Be Intentional Baby Step #8 – Why It’s Important To Develop a 10-15 Minute Nighttime Routine (and What We Do)

Our clean dishes ready in the morning which makes for a great day!

It is Baby Step #8 of our Be Intentional Challenges!

As a reminder, the 30 Be Intentional challenges this month are designed to get you on the right foot, the right track and give you energy, efficiency and organization which will propel you into a life that is able to develop an overall financially smart, happy and frugal home.  We are going to have different themes each month this year (and we have very exciting stuff planned) and this month is your foundation!

We encourage couples and families to do these challenges together so the whole house can function well!

As the 30 steps go along, we will be focusing on 5 areas for the Be Intentional Month:

• Self
• Home
• Budget
• Schedule
• Frugality

 

Baby Step #8 

Develop a 10-15 Minute Nighttime Routine

And what we mean by this is spend 10-15 minutes before you head off to bed to tidy up and finish the day so that when you wake up the next day, you already feel like you are on the right foot! We literally do not spend more than 10-15 minutes. Mostly 10 minutes! It doesn’t take long at all to do this, but it seems to add hours to the next day! 

We recommend making your focus the kitchen for your nighttime routine.

I hate waking up to a bunch of dirty dishes and messy kitchen – I feel like it ruins my day! So this quick 10-15 minute routine really is a lifesaver for both your time and your outlook! It is going to take some time to develop this as a habit, but once you start doing this regularly, you will love the results in your life!

So what we try to do:

• At the very least, I run a load of dishes in the dishwasher so they are clean in the morning.  This means that my kitchen is mostly cleaned!
• I also try to have cleared off counters.  It feels so amazing to walk down my steps in the morning and see a clean Kitchen counter – double good start to the day!
• I take a look at the Weekly Menu and see if there is anything I can do to make breakfast prep quicker and smoother in the morning.  Honestly, I will gather the ingredients in one place in the fridge or counter.
• If we need to be somewhere the next day, I also try to lay out clothing for everyone.  Alex actually does this for himself every night as part of his routine.
• If I have just a bit more time, I also hand wash any remaining dishes or non-dishwasher dishes.

That’s basically my whole routine – it is just a kitchen focus! A cleaner kitchen by morning really makes a world of difference.  It is generally the most important room in the morning for everyone.  But that’s not all we do…

Alex is also involved in the nighttime routine. Here’s what he does:

• Prepares the coffee and sets the automatic timer on it (we have to have it ready if we get up by 4:15 am :))
• He then takes that 10-15 minutes that I am doing the kitchen tidy to sit at the counter with his laptop for a review of the day’s spending and budget, and a quick check and discussion on how we are doing on meeting the week’s budget.  This is a habit we encourage you and your spouse to develop – one that means a quick financial check at the end of the day.  It helps you keep on track much better, opens communication between the two of you and 10-15 minutes is all you need to accomplish a handful of tasks.

So that is our nightly routine and we suggest developing one that works best for your family.  However, we would highly recommend a quick kitchen tidy and quick financial checkup – both are things that help to keep you on track with your goals in life!

Will you join us on this challenge? Leave us a comment below whether you have a routine now or you will start one!  What will your routine consist of?

Join us at our small Facebook Be Intentional group HERE for encouragement, discussions and more.  Just send a request to join and we will add you to the group.