31 Days to Bless Your Home, Day 23: Tomorrow Begins Tonight

31 Days to Bless Your Home: Easy Tips for the Domestically Challenged

Week 4- Developing Habits and Routines to Maintain a Blessed Home

Day 23 – Tomorrow Begins Tonight

“She makes sure her dealings are profitable;
her lamp burns late into the night.” Proverbs 31:18 NLT

So cozy!

This week’s challenge: Begin new habits and routines that will help you maintain the blessed atmosphere in your home.

Today’s challenge: Write down your evening plan and begin your new habits tonight!

One precious memory I have as a child is my family’s Saturday night routine each week. Getting ready for church on Sunday always began on Saturday night! My mother had us take baths and lay out all of our clothes, shoes, tights, and hair bows. When we finished, we were allowed to stay up a little later so that we could watch Lawrence Welk and Hee Haw as a family. Those were good times!

My mom kept that habit throughout our school days too, laying out all our lunch money, papers, or anything we might need for the next morning on the kitchen counter the night before. She was so organized! If only we would have cooperated a little better on our end as well!

She encouraged us to lay out our clothes, shoes, and books each night before school, but laziness seemed to always take precedence, and we inevitably began many mornings with a panicky search for a missing sock or shoe. I hated going to school without my homework or supplies that I needed. I can feel the knots in my stomach even now remembering that feeling! But, it was my own fault for not obeying my mom or applying the habits that she was trying to teach me.

When I grew up, however, I quickly put away the foolishness! I could not stand the stress of looking for something or forgetting something I needed, especially when my children were young. I developed an almost religious habit of laying out every possible thing we might need for the next morning the night before. I even laid out underwear and earrings! The diaper bag was always organized and well stocked the night before too. I can’t even begin to describe for you how much more peaceful life can be just from this one habit!

You may have seen from yesterday’s blog that I had a tough time organizing my morning routine after retiring from teaching, but somehow, my evening routine has always been solid. Perhaps it is the night owl in me, or the touch of OCD – who knows! I learned a long time ago that each day actually begins at sundown the evening before. Whatever I can do to organize and prepare for the next day the night before makes all the difference in the world to the success of the morning.

Laying out all of the things we need for the next day is just one habit that can make each day more organized and less stressful. Our homes also benefit from establishing simple nighttime routines. As we have been emphasizing various ways to bless our homes this month, I believe that learning new habits and routines will bring order and peace into our homes in place of potential chaos. Today, we will look at suggestions to incorporate into our evening plan so that our homes will feel like a peaceful haven, a joyful sanctuary, and a place of retreat and nurturing for our families.

Here I am wearing Ralphie’s pink bunny pajamas! More Face-in-Hole fun!

Here are some of the things I do each night (most of the time!):

We have a 10-15 minute tidy. Everyone needs to pick up anything they have left out. Take a dent out of that paper pile too! Quick, daily pick ups are a lot easier to maintain than to try to organize a pig sty!

We lay out everything we will need for the next day. This includes clothes, shoes, socks, underwear, accessories and jewelry, wallet or purse, keys, papers or bills, dry cleaning, school books and backpacks, lunch boxes and lunch money – everything!

Is there anything needed for work in the morning? Do you need to check emails or finish a project? Or my old question, “Do I have any more papers to grade before tomorrow?”

Do you need gas? Do it tonight to save time in the morning.

Do you need cash?

Do you have any bills to pay or anything to mail? Get it ready, and don’t put it off.

Make sure your kitchen is spotless and the sink is sparkling every night before you go to bed. Run the dishwasher if it is full enough.

If children are small, supervise homework and baths. If you are my age, celebrate! I’m sure all our 20-somethings can do it all by themselves now! Woo Hoo!

Take dogs out; feed and water. Play with them and make sure they had some exercise.

Sort laundry for the next day.

The obvious stuff – check heat/air, lights, locks, etc.

Personal care – I like to shower at night since my husband works late. Why not be my cleanest for the one who is the closest? Remove make up and take good care of skin. Practice good dental hygiene. Touch up nails. What else?

Create your to-do list for tomorrow. Check your calendar to make sure you are prepared for all upcoming events. Make your shopping list if needed. Plan your work tonight so you can work your plan tomorrow!

Set a bed time so that you get plenty of sleep. As a teacher, I observed many children who were perpetually sleep deprived because they did not have a set bed time. Please do something wonderful for your family – send them to bed, and then go yourself!

Do something relaxing to calm the central nervous system. Listen to music, read, have some pillow talk and some snuggling, do yoga, drink hot chamomile tea… whatever soothes you. Intentionally choose peaceful thoughts. Enjoy the bliss of quiet time!

Read the Bible and pray as a family and as an individual. End the day with thanksgiving and count your blessings. Meditate on and talk about the goodness of the Lord.

These may be basic things, but when these suggestions become habits, your home, family, and personal life become easier to manage and are more relaxed. A little bit of effort now to prepare for tomorrow will actually save you a lot of stress!

I now challenge you to write your own plan. Your season of life is different than mine, so your list will be different. Find what works for you, and practice it until it becomes a habit.

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Thank you, and God bless you and your home!

Shari Lewis