A 5-Minute Evening Routine for the Reset Crowd

The most dreaded 5 minutes of my day

I have a Big Sweeping Epic of a Question to answer about clutter and what to do about the problem of our belongings making a mess of our homes. I've broken the answer up into sections — there are actually three or four different problems LW needs help solving, so — but as I was working away I thought, "You know, a lot of this stuff, like how to establish an evening reset routine, can stand on its own and it would probably be helpful for me to have a post to point back to down the line," so I decided to do that. 

Also Resets are so hot these days (I do love a trend piece!) and I just wrote about TikTok Resets, plus I have a few other articles I wanted to share before I get into the matter at hand, which is the 5-minute evening reset I do each night. You should know that I hate doing this, so if you need to work out some feelings in the comments about housekeeping routines you just cannot stand, please feel free to do so! I'll add them to the "cleaning jobs we hate" pile.

Everything you need to build a TikTok-worthy Sunday reset routine | CNN Underscored, 15 September 2024 

Overwhelmed by all the laundry detergent options? Here’s how to choose the right one | CNN Underscored, 19 September 2024

What Is Laundry Bluing? This Vintage Method Is Key to Brighter Whites | BHG, 18 September 2024  

Towels smelling musty? Here’s how to get rid of the odor, according to our cleaning expert | CNN Underscored, 13 September 2024

10 Easy Ways to Get Pet Hair Out of Laundry | BHG, 4 September 2024

Help! My Skincare Bleached My Towels—Can I Save Them? | BHG, 24 August 2024  

Okay! I hope you enjoy those articles, now let's get back to the matter of evening routines. In answering the Big Sweeping Epic of a Question, one suggestion I had for LW is to establish an evening routine — she's getting overwhelmed by her stuff, and creating a short routine to perform before bed is a good way to help with that. I have one myself! And, you guys, the way I hate the evening routine. It is easily the most loathsome five minutes of my day but I do it faithfully each evening because skipping it would make my mornings so ghastly. (The idea of waking up to a rumpled couch fills me with almost as much dread as the idea of getting into an unmade bed at night, just like, thank you but no. Most of you are probably not similarly afflicted, and I am jealous.)

I remind myself of this truth every evening when my Shoulder Devil is like, "Psst Joles … what if we skipped the Evening Routine tonight, hmmm??"

I also remind myself that this routine literally takes five minutes and, weirdly, rebranding chores as a "reset" really does help to make it feel less awful, then I get up off of my couch and I do these things, in this order. My routine does not have to be your routine! You can and should adjust this according to your hopes and dreams and fears and, of course, your lifestyle and its attendant cleaning needs. (The other people in your home can get in the way of resets, for example!) But it's a good template for an evening cleanup routine, if I do say so myself, and you should of course, also add yours in the comments to help your fellow readers out. Let's All Share Our Routines! Here's mine:

Minute 1: Couch Reset

Stand up and surrender the couch blanket. I stuff my couch blanket in a big basket, but you might fold it, or drape it, or place it in whatever storage place you've designated for storing your couch blanket. Do you need couch blanket storage options? Here are some ideas:

The 22 best blanket storage ideas, according to experts | CNN Underscored, 27 December 2023 

Once I've surrendered the blanket, I straighten or fluff or chop or whatever the pillows, and retrieve any items that have made their way onto the couch, like the remote control or a stray needlepoint canvas, and return it to its home.

This doesn't actually take a minute of active work but it takes at least half the time to tell the Shoulder Devil to buzz off and convince myself to surrender the couch blanket.

Minute 2: Coffee+End Table Reset

This is just a straightening up of the coffee and end tables. Put things away, square up stacks of books or magazines, put the remotes where remotes go, same with small items like eyeglasses, lip balms, chargers, cords — I keep a leather catchall tray on the bottom shelf of my end table for all the stuff that gets strewn about during the day, so I can just toss and contain.

My catchall for balms, readers, pens, flame, etc. That claw is such a lover, one day we should talk about him.

Pick up any cups, plates, bowls, utensils, snacks, trash, etc. and head to the kitchen.

Minute 3: Food Management, Start Dishes

I ditch the dishes on the counter near the sink and deal first with putting any food away — this includes any after dinner snacks, as well as leftovers and any other food that needs to go in the refrigerator, freezer, or pantry — so that I can add any dishes that process created to my dirty dish area. Then I throw out garbage and start the dishes. I typically load the dishwasher first, then I wash anything by hand that demands such treatment but I'm not going to tell you what to do here because I trust that you have a dish-doing method that works for you! Go with Goddess.

Minute 4: Dishes, Dishes, Dishes+Sink

Once the dishes are done comes my favorite part: Wiping out the sink. I hate a dirty sink! (Have I talked to you yet about Cif Cream? I can't remember, but if I haven't I will — I use it to clean my sink because I looove the smell. Like, it smells so good I want to drink it, maybe mixed in with Diet Dr. Pepper like one of those insane Utah sodas??) The sponges and soaps get put away, and the garbage disposal is run. (I haven't forgotten my promise to you about the disposals!) Start the dishwasher if it is full enough to run.

Minute 5: Wipe Kitchen Surfaces

After the sink is done, my last step is to wipe the counters and stove top with whatever all-purpose cleaner has recently been shipped to me (I will die of all-purpose cleaner drowning, I swear to God) because I'm curiously brand-neutral when it comes to A-P cleaners.

This is a good thing to do for two reasons:
-1- Meal prep surfaces should be cleaned after every use for food safety reasons but in the real world we don't always do this, so giving the kitchen surfaces a going over in the evening ensures your counters don't grow cooties. It's also good to do because if you let spills and splatters and residues build up, especially on the stovetop, it will be a giant pain in the ass to clean, but a quick wipe is just that: A quick wipe.
-2- It encourages light decluttering that keeps the space from requiring larger-scale decluttering which, like cooking residue buildup, can be a real bitch to deal with. Sidebar: You know what cleaning job makes me furious, in addition to garment steaming and doing my evening routine? Cleaning the glass cooktop!! Fie on you, glass cooktops!!! I'm thisclose to buying one of those window vacs to see if it solves my glass cooktop problem even though I know it won't.

It's worth wiping the counters, staying on top of the stovetop's needs, putting that box of Triscuits in the pantry, drying the good nonstick pan and putting it away, or whatever few little things you can bang out without breaking a sweat. My brilliant friend, the professional organizer Ann Lightfoot, likes to say, "Always be organizing a little so you never have to organize a lot," and the same goes for cleaning, I'm so sorry to have to tell you :/