Five Things I’m Trying To Do In The Evenings

I can’t count the number of times I have opted for takeout because it was too late to cook dinner (translation: I was too lazy to cook), have spent hours watching video after video on YouTube falling down the click bait rabbit hole until I finally realize that hours have passed, or went to bed without washing my face. We’ve all been guilty of it at one time or another. I realized though that those evening hours are precious and that I wanted to make better use of my time by making small changes that were easy to stick to.

1. The first thing is to unplug at 9:00 pm. This to me means to stop scrolling on Facebook, power down my laptop, and get away from the television. It is recommended that we power down and avoid using electronics an hour or two before we want to sleep as the light from these devices can hinder a good nights sleep. 9:00 is a great time for me to retire upstairs and get ready for bed. It gives me time to wind down and relax. I get in my comfy pjs, brush my teeth, wash my face, and snuggle into my bed and read for a while. This helps switch my mind off and makes it easier for me to drift off to sleep around 10:00 pm.

2. Cooking is something that Jake and I both enjoy doing and in the spirit of being more health conscious we have been trying to prepare our weeknight dinners from scratch. We use this time to discuss our days and sometimes I like to prepare our lunches for the next day to set us up with a healthy option for lunch! Most of the time we just throw whatever we have in the fridge together usually involving a protein and some sort of vegetable for dinner. Other times I like to go through all my cookbooks and pick out a few recipes for us to make during the week to mix things up! We’re saving money and experimenting in the kitchen which is turning out to be really fun!

3. As I am getting older, I am realizing how important it is to take care of my skin. I have started wearing a moisturizer with SPF during the day and have been experimenting with different skincare routines at night. I’ll be honest though, in the evening if I am tired this is the first thing to go out the window in order for my head to hit the pillow faster. I am trying to simplify it more than what I shared in my current nighttime routine post and I am still in search for a new cleanser for the evenings.

4. Cleaning up after a long day is sometimes the last thing I want to do but I feel much more relaxed if things are tidy. I have been trying to make sure the kitchen is at least cleaned up before heading up to bed but I want to do more small things so I don’t have to do it all on the weekends when we could be doing something fun! Some blogs I have read say that 15 minutes a day can make all the difference in a clean house.

5. Jake is my main squeeze and sometimes we are guilty of sitting in the same room for hours without talking but both scrolling through our phones respectively. Spending time with someone is a lot different than spending quality time with them. I make sure that I have certain nights that I work on my blog and then other nights I keep my laptop put away and leave my phone upstairs or in my purse in order to really spend time with him. Currently we are loving watching Cheers on Netflix together. This time together is really important to me and its something that I am really trying to prioritize.