Most of the time, I’m a shower girl, but when I was building my house I knew I wanted an amazing bathtub. Because every so often, this girl needs a freaking bath moment! Especially once fall and winter hit, I tend to take a bath every week or so, and I think of it as part of my self-care routine (that I’m always trying to get better at).

When I actually take the time to set it up, it can create all kinds of magic for my soul. It might sound cheesy, but y’all, if you can take the steps below, tell me it’s not the best thing ever?! Even if you can’t hit every single step, take what sounds good and then leave the rest. Enjoy friends!

Enough time

If you know me, you know time management isn’t what I was blessed with. It’s a constant work in progress, but one of the things that helps me is simply giving myself enough time for tasks (instead of unrealistically thinking I only need 5 minutes for a task that’ll take 30). So why am I talking about time management and baths? Because to actually get the goodness of a bath, you need time! I like to give myself a good half an hour at the least to set up the bath and then you know, sit in it. If you’re in a hurry, take a shower.

Dimmed lighting

Yes this seems high maintenance but IT MATTERS people! I’m not saying you need to install a dimmer system, but y’all can get creative. If you don’t have dimmers, think about keeping the hall light on and closing the door a bit. And candles! You don’t need to get excessive with a million candles, but a few can make you have #feels and they work for light. A nightlight or something would work too depending on your situation. But try to avoid the harsh bright lights that so many bathrooms have – especially if you’re using this bath to relax aka the only time I want to take one.

Do less

A good bath shouldn’t really look like a pretty Instagramed bath or even what I shoot on this blog when it comes to my bath (photos are different!). Sure you might want a tray for a book or wine, but let’s be real – you don’t need flowers floating or all these products sitting around you. That’s just too much. Only bring in what you actually need (remember it’s only 30 minutes of your life here!). Choose a book or a podcast, not both, and get that all set up before you get in. I’d recommend staying away from tech in the bath because that can just get messy slash dangerous!

A neck pillow

Y’all don’t need to get fancy here, but there’s kind of nothing worse than putting your head back on a cold, hard corner of the bath. It reminds me of sitting in uncomfortable chairs at the salon when someone is washing your hair and I hate it. So whether you DIY it and roll up a hand towel or buy a proper bath neck pillow, trust me here!

White noise or a podcast

I mentioned above that I choose a book or a podcast because both are doing too much. The last thing you want is your brain to be multi-tasking. If you aren’t listening to something to drown out the sound of your house, the street, whatever, use a White Noise app on your phone and place it on your skin or wherever. A lot of time I take my baths at night when my roomies are watching TV or whatever, and it makes things more peaceful when you can’t hear all that.

Optional: Bath salts

OK here’s the thing about bath salts. I used to think I needed them and then realized they’re not always serving me. Some make my bath have a residue after, some are kind of annoying, and then sometimes they feel really nice! That might not help too much, but basically, this is up to you. I don’t think they make or break a bath, but if they make you feel good, then use them. If they add clutter or a mess, skip!

For the record, I find that these Epsom salts are the best of all worlds – they’re cheap, they release muscle tension and the lavender helps you relax, and there’s no clean up. You can add a couple drops of an essential oil too if you’re into that!

Optional: Face mask

Same deal with face masks as above. I personally love using them while bathing because: 1. it’s knocking two things off at once without feeling stressful, 2. face masks can be kinda messy, 3. it makes me feel happy inside and 4. the heat from the bath and the steam help to open your pores, so it’s the perfect time to let the goodness of a face mask sink it. Here are some of my fave masks by the way!

If you’re not face mask girl, you can still have a great bath, obviously. But if you like them, I suggest doing once while you soak! Plus, afterwards you can get dressed and then just wash the mask off and then go through the rest of your skincare routine. Just an easy flow.

P.S. Wine makes things better too :)

Let me know if you’re more of a bath or shower person! Is there anything not on this list that’s a must-have for you?

Details: Side table is from Wisteria