The Routine That Will Change Your Morning
Each morning the coffee machine is one of my first stops. When I walk into the kitchen, what do I feel? If I have completed my nightly pickup, I feel peaceful and ready to take on the day. But last week we had a rushed dinner before our midweek Bible Study at church and then came home later than expected. I had pulled something in my back and didn’t feel awesome. My husband was on a call and the kids needed to get in bed. So I didn’t clean the kitchen. When I came downstairs the next morning all I felt was the looming responsibility of what I needed to do. I needed to clean the kitchen in addition to all of the other things on my list.
This is why I know this one simple routine will change your morning. I have experienced it.
For many years now my family has implemented the Nightly Pickup. This where we straighten up the main level of our home. Certainly there are other spaces that might need some attention, but for this routine we focus on our kitchen and main living area.
The Basket Pickup. I have a little basket that we use to put things in that don’t belong in the room we are in. When I’m in the kitchen and living room I put things in this basket that need to go upstairs to where the bedrooms are. Rather than make a bunch of trips, we just use this basket.
Tidy the spaces. We put everything back where it belongs.
Wipe the counters and table. You’ve picked everything up, so take it a step further and make sure your countertops and table is quickly wiped off.
Run the vacuum. I find myself running our vacuum probably once a day. I’d like to blame the six year old, but we all make messes. This takes about 3 minutes and keeps crumbs from being tracked into the carpet.
Start the dishwasher. This is usually the last thing I do before I head upstairs for the night. When all the dishes are put in the dishwasher I turn it on so it will be clean and ready to unload tomorrow.
This is a super simple routine. But it is one of my most powerful routines! Get your family involved. The kids know that it’s just what we do before bed each evening. They may complain at first, but after a while they realize this is what is expected. My 6 year old will race to hurry and help because she knows the faster we are done will mean more time for reading before bed.
If you want to take it a step further, you can check out my entire Evening Routine HERE.
If you don’t have this routine as a part of your life, try it! I know you will find that by doing this each night you are adding margin in your morning for the good things.