We have enjoyed family visiting the last two weekends and spending time together. I have shared on my Instagram how we set up our sleeping arrangements and accommodate whoever is visiting us. We love hosting and cherish any time with loved ones. I thought I would share what I like to do before company visits and some things that work for our family. I would love to know anything that works for you!

1.Meal Plan + Groceries

I like to plan meals for the weekend so I know what to purchase and am more mindful of groceries. I typically plan easier meals or dishes we can prep ahead so we aren’t spending a ton of time cooking. I also like to purchase any favorite items or requests for whoever is visiting.

2.Sleeping Arrangements

We tried to be mindful of beds in our boy’s rooms since we only have three bedrooms. Our youngest has a trundle king in his room and our oldest has a bunk bed with a queen on the bottom. We can utilize both rooms if needed which is perfect. We move the twin bunk mattress to our floor for our oldest and the crib to our room for our youngest.

3.Clean Bathroom + Move Boys

I like to clean our boy’s bathroom the morning of and move all of their things to our bathroom. That way company can have the entire side of our house to themselves and not worry about sharing with kiddos. They take their baths, brush teeth and use the bathroom in ours.

4.Quick Clean Home

I like to do a quick clean the night before or morning of. I will clean the bathroom, floors, counters, etc. I deep clean once a month and maintain the remainder of the time. You can read more here: Weekly Cleaning + Chores, 5 Tips To Keep Your Home Clean, Zone Cleaning Schedule.

5.Laundry

I make sure all towels and linens are washed and cleaned for company. I also like to wash our normal clothes before company arrives so it is one less thing to do after! It definitely saves me some times…and some loads.

As always, sending light and love.

Blessings,

Jac

I recently shared my evening routine here. Creating something more structured at night has been a goal of mine for awhile. It has taken me three months to really create a rhythm for “normal” evenings and feel like I have some consistency. Implementing any type of habit or routine can be challenging, and at times overwhelming. I have shared 5 tips to create new habits you can read more about here.

I thought I would share some thoughts on the concept of “habit stacking” and what has worked for me. Habit stacking is basically taking the habits you already do and adding on a desired or new habit to the existing. For example, if I want to be more consistent with my skin care I would stack my skin care immediately after my shower. It is designed to help prevent the overwhelming feeling when creating something new because you are attaching it to something you already have in place.

This is a great concept and in theory allows success when creating a habit. Personally, I have found the best way for me to create consistency is to become successful in one habit and then stack or add on a new one. I have learned that everything takes time so I need to start something new with realistic expectations and work on one chunk at a time.

Another thing that I respond to is setting boundaries for myself. For example, I set a 9pm boundary to turn off screens and start my shower, skin care, and reading. I also set a bed time boundary to have a consistent bed time, as well as give my body adequate rest.

If there is one thing I have learned, it is that there is no “one method” fits all approach. I think it is important to learn and understand the tools needed for change and make them applicable for your personal life. This truly can be across any area and is so important when changing or implementing an behavior.

I would love to know anything that works well for you!

As always, sending light and love.

Blessings,

Jac

I have shared multiple posts about my morning routine or starting the day off purposeful. You can check those out here: Morning Routine 2022, 5 Morning Habits Before Mom Mode, 5 Ways To Become A Morning Person, and Waking Up The Day.

One of my goals this year was to get more of an evening routine in place and be more mindful about how I chose to spend that time ending the day. Creating an evening routine has definitely been more challenging, however I feel like I am finally establishing some good habits and becoming consistent in those.

One of the biggest things that has helped me was to create a bedtime for myself and follow through. We put both of our boys down at 7pm and have our lights out at 10pm during the week. Setting a time limit allowed me to create habits within that 3 hour block.

Currently my evening routine looks like this…

6:00pm-Clean Up Rooms + Living Room

6:20pm-Boys Bath

7:00pm-Boys Bed

7:00pm-8:00pm: Workout or Outside Walk

8:00pm-9:00pm: Show + Time With Hubby

9:00pm: Shower+ Skin Care

9:30pm-10:00pm: Read

10:00pm: Lights Out

I personally wanted my last hour before bed to be screen free, which has made a huge difference in the quality of my sleep! I also wanted to read more so having a designated time has helped me stay motivated and consistent. I am also really enjoying my walks now that it is lighter longer because I typically spend that time in prayer since it is a time where I am distraction free.

Not every night is perfect, but I really am making an effort to stay consistent when I am able to! I would love to know if you have an evening routine, and if so what it looks like!

As always, sending light and love.

Blessings,

Jac