Is there a general word or phrase to describe the things you do after getting up, such as face-washing?
I'm looking for a more general word or phrase to describe the things like face-washing, tooth-brushing and gargling together.
The word or phrase is to these things as doing sports is to playing basketball, playing football and so on.
Is there such a word or phrase?
'Ablutions' or 'morning ablutions' is the generic term for washing, toothbrushing, showering, bathing, toenail cutting, shaving, hairwashing, nose-hair clipping, and the usual bodily functions.
The fact that the sayings are both in the plural emphasises that there is more than one activity being referred to, not just, say, washing.
The OED says of 'ablute' :
b. intr. To wash oneself; to bathe.
1959 C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 183 I put on some music and abluted, then made two Nescafés. 2002 Derbyshire Life & Countryside Nov. 128/2 I abluted in a staff loo.., observed the female contingent and then rejoined the march in a bloated Pall Mall.
However, colloquially the term is being taken to mean more than just washing as is witnessed by its use by Tom Ford in a Top Gear piece, written in 2017/2018, where he makes it clear that he includes defecation (he includes a 'hygienic' shovel in his equipment) :
I ponder some more on this the next morning while taking care of my morning ablutions away from camp equipped with a hygenic shovel.
The OED makes it clear that 'ablutions' is :
- Frequently humorous (with mock formal tone). The action or an act of washing oneself; personal cleansing; bathing. Now usually in pl.
I take it that the very archaic nature of the expression is being used in humour and also being used euphemistically in that the whole range of bathroom activity is being politely included within a single term.
What about "morning routine" ?
routine: procedure, practice, pattern, drill, regime, regimen, groove
Also, Merriam Webster has as an example for routine:
A brisk walk is part of her morning routine
Another umbrella term for actions of personal grooming is toilette (pronounced twa-LET) or toilet: "the act or process of dressing or grooming oneself, including bathing and arranging the hair" (Dictionary.com). This sense of the word may be considered old-fashioned; Google Ngrams suggests it was more at home in the 19th century than our own, although it hasn't completely gone out of use. If you need a verb phrase, the idiom is "to make one's toilet(te)."
If you don't mind a bit of vulgarity, in the US military your morning routine is frequently referred to as "Sh** Shower Shave". Dollar Shaving Club even offers a men's grooming kit by this name.
I personally use "morning rituals" which include waking up, brushing my teeth, doing some morning stretches, praying, having breakfast, and everything I do in a morning routine.