How to Set an Effective Evening Routine for Homemakers

An evening routine is also often referred to as ‘a nighttime routine’. But then again, we use the term ‘evening’ not to necessarily mean when darkness creeps in, but the later hours of the day.

Anyway, how do you wind down after a day full of activities? What do you do in the evening to slow down and transition to a calm evening and the rest of the night?

The list of things you do to close the day makes up your evening routine. The list should not be complex or bear a hundred-and-one to-dos to work. Furthermore, you are too tired from the day’s work to engage in something complex! A simple set of activities gets the job done.

What is an evening routine and why it’s important to have one

We have looked at the importance of having a morning routine and factors to consider when setting either a morning or evening routine (or both). Now we look at setting an evening routine and why it is necessary to have one.

My idea of having an evening routine is to help me transition from a busy day to a peaceful night.

Secondly, an evening routine sets the stage for a less chaotic morning and enables me to do a few things on my morning list, if not all.

At first, the activities may be daunting and there is the likelihood of shifting some activities to morning hours (more chaos!), but when repeated severally, they become habits.

The overall idea of setting a workable evening routine is to prep you and your household for the next day.

Examples of activities that make up your evening routine.

There are several factors to consider when setting an evening routine. Please carefully consider where you are and how you want things to run this season.

Are you wondering what to add to your routine? Here are some examples to help you craft your unique list.

• Take some time to reflect on the day’s events; both its successes and setbacks.
• Prep for the next day. Some activities you can do include cleaning the kitchen and loading the dishwasher, ironing and laying outfits for the next day, planning meals, making a to-do list for the next day, etc.
• Unplug from active screen time before bed.
• Reading and journaling.
• Have a soothing evening and prepare for that; comfy cushions, relaxing music, and comfortable lighting.
• Purpose to have dinner with your family (if the season allows).
• Prep lessons and kids’ activities for the next day if homeschooling.
• Pamper yourself with a long warm bath, and skincare, or make a good cup of hot cuppa!
• Exercise if you prefer doing your stretches in the evening.
• ‘Pick and Park’ items like toys, gadgets, and other minor items.
• Brush teeth
• Reset your living area.

Different evening routines for different homemakers

We have full-time homemakers, homemakers who work from home, and homemakers who work outside the home. We are all homemakers but with different schedules and activities (some), and so is planning.

Your routine will differ from another if your schedules, setup, and season of life are not the same. A homemaker with school-going kids has lunches to pack and probably school pick drop and pick. This is different from a homemaker who homeschools her kids.

What am I saying? Regardless of your regular schedule, some planning is involved and an evening routine may help you simplify the next day’s agenda.

Set up routines that favor your different stages of life as a homemaker.

How to create an evening routine

Here are simple steps to make an evening routine that suits your needs.

1..The big question- “What can I do in the evening to make my mornings easier?”

2..Answering the question gives you a few ideas to work on. List them down.

3..Categorize those items into 2 groups; to-dos and hope-to-do. Here you are setting your priorities and giving essential tasks the upper hand.

4..Decide how much time you want to allocate to each activity and then create a schedule.

5..If your evening routine isn’t serving its purpose, it’s time to identify what’s working and what isn’t and tweak it.

6..Feel free to tweak your evening schedule as many times until you find what works for you in the season you are in (different seasons call for different schedules for obvious reasons 🙂

7..Keep it simple.