10 Ways To Add Some Cozy To Your Evening Routine

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After a long day of work most of us are ready to settle in at home for the evening for some time to unwind after the hustle and bustle of the day filled with tasks, obligations, and emails.  After work we still have the task of dinner and cleanup, but what comes after? I have had friends and people on Instagram ask me what it is that I do after work because they would end up spending the rest of the night just scrolling on their phones and they were looking for other ways that they could decompress and enjoy their evenings more.  I completely understand this sentiment as we often look at computers most of the day already with our day jobs.  That is why cultivating something outside of the digital world to relax after work is such an important piece to living more luxuriously in our everyday lives.

I like to think of the evening time as a time to get cozy at home, so I like to bring in these elements as a way to enjoy my time after completing work and dinner responsibilities.  It provides a gentle way of unwinding, letting my mind rest and indulging in some self-care.  Like anything else in life worth having, one must always make a small investment as well as make the time to show up for these things.  We can enjoy these small cozy moments if we create them as we wish to experience them.  Below are 10 ways to add some cozy to our evening routines as well as some photos captured from my own experiences that I have created.

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Indulge in a slow hobby

Whether knitting, coloring, putting together a jigsaw puzzle or doing a puzzle book, find something that keeps your hands and mind busy in a cozy way.  I like to set up my environment for coziness while doing a slow hobby, so I will turn on just a few table lamps, light a scented candle and either put on jazz music or a seasonal ambience from YouTube on the television.  I lose track of time easily when doing a cozy hobby and this really helps to decompress as I get to take my time and enjoy the task at hand.

peruse a magazine

In this digital age it seems that we have lost the pleasure of just perusing things that are not on our smart phones.  What I love about a simple magazine is that the information is finite and therefore I do not need to go digging through endless sites and articles, the magazine is not digital so it easy on the eyes to read, and the writers are experts at their craft and so the copy is lovely to read.  While any magazine can do for this experience, I personally like cozy magazines such as Victoria, Tea-Time Magazine, My French Country Home, The English Home or Bella Grace.  There are also magazines for cozy hobbies such as knitting and baking.  Pick a few that you enjoy and even purchase an annual subscription so that they are delivered right to your house.

take an evening walk

Weather permitting of course, but an evening walk after dinner is such a soothing way to unwind.  To take a walk while the sun is setting, and you meander among nature is a great way to calm the mind and we can enjoy the stillness of the evening.  You can either take a walk with a friend/partner and talk about lovely things or take a walk by yourself with some music or a podcast.  The fresh air truly seems to help clear the mind and simply sooth the soul.

watch a cozy show

Science shows that watching a show that we are familiar with does indeed bring us comfort.  There is something nice about getting into some pajamas and snuggling up on the sofa to enjoy a comfort show.  We get to let our minds visit the places that we adore and enjoy the light banter of the characters on the screen.  There are many shows that are on offer to watch and what we find to be comforting is subjective, but my favorite go-to comfort shows are Gilmore Girls, Julia, Good Witch, The Great British Bake-Off (in all of its variations), The Crown, Friends and Be My Guest with Ina Garten.

have an evening TEATIME

If you have been around awhile then you already know I love my evening teatime.  I really make an effort to create a luxurious experience out of it too with beautiful teapots, teacups, tea trays, tea towels, etc.  I also like to occasionally couple up this experience with a cozy magazine like Victoria or Tea-Time Magazines. I also put on some jazz music and take my time to enjoy a nice cup of time and ambience.  You can read more about the simple pleasure of an evening teatime here.

take a luxurious bath

While I do not have a bathtub in my current apartment, I did have one in my previous house and once a week I would take luxurious bath that would often last an hour or so.  I would go all out on the details of my baths too bringing in things like a bath tray, seasonal bath bombs, bath salts, cozy books, a cup of tea, candles, jazz music, etc. This provided a place for me to soak in the hot water and relax my muscles after a day of sitting at my computer and was one of the most relaxing things I did all week.  If you choose to do a weekly bath, then why not elevate the experience to one of luxury.

flip through a coffee table book

If you are like me then you probably have more than a few coffee table books in your collection.  These books are full of beautiful visual inspirations and usually have small stories throughout that makes for a quick and delightful read, but the main focus is still the glossy pictures.  We can get used to the never-ending scrolling of pictures on our phones on apps like Pinterest, but a coffee table book is built around a particular theme and therefore we get to enjoy the many variations of what has been curated around this particular subject.  Some of my favorite types of coffee table books are decor, Francophile or Anglophile, cooking, and flowers. You can take your time with a warm drink and some lovely music in the background and just enjoy viewing beautiful pictures at a slower pace and to cultivate an appreciation for all of the details that went into the photos.

have a wine and cheese night

This is a nice way to spend time with your partner as well as to plan for a delightful wine and cheese night pairing.  Plan for a lighter dinner and afterwards bring out all the cheeses and wine selections for a sophisticated night of culinary delights.  And just like with all of the tips above, invest in the details! Invest in a beautiful cheese tray, cheese knives, small bowls for accouterments and then research a few cheeses of varying flavor profiles as well as crackers, olives, jams, honeys and/or breads.   To elevate the experience even further, have your wine and cheese nigh al fresco during the warmer months.

do a mini spa night

Taking time out in the middle of the week to tend to your skincare is such a cozy way to pamper yourself after a long day.  It is a time to slip into the fluffy robe, do a face exfoliation and a mask to show our skin some love and maintenance.  Look into a quality exfoliation and mask that you enjoy using as this will help create enjoyment around the experience.  Like all of my other tips, elevate the experience by turning on the low lights, lighting some lavender or white tea candles, pour a cucumber or berry infused water in a pretty glass and play a spa music playlist and really give yourself some rejuvenation time to take exquisite care of your body. 

read a cozy book

I couldn’t make a cozy evening routine without adding book reading to the list.  I love reading a book nearly anytime and anywhere, but if I am at home doing an after-work routine then I like to bring out the cozy reads.  I will curl up in my oversized chair, wrap up in a cozy blanket, make a hot drink, and of course light the candles, put on a cozy YouTube ambience channel and then use this time to escape into a lovely story. Reading has always been near and dear to my heart, and this will always help to create a cozy moment after the long workday.

 

If you read through all the different ways to add some cozy into your evening routine then you will notice that there was a theme going on and it wasn’t simply the act of doing the thing itself, but it was investing in the details surrounding the experience.  Take the time to try out some of these things, but also take some time to elevate them as well as this is where the payoff truly lies.  How we experience things is what creates our memories overall and I don’t want to look back at my life and remember my everydays as a wash, rinse, repeat of wake up, work, scroll through phone, bed. I want to remember these days as being elevated into experiences that I savored and that felt luxurious due to the details that I meticulously put into them. Life can get busy and overstimulating, so take some time to invest in ways to slow down and to add a little more cozy into your evening routines.