routine refinement
5 areas of my life I’m tending to & refining
What’s on my heart this very moment is – refinement of my routines – the way I spend my time and tend to my home.
We have the power of Virgo energy under our wings right now. Virgo is a sign supporting structures, organization and divine order. So I’m flowing with Virgo Season vibes…
Formerly I found the word “routine” to feel constrictive and limiting (I’m a Sagittarius). Routine now gives me a sense of freedom. Of simplification. In motherhood I rely on it.
Summers are more free-flowing in our family. I always crave this free energy by the time June rolls around, and by September I’m always ready for more structure, and to re-design our day-to-day.
If you’re not in a space to think of something like routines, just bank this for another moment, or carry on. I was there earlier this year. Sometimes there are things much more important to tend to than this. I see you.
summer of meadow in my belly, by Barbara Stoneham
Here are five areas of my life I’m tending to right now & refining:
I enjoy moments as summer seals up to pause, reflect, and design our rhythms, rather than just default back to what was. Consider this for yourself, ideas for you below:
Refining my daily routine
Dismantle & create new altars in our home
Replace & refresh oils in new spots
Reorganize my health & wellbeing products in an artful way I love
Recreate my bedside table
Take it one step at a time.
Pro Tip — give yourself permission to do this over time. Rather than ripping apart our entire house (Virgo has a way!) I start with one small area – complete it – and move on.
Be gentle.
I don’t like tasking women with more “doing” but these simple refinements can open up space in your mind and thus your life.
me + meadow, summer 2022 by Barbara Stoneham
1. Refine your daily routine
I’ve just re-designed mine – always a working draft. My life is changing. Meadow is off to Junior Kindergarten. I have a new work project. I’m tending to new life things in life I haven’t before. I am seeking more delineation in my day between my life and my work.
Firstly, this is the most important thing I have to say:
Allow yourself to be right where you are. This may be the bravest thing you can do.
Instead of being where everyone else is in their life, allowing ourselves to be right where we are somehow feels scary. Example, for the past 4 years with my baby, I excused myself from morning a routine. I did my best to embrace where I was, which was not doing a morning practice. Here’s permission to do the same. Most moms with little kids don’t need early morning routines, even though they’re widely celebrated for our wellness. Please take care of yourself and honour where you’re at.
To begin, I brainstormed the aspects of my day and how I want to spend my time:
Quiet spiritual practice
Mothering
Family
Cooking & Food Prep
Personal: learning, reading, sauna, bath, showering, podcasts, audio courses, walks, connecting w/ my friends
Movement & Exercise
Work
Flex Time
Family organization & coordination
Time with Hutch
When I wrote it out it felt like a lot of things in a day. Exhale.
List your main daily categories of time, and see how you want to remove or refine in your day. Play with a few options – stay curious.
I put mine into time blocks and it’s radically different than before. I love testing and refining, being open and flexible.
One of my 1:1 clients is choosing to shift to tend to herself first thing, and her very successful business second. This is a big shift; for years she’s been tending to her work first thing. Shifts like this take a minute to integrate.
I’d love to hear what’s working for you! christine@essentialsisters.ca
the girls + fall with mini mioche, throwback to 2020
2. Dismantle & create new altars in your Home
our home altar
Mini altars around the home remind us to pause and connect into what means something to us. Refreshing our altars helps release what was and honour what is now.
Gather a few objects of meaning from your home – quotes, deck cards photos, flowers, a crystal, essential oils, sage, notes, etc and arrange in a way you love.
I love these little wooden stands or these ones for a photo, or a card from a deck.
My kids LOVE pulling a card each morning at our kitchen altar.
When you pass by your altar in your day, pause, take a breath and connect in with the moment and energy of your altar. It has such a beautiful impact! Our kitchen altar below.
3. Replace & Refresh your Oils in new spots
It’s a new season, so invite in new plants to support you! Re-organize the rollers and oils placed around your home.
Fresh ideas:
2 new Citrus Oils at your kitchen sink: Tangerine and Green Mandarin
3 rollers on your kitchen counter when you’re cooking: Zengest, Magnolia, Console (I always have Console nearby for the girls)
Kids night stand refresh: Stronger, Magnolia, Calmer
1 roller main floor bathroom: Rose
1 roller in the trough of your car: ADAPTIV
2 rollers on your desk: Peppermint & Copaiba
3 rollers at your home entrance/exit: On Guard, Zen Gest, Frankincense
I love these little roller stands as a 2 or 3 hole holder in white oak around our home.
Oils above in a shopping cart for you to pick & choose from. Shop 25% off dōTERRA with me.
Photo by @ninataylor I love her vessel!
4. Reorganize your health & wellbeing products in an artful way you love
Having my supplements and health products in ugly boxes, or shoved into a cupboard never feels supportive. I love to artfully curate them in my home so I get excited to use them!
I put my MetaPWR Collagen sachets vertically in a vessel I love. I look forward to grabbing one mid-morning for my Collagen + NMN boost! Learn with me about this longevity wellbeing routine; I don’t miss a day.
5. Redesign your bedside table
This area builds and gets packed with things I love! This is a great time for a refresh. Remove everything, wipe it down and start fresh.
For this season of your life, what do you want beside you as you wake and fall asleep?
Ideas: books, journal, essential oils, diffuser, crystal, photo, art, hand lotion.
Here’s what I’ve just re-created for myself:
Small artwork by Elena Brower ‘Just This’
Tiny crystal from my sister
Book I’m reading (not the 10 books I want to read)
My Journal
Spiritual book I’m working on & notebook
2 rollers: Neroli, oil of sacred union and Vetiver for grounding
LaLuz Diffuser: small & stylish with Roman Chamomile
Cord headphones (old school) for mediations
Body: Deep Blue stick (always!)
Glass jar of water
B Yoga Mat in cocoa
Enjoy the spaciousness you feel when you lay down, and awaken!
frosted glass la luz diffuser + roman chamomile
And lastly, for you, because this always feels like a beautiful season of transition and Mothering – here are some peace-giving resources I love:
Perceptive Parenting audio course, I re-listen to on my beach walks. I did a short talk in the course with Elena, “When your child lies to you”
Tao of Motherhood, beside my bed, 1 short lesson each morning
Kids Rollers for my children, each have 1 set.
My School Support blog to inspire routines
Kids Sleepytime Playlist I’ve made with the girls
Thank you for being here. Every time one of you writes me back my heart smiles, and feels like a whisper to keep going for me, for you, for us.
PS: In case you missed it, I also created a short 6-minute Peace Practice, an audio meditation. Enjoy.