Easy Evening Routine for Stay at Home Moms

SAHM Evening Routine

A couple of months ago, I shared my morning routine with you guys and I thought it was time I gave you a follow up to how my evenings run! 

This stay at home mom evening routine mainly focuses on what happens after my son’s bedtime, but you can read more about our toddler’s daily routine here. The important thing to focus on when creating a routine is to start small and build it up to include everything you want. Be sure to make time for yourself.

1-2:30pm Down Time 

I make a point to NOT clean during nap time. This time is for me to decompress and focus on myself. This is when I normally write and plan this blog for you lovely ladies. Making time for myself is important to me, and it should be for any mother. Especially stay at home moms. When your day is devoted from day break to bedtime to someone else, it is important to make time for yourself. 

I have a whole routine. I turn down the lights and let natural light in as much as possible. Then I make myself a cup of tea and snuggle my dog while I write. If I am not feeling like working on the blog, sometimes I’ll do yoga or read. Anything that allows me to step away from my duties of homemaking and mothering for a bit. 

6:00 Dinner Time

We have dinner around six each night. Sometimes it’s pushed a bit later because #toddlerlife but I aim for six and hope for the best. We have also had great results ditching the high chair tray and letting our toddler use what we call Big Boy Plates so that he can sit at the table with us.

I’m including this in my stay at home mom evening routine because I think it is incredibly important for (everyone but especially) mothers to treat their bodies well. That means the majority of our dinners have healthy elements. For ideas on how to model healthy eating habits, check out my post on eating healthier as a picky adult. 

I make sure that we eat together as a family each night. That means gathering at the dinner table with no screens. I’ve read numerous articles on the importance for children to eat meals as a family but I’m here to say that it is also important for parents. 

Think about it: you’ve spent all day running after tiny humans, being yelled at, cried upon, and probably have food, spit, or worse somewhere on your clothing. Your husband has either been staring at screens, doing manual labor, or taken on other stressful elements in his line of work as well. 

It is important for you to see each other and also be reminded of the tiny people you are working so hard for. Having that time together can strengthen your family unit.

6:45-7:30 Bedtime Routine

My husband and I are usually done eating before my son, and because I spend all day with him, I try to give him as much time with my husband as possible. That means I start clearing dishes and loading the dishwasher while my husband helps our toddler finish up. 

I wipe down the counters, tidy up, and clean out the sinks during this time. In fact, I have a free printable so you can keep track of your daily cleaning habits!

After dinner, we do our bedtime routine which includes some form of family fun. Once our son is dressed for bed, we spend 10-15 minutes playing in his room. Currently, he is obsessed with rugby, which constitutes tackling his dad and playing catch with a small football. 

Sometimes, it means reading books or snuggling all the stuffed animals in his room. Whatever the activity is, we do it as a family.

7:30-7:45 Finish Tidying

Once we put our son down for the night, I spend the next 15 minutes or so putting the house to rights. Anything that hasn’t been cleaned up during the day goes back where it belongs. If I didn’t finish the dishes or counters, I do that at this time and start the dishwasher so that it is ready for me to unload in the morning. You can check out this post for ways to make your household run efficiently.

The last thing I do is clean the sink and either start a diffuser (I have this one and I love it!) or light a candle.

7:45-8:30 Me Time

This time frame really depends on if my husband is at the gym that night or not. If he is, I watch my shows he is not interested in, read, paint my nails, zone out on Pinterest for a bit, or anything else that catches my interest. When it doesn’t get dark until later, I play with our dog in the backyard. 

If he is not at the gym, we will watch tv, play with the dog, or generally hang out together. 

8:30-9:15 TV Time With Hubs

My husband is home from the gym by this time, so it is rare that we don’t spend this time together. This is the time we reserve for ‘our’ shows. If we are really into a series, we solely watch it together. We’ve been doing this since college and it’s a fun thing we share. 

Before heading upstairs for the night, we do one last walkthrough to make sure any candles are blown out, doors are locked, and lights are off. 

9:15-9:30 Evening Ablutions

This is my time to shower, brush my teeth and go through my skincare routine. I’ve found that I sleep better if I shower before bed, so I adjusted my routine a while back and it’s been smooth sailing ever since. 

9:30-10:30 Relaxation Time

I would love to sit here and tell you that I read, meditate and fall peacefully asleep. That is simply untrue. Usually, after doing my evening routine, I look at social media or memes on my phone while reruns of Top Model play in the background. My husband likes to watch Youtube videos so it’s mostly us just sharing stuff on our phones for an hour before bed. 

10:30 Bedtime

I try my best to fall asleep around 10:30 each night. Sometimes I’m out by 10:15, but more often it is pushing 11. I’m trying to work on it, but I’m human. 

Weekends

This stay at home mom evening routine stays roughly the same on weekends. We are not party animals, and I have found that days go much smoother if my son gets enough sleep. The major difference is that my husband is around more because he does not work weekends. However, we are more likely to have some type of event that changes our schedule. 

Remain Flexible

This night time routine is simply a guideline. If my husband and I have a date night, we have family visiting, or another event pops up, this routine obviously changes. I do my best to keep the routine in place, even if it needs to shift every now and again. 

Schedule

• 6pm dinner time
• 6:45-7:30 bath, bedtime routine
• 7:30-7:45 finish cleaning/tidying
• 7:45-8:30 me time
• 8:30-9:15 tv time with hubs
• 9:15-9:30 Evening Ablutions
• 9:30-10:30 Relaxation Time
• 10:30 bedtime

Do you have a stay at home mom evening routine? Let me know in the comments below what works for you!