one of the greatest things I ever did for my naturally-anxious self was create morning and evening routines based on things that made me feel my best.

it not only ensured things that were important to me were prioritized on a daily basis, but it also was incredibly grounding to start and end my days the exact same way. (especially as a mom of two littles - a lot of my day is out of my control, so knowing that both the beginning and the end of the day are relatively predictable brings me a lot of much-needed structure and consistency in this season.)

I asked myself: what makes me feel my best? what makes me feel my worst? and from there, I made a list. and that list helped me create morning and evening routines that work for me. like, I need a made bed and a picked up bathroom to start my day, so those are a morning routine. and the feeling of continuously stepping on a dirty kitchen rug enrages me like nothing else and waking up to a dirty kitchen overwhelms me - it just does - so I kept that in mind when brainstorming evening routines.

morning and evening routines are one of my favorite ways to take care of myself.

you deserve whatever you need to take care of yourself.

morning:

alarm goes off at 5AM and I ask myself: do I want Alone Time? or more sleep?
- and I pick one, guilt-free. whatever I need that day is perfect.
- oftentimes I pick some sort of Quiet Movement as my Alone Time
skincare + get ready
check budget, accounts + check to do list + check menu plan
- we love Every Dollar Plus for budgeting
- here’s 5 lists I swear by
- here’s 10 things I do every month for our household + marriage
and in no particular order, I do these things once the kids are up:
- set out breakfast for KK and Joey
  - here’s one small thing I did to make breakfasts so easy
- make our bed, tidy our room/bathroom
- start a load of laundry, if needed
  - here’s a very popular reel on our laundry routine
- unload dishwasher, reload with lurking dishes
- fill diffusers with orange oil, simply because I love the light citrus scent it gives my home
  - I love this inexpensive orange oil for this purpose
  - and one day I’d love to have gorgeous diffusers, but for now I love these discreet, inexpensive ones
- fill water cups/bottles for the day
  - here’s the 3 things I do every morning so that I easily drink 80-120 ounces of water every day
- make my morning smoothie
  - but I don’t drink it until I’m hungry later. I make it first thing in the morning, I put it in an insulated tumbler, I put the tumbler (and one of my water cups) in the car right away, and I enjoy my smoothie when I get hungry - usually driving home from our Morning Outing. one of my favorite ways I take care of myself
  - here’s three things that revolutionized my smoothie routine - like making smoothie packs with these cups
  - I love these reusable pouches for sharing my smoothie with KK and Joey
- get KK and Joey ready
  - here’s why we only wear certain colors and how it really helps me in this season as a mom of two littles
  - here’s our simplified sock + shoe system - I swear by this, too
- pack up + leave for Morning Outing + check mail
  - here’s where we go every day for Morning Outing!

when I do morning routines, KK plays or KK follows me around. she may need reminders that she can play or she can help me, but we’ve been doing this since she was six months old, so she generally knows the drill. (if absolutely needed, I’ll turn on a show, but we try to play in the morning first. screen time is a tool I’m happy to utilize when we need it.)

evening routines:

I start these whenever works that day: while Brett’s bathing the kids, during Evening Quiet Time, if Brett’s doing Outdoor Time, after the kids have gone to bed, whenever. at this point I’ve been doing these routines for so long, that this takes me anywhere from 30-45 minutes. and it sets me up for so much success the next day. so am I tired at this point in the day? sure. but I do it for Future Haley, and she is so grateful. and there is a comfort in doing this every night.
- clean up dinner, put away leftovers
  - here are my favorite containers
  - investing in a good set of food containers is one of the best gifts you’ll ever give yourself, I promise
- pack snacks/lunches for the next day
  - even if we’re just eating at home. taking the few minutes at night - when I’m already in the mode of putting away leftovers - to make our snacks and lunches for the next day is one of the best gifts I give Future Haley. so in the morning - when things are a little hectic - I can grab our already-prepared food and bam! we’re done. (and! on days we’re eating out and about, or days that KK’s at preschool, this little habit is especially helpful - the packed lunch is already ready to go!)
  - I also make sure to pack something for myself
  - here’s our favorite things for packing lunches + snacks
- load dishwasher, run dishwasher overnight
- wipe down kitchen
- quick reset of the house - here’s why this changed everything for me
- quick vacuum of kitchen, if needed
- straighten our couch covers - the mvp in our home of dogs/kids
- rest + recharge, however I need that day
  - could be a show with Brett, could be scrolling the internet, could be writing a blogpost, could be a bath, could be a book, could be an outing with my friends, could be an earlyyyyy bedtime. whatever I need that day is perfect.
- shower + skincare + vitamins + bed
  - I’m usually in bed between 9 and 10