I’ve seen all sorts of “before bed” routines all over the internet. Some routines take 10 or 15 minutes; some take an HOUR or more. How anyone has an evening routine that they do for an hour every night, day in day out, without fail, is beyond me, but anyway…

I have found three things that — when I do them at the end of the day — make the next day go much, much easier.

That’s it.
Just three things.

(Okay, a couple of these are open ended and could take forever if you let them slide or over-think them. Humor me.)

So, without further adieu, here’s my 3 step evening routine:

1. Do the dishes. We’ve all gotta eat, right? And nowadays, we’re more likely to be eating (and cooking) at home than ever before. So that means that, at the end of the night, you will probably have some dishes to wash. Is it a pain? ABSOLUTELY.
   
   If you’re lucky, all you have to do is load your dishwasher, add some detergent and hit start just before you head to bed. Unfortunately, some of you might have to bite the bullet and wash, rinse and dry those dishes in order to end the night with a clean and empty sink.
   
   What happens if you let this slide?
   
   First — it’s discouraging to wake up in the morning and the first thing that you see is an overdue item on your to-do list. It’s depressing, can sap your motivation and it just makes it that much harder for your day to start off on the right foot.
   
   Second — you’re more likely to waste food. If you have leftovers from that previous night’s dinner — but you ignore everything going on in the kitchen as soon as you have food in front of you — then you are far more likely to leave that food out overnight. And once you leave that food out overnight, it’s far more likely to end up in the trash than in your mouth. (Unless you’re a fan of risking food poisoning.)
   
   And finally — it STINKS. If you “soak” your dishes for more than a few minutes (you know who you are), then bacteria is going to develop in that nasty, food-filled water. In the morning it is likely to smell. And if you let that food and water combination continue to rot through the course of the next day or longer…you don’t want to know what will develop after that. Seriously. I’ve done it.
   
   Would you rather wake up to a clean, empty kitchen sink — or a cereal bowl with a nest of maggots in it? (Yes, that has happened to me.)
   
   Bite the bullet and do the dishes.
2. Tidy up the main living area. Yes, I am well aware that this could be an overwhelming nightmare thought — especially if you have children. This is also one of those things that takes less time to do when you do it a little bit at a time every night. Your house will feel a thousand percent cleaner once it’s tidy. Set a 2 minute timer if you need the motivation and just pick up as much as you can in that two minutes. Toss what needs to be trashed and put away anything where you know where it goes. You will love the results — even at 2 minutes a night.
3. Prep anything that will make the next day easier. Yeah, I left this one open-ended for a reason. Contrary to what I’ve seen on the internet, this is going to change based on the needs of you and your family.
   
   Personally, I am not a fan of the idea of handling kitchen appliances (primarily the coffee maker) when I’m barely capable of forming coherent sentences (because I haven’t had coffee yet). So for me, the one thing I like to add to my nightly routine? Prepping the coffee maker.
   
   So for you — think through your typical morning. What are the most frustrating parts of the start of your day? Is it pulling together a healthy breakfast? Is it that your kids can’t seem to figure out what clothes to put on (or how to put them on)? Is it that you can’t figure out what clothes you want to put on? (Sadly, if you are at a point where you can’t figure out how to put your own clothes on, I don’t know how much I will be able to help you.)
   
   What are the things that you need to do that drive you crazy when you have to do them under a time crunch? Pick one of those things and try to do it right before you go to bed. Consistently. For one week.
   
   Your future self will thank you.
   After they have finished their coffee.

What’s your nightly routine? Do you have one? Are you looking to start one? Let’s talk about it in the comments!