Wouldn’t it be amazing to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to start the day, every day? For busy moms, it can be challenging to have a fresh start to the day. One way to ensure a fantastic start to your day is to have a great evening routine. The following are the basics that should be in every busy mom’s evening routine. To help remember you can download the before bedtime checklist at the end of this article.
Wash Your Face
Wash your face. It seems to be a theme in the world right now telling people to wash their faces, and for a good reason, it’s something we should do. I know it can be difficult but at the end of the day washing your face is very important. If you’re like me and sometimes can’t find the time, just keep facial wipes at your bedside. At the very least, you could wipe your face down before you go to bed. This is not only good hygiene; it’s going to make you feel clean and go to bed in a more relaxed state.
Brush Your Teeth
You make your kids do it, and you need to do it too. Brush your teeth every evening as a part of your nightly routine. If, for some reason, you can’t seem to find a time to brush your teeth, keep disposable toothbrushes at your bedside. Go ahead and use one of those before you go to bed.
Floss
Dental work is expensive, so think about this for a moment. Floss. Every evening before you go to bed floss and yes, you know what I’m going to say if, for some reason, you cannot make it to the bathroom to floss, then do it in your bed. Is it gross? Yeah, a little, but at the same time, it’s even worse to have a piece of broccoli chilling between your teeth overnight.
Moisturize
Our bodies love moisture. Take some time during the evening to moisturize, not only your face but also your hands and your feet. If you have the time, moisturize your whole body. Working in a little self-massage is always a great way to pamper yourself at the end of each day and help send you off to dreamland in a relaxed state.
Put Phone Into Airplane Mode
Your phone can be a horrible distraction not only in the evening but also in the morning when you wake up. Put your phone in airplane mode, so you don’t hear or wake up to a stream of notifications. There is even a setting on the iPhone that allows you to have quiet hours. Quiet hours will stop notifications coming through from 11 pm to 5 am or whatever time you set as your official bedtime.
Set Alarm
Set an alarm for the next day. The trick here is do not use your phone. When you use your phone as an alarm, it is way too convenient to start the day with emails and social media. Rather than put this distraction in front of you each morning, use a good old fashion alarm clock to get you out of bed. A bonus tip here is: don’t push snooze and actually get up when your alarm goes off. Getting up when the alarm goes off is a great way to ensure you feel in control of your day.
Lay Out Clothes
One of the best parts about evening routines is they help to prepare us for the day to come. Laying out your clothes and your children’s clothes the night before is a wonderful addition to your evening routine. If you work out in the morning, lay out your gym clothes and your office clothes if you don’t just lay out your office clothes. If you’re one of those people who need options, then lay out two outfits that you can choose from. Choosing from two outfits is a lot less stressful than choosing from the entire closet full.
Set Coffee Machine
There is nothing quite as comforting as a hot cup of coffee waiting for you in the morning. Set your coffee machine before you go to bed. If you don’t have a coffee machine with a timer, that’s OK, place the water and coffee grounds in the device, then all you need to do is press start upon rising.
Stretch
Just like our minds need time to wind down, our bodies require time to wind down too. Each evening allow yourself 5 to 7 minutes to stretch. Go easy and stretch with the intent of relaxing yourself so that you can have sweet dreams.
Hydrate
Our bodies need water. While you sleep, your body revitalizes itself. Help it out by having a glass of water or a hot cup of tea before you go to bed.
Fill Out A Gratitude Journal
Great sleep leads to great days. One way to ensure you have sweet dreams and a great rest is to think happy thoughts before you go to bed. Some of the happiest thoughts are those about the things in life you’re grateful for. Each evening take a moment to write down and say out loud three things that you’re grateful for.
Take Action
Great evening routines don’t happen by themselves. You need to take action. Print out the worksheet below and go through the checklist each evening before you go to bed to ensure that you have the best start to your day as possible.
Looking for more tips on starting the day off right, check out this post on 5 Ways Moms Can Have A Better Morning
Don’t forget to sign up for the Rose Gold Mine, my free resource library. You’ll get free printable worksheets, workbooks, and checklists to help with goal setting, time management and self-care for busy moms.
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