DESIDERATA

My grandmother (the epitome of southern grace and housekeeping) called this « putting the house to bed ». And I love that. Large or small, maximalist or minimalist, decorated or not, our homes are an extension of ourselves. We need to treat them as such. It needs care and nurturing and love just like us. And in return, it gives us back calm and peace. It’s really beautifully poetic if you’re a person wired to think that way. If you’re not and are instead thinking « okay, whatever, let’s just get it clean » then that’s okay too. We can do both.

At the end of the day, tackle a few small things as part of an evening routine. It’s the bookend to your morning routine and closes the day out so it can start fresh the next day. Waking up to piles of dishes or chaos is zero fun. It will happen sometimes because, hey, life just happens. But when you can, take 15 minutes to put your home to bed. You will rest better too.

The non-negotiables:

• Start the dishwasher. Don’t wait for that last glass or for it to be totally full. Load it throughout the day, finish with whatever is in the kitchen, and just start it. If there’s a stray cup in a bedroom or something gets missed, that’s fine, there’s always tomorrow. But running the dishwasher every evening is key for my house. Plus, I swear it just smells better! I can always tell immediately when I wake up if I’ve forgotten to start it.
• Wipe down kitchen surfaces. And clean off the counters as much as you can. For me, it’s countertops, barstools, front of fridge and microwave, sink, and start the steam cleaning function on the oven. Even if it doesn’t look dirty, giving it a good wipe will surprise you that it actually was. I always end up with a sprinkle or a crumb or a coffee ground or sticky fingerprint somewhere.
• Put coats/bags/shoes in their homes. My children are like small tornadoes. I’m not sure how they manage to use 47 shoes, 3 backpacks, 2 lunchboxes, and 5 coats each (they don’t even own that many!) every day but somehow they do. We do our best to put away as we go but it never is totally done. So do it quickly when you put the house to bed.
• Arrange the couch. Mine gets destroyed throughout the day. Pillows and blankets get used and tossed and it just always looks messy by the end of the day. I straighten it up, give it a quick febreeze mist, and we’re ready to start the day fresh.
• Finish the laundry. Put the clean things away from the load of the day and put dirty things in the hamper. It’s overwhelming at first but once it becomes part of the routine, you won’t have quite such a mountain of laundry to handle and it will be quick, efficient, and have you feeling on top of your game

The maybe negotiables:

• Prep coffee. I clean out the coffee pot, and add water so it’s ready for the next morning. Alexa starts mine but if you have a timer, set it. There’s nothing like walking downstairs in the morning and the coffee’s already brewed.
• Prep robot vacuums. I know how spoiled this sounds (just hear me out!) but I have two (Edgar, the downstairs butler and Stella, the upstairs maid) and they are probably the singular best purchase I’ve made for my home. If you can find or make room in your budget for one, do it! They run during the day while I’m at work and the kids are at school so I make sure they’re clean, refilled, and ready to rock before I go to bed. Stella has a serious LEGO-eating problem so that takes a minute or two or sort out.

My weekday routine (usually in this order):

• 2015: Laundry (while the kids are in the bath)
• (2045: Story time and kids to bed)
• 2100: Chore of the day (organize/maintain)
• 2145: Put away coats/shoes/bags
• 2150: Prep robot vacuums
• 2200: Kitchen chores (counters, dishwasher, coffee)
• 2215: Arrange couches and chairs
• 2230: Go through tomorrow’s schedule
• 2245: Get myself ready for bed
• 2300: In bed/reading

Smarter, not harder (smart home integration)

Here are our smart home routines that keep us on track:

At 2015, the kids bedtime routine starts with a notification and tranquil spa music. It also turns on the nightlights/reading lights in the bedrooms.

The next routine starts at 2300 and turns off all the lights except for my reading light and switches the music to white noise ocean sounds (very low volume) in the bedrooms. It also makes sure the doors are locked and the garage door is closed and the thermostats are lowered to a better sleeping temperature (have I mentioned I’m so cold natured?!).

Outsourcing some of these routines to Alexa really does keep me on track and helps so much with freeing up brain space for resetting things like lights and thermostats and not waking up at 2am thinking « did I close the garage door?! »

Your turn:

How do you put your house to bed now?

What are the non-negotiables for you?

What is one thing you can do for your home to show it some love in the evenings?

How do you wind down for yourself? What do you want that to look like?

Try a few routines on for size like Goldilocks until you find the one that’s just right. You’ll know it and your house will too.

Now go rest well.