.
Have A Warm Drink
Sometimes I have some herbal tea, sometimes I have a piece of chocolate, sometimes I have both, or some other kind of treat. It's kind of like a little pat on the back from myself for making it through the day :)
Right now I'm really loving the Dark Chocolate Bark Thins from Costco and I also really like decaf Earl Grey or Rooibos Chai for tea at the end of the day.
During this portion of my routine I usually chat with Ben or depending on how late it is we will watch an episode of a show or part of a movie.
Self Care
I know we have mixed feelings about this. Is it selfish? What counts as self care? Aren't there more important things to do?
The point of a nighttime routine is to help you take care of yourself so that you can get good sleep (babies allowing) and take care of your people the next day so... I don't think it's selfish and really anything that makes you feel taken care of can count. What I do changes from day to day. But here are some super simple and more complex ways I practice self care in the evenings:
- Take a shower and wash my hair (curly girls know what I mean here!)
- Put lotion on my hands and then read a spiritual book (I love anything by Jacques Philippe for simple nighttime reading)
- Go for a walk
Gratitude
Especially after a rough day, listing out the things I'm grateful for and taking a moment to thank God for his gifts is so helpful to shift my distracted mind towards peace.
Read
Once all electronics are away I like read something to help my brain reset from all of the blue light! I just try not to read anything to philosophical or stressful before bed. :)
Some of my favorite before bed books have been:
- In the School of the Holy Spirit by Fr. Jacques Philippe
- Any of the Anne of Green Gables Books!
- The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera
- Most recently I just finished Rules for Visiting: A Novel by Jessica F Kane
Prayer
Recently I've been loving night prayer from Christian Prayer: Liturgy of the Hours
But also journalling, and just praying out loud with my husband are other ways that I like to pray in the evenings.
Rest
Now it's time for the sleepy sleep! Sweet dreams, Mama <3