If your week is super stressful, and your morning routine needs a serious makeover, then you need these Sunday routine ideas in your life! Here’s a list of things to do for a Sunday reset and a productive week ahead!
You may have heard of the popular Sunday Reset Routine that’s making its way around social media these days… but that viral Sunday routine is based on having the majority of the day to clean and declutter your home and reset your mind and body for the upcoming week.
And let’s face it… that just isn’t possible for a busy Mom.
To have an entire Sunday to organize my entire home, do a face mask, enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee, write in my gratitude journal, reflect on the previous week, think about my goals, plan for the week ahead, and get all of the laundry done sounds nice… but it also sounds too good to be true.
I mean, I can’t go to the bathroom for 5 minutes without one of my daughters coming to look for me, much less work through a full Sunday reset routine.
So these Sunday routine ideas for Moms are for those of us that don’t have a minute to waste! By completing these tasks on Sunday, whether first thing in the morning or before you go to bed on Sunday night, you’ll be ready to kick butt for the week ahead!
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What is a Sunday Routine?
A Sunday routine is exactly what it sounds like… A list of things that you do every Sunday.
Your Sunday routine can be as simple as finishing the laundry, meal planning for the week, and laying out all of your kids’ school outfits, or it can be as complex and detailed as a printable checklist of 15 household chores and self-care tasks that you want to complete every Sunday.
The idea of a Sunday routine can be customized to each person’s needs. Your Sunday routine may resemble a #selfcaresunday social media post filled with face masks and bubble baths, or it may be more of a Sunday Reset and consist of more productive tasks like running errands, decluttering your kitchen, and vacuuming the floors.
What you add to your Sunday routine list is up to you!
Why You Should Have a Sunday Routine…
Having a routine and sticking with it has a number of health benefits like reducing stress and anxiety and improving quality of sleep, but I find that the biggest benefit for me is an increase in productivity.
When I have a routine, or even a well-planned to do list, I waste less time wondering what to do next or how to spend my time. Instead, I’m able to focus on the high-priority tasks that must get done each day.
12 Sunday Routine Ideas for a Productive Week
If you’re a busy Mom, you may be overwhelmed at the thought of coming up with your own Sunday routine, because there are simply too many things that you need to get done. But just start by making a list of your priorities and tasks that you think will help you to plan and prep for the week ahead.
Here are some Sunday routine ideas that may help you have a more productive and less stressful week:
Check in on your finances on Sunday
I’m listing this first in the Sunday routine ideas because I think it is THE MOST important thing to do each week! And in fact, I update my expense tracker every 2-3 days instead of just once per week.
I firmly believe in keeping track of your expenses and spending, because it’s SO important to your financial health, and if you don’t do any of the other Sunday routine ideas in this list, make sure that you do a budget or weekly spending check-in!
There are many different ways to create a weekly budget or to track your family’s finances, but I’ve been using this Money Tracker spreadsheet for the last 5 years, and it has been a GAME-CHANGER for me!
You can read all about the expense tracker system that works for me (and see how to get the actual Google Sheets spreadsheet that I use) here: The Personal Finances Spreadsheet to Get Your Money on Track!
Plan school outfits for the whole week
I have to give credit to my youngest daughter for this idea… At the start of the school year she said to me, “Mommy, on Sunday I’m going to get ALL of my school outfits out for the whole week.”
I about fell on the floor. This was the same daughter that had once told me that she couldn’t pick up two toys off the floor at the same time because she “didn’t have octopus arms”.
But this genius idea has been a game changer when it comes to stress free mornings, and now it’s a permanent fixture in our Sunday Routine. And I even created some free printable Day of the Week Clothes Hanger Tags so you can try this simple routine idea also!
Head over to this post to download 4 different sets of clothes hanger labels that you can use to plan out your kids’ outfits on Sunday: Free Printable Days of the Week Clothes Hanger Organizer Tags
Prep lunch box items as part of your Sunday Routine ideas
Making lunches each night is probably one of my LEAST favorite Mommy chores. After I get the mountain of dishes washed from dinner, then I immediately have to start working on the next day’s meals.
So I started prepping my kids’ lunch box items on Sunday to help reduce the kitchen clean up time throughout the week.
Apple slices, string cheese, baby oranges, carrot and celery sticks, turkey rolls… these are all lunch items that I prep as part of my Sunday routine. Then I bag up the prepped lunchbox items in snack size zipper bags and store them in handy refrigerator bins. (These bins are perfect for grab-and-go lunch items!)
This simple Sunday routine idea is a great way to have enough healthy lunch options that are already prepped and ready to go in the fridge so that all your kids have to do is pick out what they want.
That way, we aren’t scrambling to make lunches 10 minutes before the bus picks up… and my kids have no excuse to not make themselves a healthy lunch since I have nutritious lunch options ready to go for them.
Check chore charts
Chore charts are a great way to encourage kids to help out around the house. As a Mom, you’re probably busy doing ALL THE THINGS, and there’s no reason why your kids can’t help you out.
That’s why I make it a habit as part of our Sunday Routine to go over my daughters’ chore charts to see how they did for the previous week and to discuss any special jobs that I want them to get done for the upcoming week.
I use our chore charts to teach my kids about responsibility, independence, and work ethic. And they earn an allowance each week to teach them about working towards a goal and being financially responsible.
My friends are surprised to find out that my daughters’ (ages 10 and 7) make their own lunches for school, and come home and start studying their spelling words without being told to do so. But my parents did a great job of instilling in me a sense of self-accountability, and I want to do the same for my girls.
And chore charts help me do it! (Plus, it’s nice to get help folding laundry and sweeping the floors!)
Do laundry
My Sunday Routine ideas wouldn’t be complete without tackling the mounds of laundry.
During the week, we’re so busy with church, homework, playdates, and extracurricular activities that laundry (literally) gets pushed to the side.
So, every Sunday I make it a point to catch up on all of our laundry… I’m talking perfectly bare dirty clothes hampers and all of the folded clothes put away (instead of in their temporary home on top of the dryer).
Getting the laundry done as part of my Sunday Routine helps me to not feel so overwhelmed on Monday. It’s like starting the week with a clean slate, which is much less stressful than an overflowing hamper on Monday morning.
Go through kids’ folders on Sunday mornings
If you have kids in elementary school, then chances are they have a take-home folder of important notes and graded assignments.
I like to go through my kids’ folders as part of my Sunday Routine in preparation for the upcoming school week. We discuss any important events that will be taking place that week, and we go over graded school work to see where improvements can be made.
If you wait until Monday morning to do this, then chances are you’d just take a quick glance at graded papers as you throw them into the trash. Kids pick up on that, and if they notice that you’re not taking an interest in their school work, then they are less likely to try their best.
Organize paper clutter from the previous week
Most busy households have a TON of paper clutter, from normal mail and bills that get delivered each week to important receipts that you need to save for tax time. So consider organizing all of your family paperwork as part of your Sunday routine ideas.
If you don’t already have a filing system for all of your paper clutter, then you can check out this post for the easy to implement filing system that I use: Organize Paperwork: How to Setup a Filing System for Family Papers
All you need is some hanging file folders and some labels to easily organize your paper clutter each week so things don’t get lost!
Create a weekly to do list
Creating a weekly to do list is one of the BEST things that I do during my Sunday routine, and it helps me stay on task throughout the week!
Look for a weekly planner or even a simple one page to do list like the one below that helps you get organized for the upcoming week. My favorite weekly planner template (that you can see down below!) has the following:
- list of things to do for the week
- top 3 things that you MUST get done
- things to buy (groceries, kids’ project supplies, toilet paper, etc.)
- important things to remember
- things to add to your list for next week
If you think that a weekly planner page would help you to get organized, then I’ve got a TON of free printables that you can use as part of your own Sunday Routine! Just head to this post to download 6 different free printable Weekly Planner Sheets!
Meal plan for dinners as part of your Sunday Routine
Sunday is a great time to plan dinners for the week ahead. That way, when you’re overwhelmed with running your youngest daughter to cheerleading practice and picking up your son from his soccer try-out, you won’t have to worry about what’s for dinner!
Your Sunday routine can include things like:
- checking your fridge and pantry for ingredients that you already have
- jotting down meal ideas for each day based on what you have on hand
- making a grocery list of items that you need for the week
- filling in a free printable meal planner template (like the one below!):
By meal planning and making one big grocery list as part of your Sunday Routine ideas, you can also save time by eliminating trips to the store to pick up one or two forgotten items.
And if you need ideas for what to put on your meal planner, then go HERE for a HUGE list of meal ideas!
Work on your weekly cleaning schedule
Did you know that clutter and mess causes stress in women? Yup, it’s been scientifically proven.
So in order to have a stress-free week, I suggest developing a weekly cleaning routine and completing a portion of the household chores each day of the week… and Sunday is a great time to catch up on cleaning jobs that you may not have finished.
By creating your own cleaning schedule for the week, you won’t be so overwhelmed trying to get ALL of the household chores done in just one day! And if you need help, then check out this post: Create a Weekly Cleaning Schedule You Can Stick To – Printable Checklist!
You can even type in to this printable weekly cleaning schedule to make a nice printable sheet that you can hang on your fridge to reference each day!
Assign family tasks for the week
Who says that Mom has to do ALL THE THINGS?
Libby from Because Mom Says suggests assigning every family member a different room to clean or one special chore to do as part of her Sunday Routine ideas.
I LOVE this idea! You know what they say… “Many hands make light work.”
By tackling the housework together as a family, you can not only reinforce the importance of responsibility for your kids, but you can also free up some of your Sunday time to relax and recharge for the upcoming week.
Enjoy some family time during your Sunday Routine
When you’re creating your own Sunday routine, it’s important to leave time for the most important thing – your family!
Sometimes as Moms we feel like we’re so dang busy that we don’t have 2 spare minutes to sit down and take a breather, so why not schedule some “family rest time” in to your Sunday routine?!
One of my favorite things to do on Sunday evening, after everything is prepped and done for the upcoming week, is to order pizza and turn on a Netflix movie for a good ol’ family movie night! This is such a great way to relax and unwind together at the end of the week.
Here are some other fun family activities that you can add in to your Sunday routine ideas:
- Take a family bike ride around your neighborhood.
- Take a picnic lunch to the park.
- Have a fun family outing. You could plan one new activity for each Sunday, and alternate family members that get to choose what you do, like painting pottery, playing a round of putt-putt, going out for ice cream, etc.
- Gather on the couch to watch a Sunday night movie together.
- Play a board game.
And there you have it… some awesome Sunday Routine ideas to make your week less stressful!
These are all things that help us to start our weeks the right way… with a Monday morning dance party, instead of a Monday meltdown!
I’d LOVE to hear from you guys! What are your Sunday Routine ideas that help you make it through the week? Leave me a comment!
And happy nesting!
Comments & Reviews
Leanne says
Very helpful post! This was very thorough. I loved all of it and can’t wait wait to implement my Sunday routine!
Anna says
These organizational tips are great, but the Lord’s Day is a Day of Rest. This list just turned it into the busiest day of the week. If you Worship & REST on Sunday, you’ll find that the entire week is more balanced and less stressful, even without all this planning and organizing. (of course if you can do some of these tasks on another day, that will help even more)
Linden says
Absolutely agree. “Do laundry” is a huge job that can take an entire day. If I choose one day a week to do laundry, I’m not ruining my weekend plans to get it done. That’s weekday work. I understand the meal planning and resetting chore charts and getting ready for the school week, but budgeting and laundry are bigger jobs and need to be done during the week.
Scheduling one entire day of rest prevents the need to constantly take vacations where you sit and do nothing after spending thousands.