This One Step in My Nightly Kitchen Routine Lets Me Spend More Time with My Family

Dinner is done. The table’s been cleared, and the kids are packing their lunches while I load the dishwasher. It’s the beginning of a very familiar nightly routine that includes a step you might not think of, but one that lets me spend more quality time with my family.

Every night, once the dishes are washed and the counters have been wiped down, I take a few extra seconds to make my coffee for the next day. I grind the beans, load the filter, and pour in the water so that all I have to do in the morning is push that button, and I’m seconds away from hot, life-affirming caffeine. 

We didn’t always have this routine. In fact, it was my husband, Seth, who first introduced the idea about a year ago. In the mornings, he’s usually the one to make the coffee while I get the kids ready for school. If my 4-year-old happens to be downstairs at the time, she’ll yelp at the loud noise of the coffee grinder and run to the living room until it’s over. Seth has even been known to resort to using his hoodie to muffle the sound of the grinder (because that’s the kind of very sweet dad he is). 

But one night, Seth was the one to pack up the kitchen for the night, and when he did, he went that extra step and got everything set up for coffee the next morning. When we made our way to the kitchen in the morning, it felt so satisfying to be able to tap the button and conjure coffee without any scooping, measuring, or pouring. And it felt even more amazing to be sipping our perfectly brewed coffee a few minutes later. And just like that, a new routine was born.

While the mornings are never quite my idea of quality time, this new simple part of our nightly routine has allowed me to enjoy the mornings just a little bit more, giving me an extra minute or two to connect with my kids before they head out the door for the day. Routines, in general, help my family a lot, and we’ve got them for almost everything, from getting to school in the morning to settling down for bedtime; and this new and improved kitchen routine, albeit a simple one, is something I’m grateful for every single day.