Ever wonder how other families handle afternoon and evening routines with their kids? We'll share what works for us and give you some great tips for your school night routine and bedtime hacks.
Do you remember the days of having a quiet, relaxing evening without any cares in the world? ME NEITHER! The after-school hours can be absolute crazy town in our house. You loved my morning routine post so much that I wanted to share our night routine with you as well!
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You ready for some behind the scenes of how we manage 6 kids (with 2 on the way – read more about that here!) between the time they get home from school until we go to bed. Come take a peek at the chaos that is our life!
Watch the video on YouTube or watch below:
Alright, now you know how we handle our crazy, fun evenings with our kids! Keep reading below for a recap! 🙂
AFTER SCHOOL ROUTINE
Our afternoons can vary depending on which kids are in which activities on that day. For the most part, we focus on getting homework done and tidying up the house before we get started on dinner. My older kids will read to me using the 4 Weeks to Read system (Use code JORDAN20 for 20% off) while I clean up the kitchen area. After homework, I get started on cooking dinner.
Once per week, our night routine includes leftovers. We LOVE leftover night in our house. Less cooking?! YES, PLEASE! Plus using up leftovers means no throwing away food. Double win! Want a peak of our kitchen? Check out the kitchen tour here.
NIGHT ROUTINE FOR LAUNDRY
Laundry can get outta control with 8 people living in our house! Can you relate?! Bubba usually steps in and helps with dinner. Then, I take a quick moment to rotate laundry. We do laundry the unconventional way in this house!
SHOWERS AND PACKING LUNCH
Immediately after dinner, our kids head for the showers! The big kids are old enough to shower themselves, but we have to help the younger kids. After showers are over, the school-aged kids get in their school clothes for the next day. Yes, they sleep in them! It's SUCH a huge time saver for our morning routine!
While they're getting dressed, they take a few minutes to put away their clothes and tidy their rooms. At the same time, I'm also tidying up my room and other areas of the house!
Then, it's time to pack lunches for the next day. Thankfully we have an amazing lunch and snack system in place, so our kids are able to pack their own lunches! You should try it; it's a GAME CHANGER!
BEDTIME ROUTINE
When we can, we try to put our kids to bed between 7 and 8. Some nights are earlier than others! This particular night was an earlier night. We shoot for 7:30 so they could get a good night's rest for an early morning.
They brush their teeth. In our house, each kid is assigned a color for their toothbrush. This usually coordinates with the plates and cups they use, too! It just makes life easier! We all can use a little easy, right?
Our normal night routine involves tucking them in by singing a song, saying a quick prayer, shutting the door, and saying good night. Normally we do tuck in time, where one kid gets to stay up 15 minutes later and have special time alone with mom and dad. It's a REALLY special time and we all look forward to it! If we have a SUPER early morning the next day with one of them like we did this particular night, we make the decision to pass because let's be real, they need all the sleep they can get!
AFTER BEDTIME NIGHT ROUTINE
The kids are in bed, now what?! Despite this twin pregnancy kicking my trash, I have to find the energy to power through and get stuff done. I set a timer for 20 minutes and get to work. Of course, I use my favorite cleaning cloths, e-cloth, for a quick clean up without harsh chemicals. Don't forget, aiming for B+ is A-Okay! Our Roomba vacuums for me during this time! How's that for working without lifting a finger?
If one of our kids has a practice or game, they usually get home at this time in the routine! We send them up for a shower while we get their dinner prepped. They eat, do homework, and then head up to bed.
Bubba and I also take care of a few business items during this time. He usually goes through the mail and I'll work on my phone for a few minutes. We love working side by side!
GETTING MYSELF READY FOR BED
My personal night routine before bed is pretty quick! I wash my makeup off with the magical Shine makeup removing cloths. I have NO idea how they work so well, but I'm obsessed! Then I wash my face with a face wash and lather it up in cream! After brushing my teeth, we hop in bed, read scriptures, and say a prayer together!
That's about it! What does the night routine in your home look like? Do you have any hacks or tricks you can share? Let me know in the comments below!
Need more good ideas to up the routines in your house?
- These 7 Nighttime Routine Hacks will help your mornings!
- Step up your leftover game with these leftover hacks to help make dinnertime easier!
- Find out how to Do Life Better and improve all of your routines with Productivity Boot Camp! Use code FCFBLOG for 10% off.
XOXO,
I’m curious to know, what happens at bedtime, specifically after you finish putting the kids to bed? is it lights out right away? do they have reading/talking (giggling with eachother) time?
Also, what do you do about children waking up often from nightmares?
When we put our kids to bed yes, we expect that it is lights out right away. That being said, kids will be kids and sometimes we catch them talking or playing around in their room. So once in awhile we need to check on them and make sure they are doing what they should. But for the most part they settle down pretty quickly because they are pretty tired by the end of the night. Our kids will occasionally have bad dreams and come into our room at night. Often times we will let them snuggle with us in bed for a minute or two and then we get them a drink and put them back in bed after saying a prayer with them.
Hi! Love it! When do your kids get some “down time” after school AND do their clipboards. That’s where we have trouble!! Love any suggestions
Have you tried giving them about 30 minutes of downtime, maybe while they’re having a snack after school? Then they could have more downtime after finishing their clipboards if they finished quick enough! 🙂
How do the school age kids not look like they slept in their clothes.? My clothes would be a mess. Smart idea though. Just wondering how they don’t look dishevelled ? Love your blog. Can’t wait to see the new littles. Your names for your children are so nice..
Their clothes just don’t get wrinkly! Maybe they don’t move around as much in their sleep? I don’t question it, I just know that it works 😉 Thanks for the love! We can’t wait to see the new littles, either! 🙂
Did you like the “4 Weeks To Read” program? Do you have an active code for it?
It’s a great program! Unfortunately, we don’t have an active code for it at the moment.