As a Busy Parent, This 5-Minute Nighttime Bedside Self-Care Station Completely Saves Me

Updated on 10/5/2019 at 2:30 PM

POPSUGAR Photography | Rebecca Brown

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We all know how important it is to find time for self-care. It's a way to stay present, grounded, and give our minds and bodies what they need. But what do you do you do when you're a busy mom who works, and after you've put the kid to bed at night and fed the dog and cleaned up the kitchen and worked out, you barely have energy to brush your teeth? Desperate to find a way to give myself the attention I wanted and deserved, I came up with a quick nighttime bedside station that enables me to clean my face and apply my serums and lotions without having to feel like I'm staying up later than I want to. The entire thing takes exactly five minutes — I timed it — and while it'll never replace a proper spa appointment or time spent with a facialist, it does provide me with an opportunity to pamper myself while being lazy as heck. Here's what I do:

Make Sure Your Bedside Brings You Joy

If I don't keep my bedside tidy, before I know it the top drawer is filled with baby toys and scraps of paper. I routinely make sure everything has a place so that when I open the top drawer at night, I get excited to see what's inside.

The 5-Minute Self-Care Routine

As soon as I brush my teeth, I plop down in bed, turn on my lamp, queue up Netflix, and open my top drawer. Everything I need to properly clean my face and pamper my hands is in there. I start by turning on my mini heating pad and putting it behind my back. Then I use Skin Laundry Cleansing Cloths ($15) to clean my face. I love them because the wipes never sting my skin.I keep a small plastic jar inside the drawer that houses all of my skin must haves — Bioderma eye cream ($19), Eminence willow-bark booster serum ($44), a buttery soft Algenist sleeping collagen cream ($98), and my all-time favorite, an ultrafine mist by Glow Recipe ($28) that smells like watermelon and contains hyaluronic acid. (If you don't want to spend a ton on creating a bedside station, a lot of these small items are travel-size versions or I them got as free samples.)

The entire process of applying these products takes just about three minutes and I don't even know I'm doing it because I'm busy watching Netflix. I finish with lip balm, hand cream (my hands get so dry in the cold months), and with one minute to spare, I remove the heating pad from under my back and wrap it over my hands. I've been experiencing joint pain in my hands from carrying my heavy toddler around, so the heat on my fingers before bed is not only critical to reducing inflammation, but it's also just so soothing.