Welcome to my ever expanding, mile-long bucket list! This list has taken many forms over the last 10-15 years. I’ve written it out in a couple journals, put it on various bucket list websites, and tried to organize it in some form or fashion on my computer. Now, here we are.

I think it’s so important that everyone not only has their own list but keeps it in an easily accessible place, because, out of sight = out of mind. And having the list out keeps it fresh and in yo face so you can actively work to check those items off because like anything, it won’t get done without some work!

My list is obviously ever-expanding and is in no way complete, nor do I think it ever will be – the world is SUCH a cool place and there are so many fun, exciting, exhilarating things to do and learn. I think people only get old when they stop learning and doing, #amirite?

So, I hope that you thumb through (can you say that when it’s online? Hmmm) the categories and add some inspiration to your own list, becauseeee FOMO. Or follow along and watch as I complete some big things from mine! If you’ve never made a bucket list before it can be quite overwhelming so take it easy and start small.

I suggest sitting down and thinking of maybe 5 – 10 things to begin with. Have you always wanted to visit Ireland? Maybe see the Sahara desert? Try food from all over the world? Or swim with manatees? If so, mark it down baby! But to keep it balanced I totally would put some simple bucket list ideas down, too – not everything has to be grand or related to travel to warrant a spot. Some of the simplest things on my bucket list were zip lining, sleeping in a cabin, marking donuts off of the world’s 50 best food list, and exploring my own hometown.

And for more fun, I recently started splitting the list up into more manageable sections and called them my “birthday bucket list”. Check out my 31 and 32-year-old bucket lists below!

2018: 32 before 32

2017:  31 before 31

United States Bucket List

Adventure

Drive a racecar

Drive a snowmobile

Drive a speedboat

Fly in a hot air balloon

Fly in a seaplane

Go camping

Go parasailing

Go to a Twins game

Go whitewater rafting

Make my way through a haunted house

Ride a zip line

Sail a boat

Shoot a gun

Skydive or indoor skydive

Take an airboat across a swamp

Try a new sport

Walk across a suspension bridge

Walk/swim behind a waterfall

Animals & Nature

Dog sledding

Find a pearl in an oyster

Hug a redwood

Make a snowman

Milk a cow

Name a star

Plant a tree

Release turtles into the ocean

Ride a camel

Ride a horse

See a coral reef

See a solar eclipse

See the salmon run

Sheer a sheep

Sleep in a cabin during the winter

Sleep in a haunted house

Sleep in an igloo

Sleep in an ice hotel

Sleep in a teepee

Sleep in a treehouse

Sleep in a yurt

Stay at a bed and breakfast

Stay at an underwater hotel

Start a memory jar on New Years Eve

Start an herb garden

Swim in the ocean

Swim with a school of fish

Swim with belugas

Swim with manatees

Swim with sea turtles

Visit a butterfly sanctuary

Visit an observatory

Whale watching

Finance & Luxury

Buy my first brand new car

Charter a yacht

Create a second income

Earn 6 figures per year

Fly first class

Fly in a private jet

Have at least 3 months of bills in savings

Have a positive net worth

Have no credit card debt

Have no student loan debt

Order room service

Own a successful business

Own Tiffany jewelry

Food & Drink

Attend a pig roast

Attend a tea tasting

Cook a traditional dish from a different culture

Cook Christmas dinner

Cook every dish in one cookbook

Drink from a fresh coconut

Eat at a food truck

Extract honey from a beehive

Have a dinner party

Have a progressive dining experience

Have a tasting menu dinner

Have a wine collection

Learn to make cheese

Learn to make cocktails

Learn to make fresh pasta

Make ice cream

Make a cheesecake

Make a gingerbread house

Perfect my grandmas signature dish

Recreate a childhood recipe

Shuck oysters

Stomp grapes

Try 15 types of ethnic food

1. Indian
2. Thai
   
3. Vietnamese
4. Chinese
5. Mexican
   
6. Ethiopian
7. Italian
8. Japanese/sushi
   
9. Greek
10. Jamaican
    
11. German
12. Irish
    
13. Russian
    
14. Ecuadorian
15. Moroccan
    
    

Fun/Hobbies

Attend a black-tie gala

Attend a murder mystery dinner

Attend a Native American pow wow

Attending a wedding in a different country

Be a Kiva lender

Be present at a birth

Become a better photographer

Blow glass

Build a house with habitat for humanity

Build a sand castle

Check the box to be an organ donor

Climb a lighthouse

Complete a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle

Create a family tree

Do a boudoir photo shoot

Do a random act of kindness

Do the polar bear plunge

Donate blood

Donate toys for the holidays

Dress up in a couples costume for Halloween

Find treasure with a metal detector

Finish a crossword puzzle

Flip a house

Fly in a blimp

Fly in a helicopter

Get a college degree

Get a tattoo

Go canoeing

Go on a cruise

Go to a dinner theater

Go to a drive-in movie

Go to a renaissance festival

Have a caricature drawing

Have a collection of something

Have a facial

Have a picnic

Have a white Christmas

Have my palm read

Host a holiday party

Join a book club

Keep a bullet journal

Learn a new instrument

Learn another language at a conversational level

Learn calligraphy

Learn the Heimlich maneuver

Learn to make soap

Learn to say hello and thank you in 10 languages

Let go of a floating lantern

List 10 things I am grateful for each day

Make a family recipe cookbook

Meet my online friends

Organize all my photos

Own an original piece of artwork

Participate in a sweat lodge purification ceremony

Read at least 1 book a month for 12 months

Ride a Segway

Ride in a dune buggy

Ride in a tuk-tuk

Ride on a cable car

See a ballet

See a Broadway play

See a favorite band/singer live in concert

See the Iditarod

See the space shuttle launch

Send a message in a bottle

Skinny dip

Solve a Rubiks cube

Sponsor a child’s wish through the make a wish foundation

Start a blog

Take a window washer selfie

Take photos in a photo booth

Visit a winery

Wade in a cranberry bog

Watch a meteor shower

Watch a Wimbledon match live

Watch all the Oscar-winning best pictures

Watch someone yodel in Switzerland

Work on a pottery wheel

Write a letter to my future self

Write a love letter

Write something in wet cement

Holidays

Host a friendsgiving

Start my own family traditions

Personal Growth

Fall in love

Get engaged

Get married

Get in the best shape of my life

Consult a financial advisor

Create a routine and stick to it

Take some classes – cooking, yoga etc

Relaxation & Beauty

Get a couple’s massage

Spend the day at a spa

Take a mud bath

Sports & Fitness

Attend the Olympics

Climb an indoor rock wall

Ice fishing

Deep sea fishing

Fly fishing

Ice skating

Snowshoeing

Cross-country skiing

Stand up paddle boarding

Yoga retreat

Kayaking

Surfing

Scuba Dive

Snorkel

Take a hot yoga class