My Evening Routine
A good morning starts the night before. This is SO SO true. The number one way we can set our day up for success is to take a few minutes the night before to prepare.
Here are the steps I take:
Planner. My Full Focus Planner is one of my favorite things ever. Life. Changed. (But I will dive into this in another post.) I look at my planner to see what is happening. Is there a school party? A doctor’s appointment? What is happening that I need to think about? Should I throw some things in the car tonight to prepare for errands tomorrow?
Weather. What is the weather tomorrow? What temps will I need to dress for? Is there any extreme weather? Do I need a coat or rainboots? This is just a great thing to know going into your prep.
Food. What are we having for dinner tomorrow night? Do I need to thaw out some meat in the fridge or prep something for the crockpot? Go ahead and be sure lunches are packed for tomorrow. Do you need to throw a granola bar in your purse?
Clothing. Lay out the clothes you and your kids will be wearing tomorrow. This is a MASSIVE time saver in my house. I don’t know if you’ve ever been a part of an early morning fit regarding outfits, but it’s not pleasant. My number one defense is to have the kids’ clothing laid out and no thought is given to something else in the closet that he or she might prefer. I promise you will thank me for this one.
Laundry. I do one load a day. I don’t love doing laundry so this really saves my sanity and keeps everyone in clean undies. Each night I gather all the laundry for the load I’ll start the next morning and put it in the washing machine. This makes starting the load in the morning a 30 second task.
Basket pickup. THIS WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Or at least it has mine. This is a non negotiable in my house. I must take the extra 5 minutes to gather anything that doesn’t belong in my main living area and do a quick straighten. Sure, I want to talk myself out of it almost every night. But I thank myself each and every morning when I walk into my clean kitchen. My husband knows how important this is to me, so he will be sure help me in some way. (And I’m pretty sure he loves it too.) This is my number one tip to start a stress-free morning. Try it. You’ll like it!
Dishwasher. Start the dishwasher. Your dinner dishes will thank you tomorrow night, unless you love stacking the dinner dishes and waiting on the load to finish. Yeah, I don’t like that either.
This may seem lengthy. But it’s really not! Do I get every single one of these done each night? Nope. Do I try? Absolutely. And when I do I can tell a difference in my morning. Click HERE for a graphic to help you remember the list.
Is there something you do to prep for tomorrow that I didn’t think of? I hope this routine will help you start your day with margin for goodness.