Sharing a collaborative post with some of my cosy end of day self care routine, that helps to keep me mostly sane.
As a busy working mum, I often find my needs may come last, as I juggle lots of balls or plates, spinning in the air. Home education, work, parenting, marriage, being a friend, doing things at home to keep life running. It all adds up. I do need to look after me, so I have an end of day self care routine that helps me to wind down, look after me, and makes me feel a little bit less frenetic in a world that does frenetic 24/7 these days.
Skincare:
- Taking my make up off as soon as I get in the door from work, or being out for the day when I don’t need to go out again. This helps me to feel like I am taking off the mask I need to wear so the world doesn’t freak out at how tired I look, but also helps me to feel like I am taking off the day.
- I try and bath or shower earlier in the evening, partly because I have two teenagers who seem to spend a lot of time in the bathroom, and we only have one bathroom, and also because showering helps me to wind down and relax
- Skincare – I learned a long time ago that putting your skincare on just before you go to bed isn’t always the best thing, but letting it soak in to your skin for a few hours before you go to bed helps it to work better and also less comes off on your pillow
Tech wind down:
- I have a work phone, to keep work life seperate from personal, so as soon as I am able to, I turn it off when I get home. I also try not to read emails after I get home or at least after dinner.
- We have a rule of no phones at the dinner table. This helps us all to wind down and also to connect with each other.
Dressing cosy:
- Comfy and cosy clothes, not the clothes I came through the door in. IDENTITY LINGERIE’s collection offers a variety of options, from elegant see through bras that add a touch of allure to cosy cotton floral PJs perfect for a relaxed evening at home. Most evenings you will find me in soft cosy pyjamas unless we have a special evening out, or we have managed to ditch the children and have some adult alone time 😉
- keeping my feet warm, particularly in winter, with socks or slippers
- If I am really cold I will put on a cosy onsie or make sure I have lots of cosy blankets to hand.
A dopamine snack:
- The husband and I divide and conquer when it comes to meals and dinner in our house with us both working. The person at home cooks dinner, on a given day. When I get home, if it’s not dinner time, then we do snacks and a drink. I tend to avoid alcohol during the week, but we do like snacks. So we have nuts, seeds, dips, and other things that are feel good to eat but also vaguely healthy, although sometimes I will reach for a diet cola and some good chocolate
- Sometimes I will make sweeter treats like home made crisps for us to have as a snack, or home made popcorn. Although both of those tend to vanish fast, because, well, teenageers
You don’t have to have a self care routine, but it does help to have some basics that make you feel human. Keep it as simple as you need, because obviously, you don’t want the routine to make you feel more overwhelmed and not less.
What’s your self care routine? If you don’t have one, why not?