Rhythms, Routines, and Little Things Currently Working

I have been thinking a lot about rhythms (I continue to misspell this word at least 90% of the time; why is it so hard?) and routines lately. Maybe it’s my sudden interest in the concept of the Sabbath – the original rhythm that has defined the work/rest cycle of an entire nation for millennia.

I also feel like my soul craves these repeated activities; they provide a sense of security – a place to land at the end of a busy day, week, or season.

Here are some favourite rhythms and routines our family has been leaning into this winter.

Candles. This will come as a surprise to no one, but perhaps my favourite routine is lighting candles each evening before our supper meal. We dim overhead fixtures so the flickering glow provides most of the light in the room. There are still sibling squabbles many (let’s be honest – most) evenings, but I think we all take a deep breath and sink into the evening and meal in a different way. It’s dark and cold outside, and this little action – done daily – is a sort of beacon. We’ve done it! We’ve survived work and school and all the responsibilities of life! Gold stars to us.

Turning on ambient lighting and closing curtains. If candles set the stage for our meal, closing the blinds and turning on lamps and twinkle lights feels like a way of tucking our home in for the night. We turn on exterior lights, too, in a nod to making passersby feel more settled and secure as they drive by in the dark winter.

Hot cocoa after school. I’m not sure when this routine started, but it is now a much-beloved habit. At least four days a week – sometimes more – the kids arrive home from school, unpack their lunchboxes (with several reminders to do so), and make themselves hot cocoa. Preparing it themselves is a new development and one I heartily approve of; the milk frother makes many appearances. Marshmallows are usually involved. We sit at the table and they sip and talk and this daily dose of dairy and sugar is very much enjoyed. Something about doing it regularly seems to elevate the experience.

Reading my Bible/The Bible Recap. First I read my Bible…and then I enjoy my cup of coffee.

Coffee (mostly decaf) every day. Drinking a cup daily is just…lovely. I often use my Yeti; if I leave the lid off it’s the perfect temperature in 30 minutes; if I put the lid on it’s the perfect temperature in 60 minutes.

Daily yoga. You’ve heard about this ad nauseam, but I have loved having a daily practice so far in 2024. I don’t plan to do it daily the whole year, but I hope this inspires me to be far more intentional with stretching activities!

Laundry. As referenced yesterday, I have another new laundry routine. I know. I am forever changing things up and part of me thinks it’s silly that every 6 months I change how I do things (or in this case, I think it was 2 months). But life constantly changes, so why shouldn’t my habits? Also, a lot of the time a change really is as good as a rest.

Years ago, when I was waiting for the kids to come out from school one day, another mom mentioned how she keeps a laundry basket in every room in her house. She washes the contents of each basket – and that basket only. She had one in the kitchen for rags and kitchen towels. One in each bedroom and bathroom. I thought this sounded utterly ridiculous. At the time we were a one-basket family – everything dumped in at once, regardless of colour. When that basket was full, it was time to do laundry. I should also add I hated – hated! – doing laundry. I should know by now that anytime I write something off as ridiculous, it’s guaranteed to reenter my life.

Now we have three baskets in our house. One in each child’s room and one in the master bedroom. I love it. No more sorting out socks and making piles for each child. After a wash, all the dried contents of that load belong in one space. By way of a rhythm, I’m doing the kids’ laundry once every 5-6 days and adult clothes + other household items every 3-4. I am doing less laundry overall. I mostly wash clothes in the evening and put them in the dryer overnight, fluffing and putting them away the next day (or, if it’s a kid load, having them put it away).

Daily reading for the kids. Most days now, while I finish prepping supper, I have the kids do thirty minutes of reading. I was tired of trying to carve this time out before bed and now they have a distinct cutoff – supper. Sometimes they read together, sometimes seperately in their rooms…and sometimes in laundry baskets on the couch.

Bible reading at bedtime with the kids. Both kids have wanted to do more Bible reading with me. Who am I to say no? L and I are going through The Action Bible which is written like a comic strip and is very engaging and fun. A wanted nothing to do with “kid Bibles” so we are starting in the New Testament and taking turns reading a chapter out loud each night. And then we are having tough conversations. Sometimes I have to admit I don’t have the answers to her questions, but I love that our kids get to live out their faith in action and have a safe space to voice their feelings and doubts. It’s also REALLY fun to bring in my new perspectives since I’m reading through the Bible chronologically. If this seems like a lot of Bible reading, this new evening routine was 100% instigated by the kids. And there is more…

We are also watching Bible Project videos after supper a few evenings a week which they LOVE. These are beautifully animated hand drawings that are hard to describe but offer unique summaries of Biblical themes, stories, or entire books of the Bible.

Small changes I am loving.

• Buying covered garbage cans. I hate seeing garbage inside garbage cans and it makes me unbelievably happy to have lidded garbage cans in both bathrooms now.
• Writing one entry per week into L’s reading log. I think reading logs can really suck the fun out of reading. I went through this with A when she was in elementary and I’m going through it now with L and I have decided to once again take a stand. We are not going to list dates and titles and pages read. He is reading and engaged and we just want to read and not fill out little boxes. I have nothing against this system and I’m sure it works well for some parents/kids, but it was negatively impacting our desire to work on independent reading. I suspect he will still be able to get into university despite not completing a daily reading log (I did).
• Making a new meal each evening. I used to make a meal and then we’d eat the leftovers the following night. Lately, I’ve been trying to make at least 4 “new” meals a week and then we have leftovers that spill over into the weekend which is just amazing!

• Our Valentine’s mantle. Monday (which ended up being a snow day), I set out a few Valentine’s items hoping A would take the hint and transform the mantle for me. She did and we have moved firmly out of “Christmas” territory and into “Valentine’s.” Last year I used these things for our basement tree but since that came down right after the holidays this year, I needed somewhere to display our heart decor. It’s fun and festive and I am still LOVING having twinkle lights up in our living room.

Your turn. I want to hear all about your routines, rhythms, and little changes you’re loving. How many loads of laundry do you do a week? Do you use candles and twinkle lights in the dark days of winter?

Header photo by Hanna Balan on Unsplash