In two short months, I turn 30.
I turn 30. I turn 30. I turn 30. I turn 30!
If you’re curious; no, I’m not freaking out. There’s nothing to freak out about. I killed it in my twenties. I did college. I made myself a baker. I started a business. I dated a generous handful of darling gentlemen. I did numerous cartwheels. I enjoyed my fair share of bourbon. I learned how to make homemade ranch dressing. I fell in love with a kitten. I ate plenty of raw cookie dough. And! I’ve got a whole two months to fill with the reckless shenanigans of a 20-something.
The only sad things about turning 30 is that I might feel too old watching The Real World… I won’t be able to relate to to anyone on The Jersey Shore… Teen Mom will infuriate me, and I’ll have missed my opportunity to do a keg stand (but really, who wants to drink beer upside down anyway!? not cute). It looks like MTV will be completely out of the question. I’ll probably come to embrace shows like Hoarders, I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant and, Toddlers and Tiaras. Sigh. Whatevs.
Can I still say ‘Whatevs’ when I turn 30? Prob not.
Listen… I’m going on and on and on about 30-ness because I have a project to complete in my last two months of 29. I need your help.
I want to complete 30 things before I turn 30. I’ve got a list working, but I’m a little stumped. That’s where you come in. Help me fill this list. I’m counting on you… I got a lot of work to do!
Thirty Things before Thirty Years
Eat 1 giant birthday hot dog with sauerkraut, spicy mustard, and beer.
Send flowers to 2 friends.
Buy 3 strangers their morning coffee.
Take 4 new people to church on Sunday.
Make 5 new friends.
Mail 6 hand-written letters.
Compliment 7 strangers.
Leave 8 lucky quarters on the ground.
Send 9 of my favorite books to 9 of my favorite people.
10? 11?
Give away 12 fresh cupcakes.
Send 13 postcards to 13 blog readers.
Tip my waitress $14 above average.
Leave 15 nice comments on 15 other blogs.
Make (at least) 16 coffee ice cream cream puffs.
Enjoy 17 beach sunsets.
18,19,20,21,22,23… whatcha got for me?
Take and develop 24 pictures… with film .
25?
Take 26 yoga classes.
Clean my closet and give away 27 things.
28,29,THIRTY!!!!
You see the pattern here, right? I need, for example, to find 18 things to do. I need to think of 19 gifts to give… I need to make 20 of something. Are you picking up what I’m putting down?
I need your ideas. Lay em on me!
Ps. I heart you. Major.
664 Responses
make a 19 page scrapbook, and give it to someone you love. xo
I’m with Claudette!! I’m going to start a 40 List (I have 5 years to complete it!!).
Thank you for your wonderful recipes, your entertaining writing and just being you!!
Happy belated Birthday!
I think this is such a great idea! I saw a trend in the above comments and agree— travel 10 different countries or 25 different states.
Buy yourself 10 different flower arrangements.
Hey Joy!
I am loving your blog!
Happy Birthday! I hope you had a spectacular day and an even better year!
Pick 10 quarts of strawberries. Do with them what you will. (Freezing always a good option… then you can pop them into smoothies!)
Feliz Cumpleaños!!
Happy Birthday!!
Have Fun!
Happy Birthday Joy!
Please post a follow up on your list! :)
how about create 10 new recipes?
Happy birth day!
I love your idea of a 30s list. I too will be turning 30 this next birthday and you made me think of creating a list of new things to do.
Joy, I have just discovered you in the past month and I love reading you!!! I turn the big 40 this summer and you have inspired me to do a 40 list. I have four great kids and one delicious hubby and three cats!! I’m a stay at home mom for now, even though all four kids are in school full time. I love being a mommy. I just made your Banana chocolate chip cupcakes. The look so good. My kids love coming home to a homemade surprise. Thanks to you we are never disappointed!!! Hope you have a fabulous day on this your 30th birthday.. cheers from one inspired mom of four…xo
You are amazing! You have just inspired me to work on a “40 Things Before Forty Years” list!! You really are amazing!!
AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOY!!!
Me too!
Get a flight to Europe and visit 10 diff countries, by train. Take you a month. Start in Munich, the foods amazing.
You could then try 25 new dishes, if you go to Austria [Vienna] you get that in cakes alone!
Come back and cook 18 of them. Good luck with that.
30 is easy – host a party with 30 of your favourite people and make them eat your 18 new dishes, who on earth wouldn’t want to do that? Idiots! That’s who! Ooh, you could get those wee chinese wish balloons, [don’t have a clue what they’re called, the ones you light a candle in and they float – v pretty] one for each of your guests and release 30 of them..
I’ll shut up now. Enjoy!
I’m not sure if someone has suggested this but I thought of the 30th thing for ‘Joy the Baker’ to do.
Wait for it… Wait for it…. Wait for it…. Joy the Baker will bake 30 differnet food items in one day! It will be a marathon no baker has ever dared to ventured!!! A challenge no baker has ever faced before!!!! A feast of feasts!!!!!!
Oh and you should do it ALONE!!!! :P
One hell of a post that will be where you post 30 pictures, a hellua messy kitchen and a not-so-hungry-anymore cat! Just a suggestion!
10: Travel and visit 10 new countries…
11: …and talk to 11 friendly strangers (and if you come to germany let me know!)
30: have 30 amazing skydiving seconds
I come here everyday with hopes to see this list complete! Give us an update! SOON!
update soon. to be sure!
I hope you don’t have to make your own birthday cake. Have you done any of this? Happy Monday!
This is my last year in my 20’s as well – it’s kind of exciting but also a little terrifying, right?
I say pick something fun to buy YOURSELF for one of them: like 19 new pairs of socks or chonies or something. Love this, Joy!
You need to read 19 poems that inspire you and write 20 prayers to remember the achievements of your twenties. You should teacher 10 classes of ten year olds how to make chocolate chip cookies- go to your local schools, they would love it! You should buy 11 things that are totally not your style- something under other circumstances you would not be caught dead in.. and then make sure you wear them to 25 different places.
I just discovered your site today from Saveur. I love this post. It made me laugh, because I transition to the 30s in December.
For the record, I will still watch MTV and say whatevs!
Joy, Will you post the completed list and a progress update? I’ve been wondering what 30 things you are going to attempt!
love your list, how about give 25 random people a hug! lol.. that should be fun :)
or how about give $18 to a charity of your choice? :)
or try 19 new restaurants?
or take 30 pictures of your 30 favourite things?
30 – Enjoy a bottle of wine that cost you at least $30 – what better way to ring out your 20’s than a sipping a fine glass of reserve cab-sauv?? YUM!
Post your completed list and possibly 30 readers will re-post it to honor you. I know I will (and not just because I’m incredibly curious about the list. Which I am)
JOY!!! You totally need to update this and let us know you’re final thirty things to do before your thirty birthdays (it’s not before thirty years, because this IS our thirtieth year of being alive – think about – your first birthday comes at the END of your first year of life…!)
I have completed my list (as in, the writing of it) and have even started on it – no.22 was to bake Easter biscuits on Maundy Thursday and give them to my neighbours on Good Friday (April 22nd)…so I ended up baking on Good Friday and giving them out on Saturday, but I also found out that Easter biscuits made with cassia oil are quite a West Country thing (where I’m from in England) and that it’s traditional to tie three biscuits up with ribbon, to represent the Holy Trinity, and give them to guests on Easter Sunday! So I was keeping up with a tradition I didn’t even know about, even if I did it a bit the wrong way round.
But PLEASE let us know your final list, and how you’re getting on with it! Thanks, Kelly x
Do a chinese fire drill at 10 redlights in a row.
Discover 11 new recipes with 11 of your favorite foods!
Wow Joy I think you are going to have a hard time choosing what else to put on your list. There are a lot of great ideas, I love the donate to 18 Charities or $18 to one, and the idea of planting is also fantastic. Would love to know what you’ve decided.
This is a fab idea Joy!
I am doing something similar (though not in such a short amount of time – I gave myself 18 months!). Check it out here:
https://tableclothsandtalking.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/30-before-30/
It might give you some inspiration.
Good luck, have fun, enjoy!
x
Happy 30th !
I’ll take 25.
You could:
take a 25 minute nap
take 25 black and white photos
Float on the water or tred water for 25 minutes
make a recipe with 25 ingredients!!
Teach 10 kids how to cook one of your most favorite recipes. I had no idea how much my 3 year old
son wanted to cook until I invited him to help me make a batch of cookies. He has been my right hand man in the kitchen ever since.
You could teach 10 pre-school children to make a three course meal for their parents!
In two months I also turn 30. Maybe I should also try your “before 30” list. Might feel more ready to be an adult. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. First thing on my list is your marshmallows that I whipped up tonight. First time for everything.
tell 10 people that you love them.
sit back and think of 11 simple things that make your life special.
bet you’ll find 30 easier than you think because you really won’t change all that much.
I turn 30 July 30th. So not only is it the end of my twenties, it is also my Golden Birthday. God has a weird sense of humor.
Try X amount of new recipes.
Sing X amount of songs with the windows open while driving along a busy street.
Eat X amount of the same colored foods.
taste x number flavours of gelato/ice-cream
donate X number of bottles of shampoo/conditioner/paper towels etc to a domestic violence shelter in your area.
I’m really late to this, but I had a thought…
How about you write a sort note to someone about your X# favorite books, then slip them into copies of those books at the library or a bookstore for the next reader to find.
18-give eighteen 18 year olds a piece of advice. Call a highschool, talk to an english teacher, find a reason to get into a senior class for a few minutes.
mke x new recipes.pick x amount of recipes from one book.go to page x on cook book and cook all on there.take x amounts of steps outsdie your road and take a photo,take x amount of photos whilst out,and do same x blinfolded bt wait til u get home to see results*this one proudced fantastic results wen i did some work with the blind and seeing.
pick x amount of people who comment,me included and send them something,take x amount of comments and must do wot they suggest
Try X new recipes. Go to a recipe website and if you want breakfast, look for a breakfast recipe. Try whatever comes up fifth, or whatever. Make yourself try something different and new.
or
Pick ingredients you rarely if ever use and try new recipes with them. You may never have known how much you absolutely love watermelon cupcakes or a bar dessert with corn flakes.
Lemme tell ya, Joy… it is pretty awesome on this side of the fence! 30’s are waaaay better than 20’s. :)
Shout, standing on a public park bench, 10 times: “It’s my birthday! I’m 30 and proud!” Have a trusted friend tag along to help you count down and to high-five you after!
Then go celebrate with 11 minty lozenges to sooth your throat!
:)
ok I am sorry I don’t have any fun ideas to put on your list, but I will say I am 32 and you can totally say Whatev’s. I even add a trev’s to the end of mine even though I know nobody named Trevor, its still way more fun to say it that way. Hope you have a fabulous birthday and I am new to your blog and I just thought I would say I love it and keep up the amazing baking!
I can’t imagine what took me so much time to stumble upon your blog… I turned 31 this year and I went through the same heartache at 30!
I love the idea about writing comments on new blogs…
maybe instead of 19 gifts – you can have a giveaway with 19 things????
try ten recipes from different global cuisines???
make a list of 18 places to travel to before you turn 31???
I love your blog!
I found 31 to be a tougher milestone….I mean…no denying you’re in your thirties at that point!
;) Enjoy!
buy a flat or two of fresh strawberries from a roadside stand and give away the pints and share — but then bake a cheesecake and serve sliced strawberries drizzled with balsamic vinegar and honey on the side
create 30 variations for one recipe :) …..or 10.
Record your 30 favorite memories of the year.
Tell 29 people why you are happy they are in your life.
Visit 18 new places; restaurants, neighborhood, cities.
Do 20 things you’ve never done before.
This is so awesome…I’m going to do 25 things for my 25th birthday! Totally inspiring. My first is to find all the pictures I lost when my computer crashed and work on my blog!
Visit 10 places you miss.
Take a trip to 11 new destinations.
Embrace the new dawn of 18 sunrises.
Make a wish on 19 stars.
Paint ten toes and ten fingers daringly youthful colors.
Let 21 baloons go in the air.
Buy 22 buttons.
Pull an almost all nighter, just for kicks. (23)
Invite 25 friends to a bonfire, write your regrets on a piece of paper and make embers their only
memory.
Write down something beautiful everyday for 28 days.
Pick 29 wildflowers.
Find 30 pictures from throughout the years.
I fear I’m a bit late to the comment party on this one but had to let you know this is one of my favorite posts ever. I’m so inspired! What a fantastic and special way to celebrate yourself and your beautiful life. Love it! I have an idea for you: rub the tummies of 19 pooches 19 times:) Thanks, Joy xo
Sleep under the moon, yes under the moon, on your most favorite quilt in your most favorite 29 pajamas, with your most favorite beer. Then mow the number 29 in your lawn! Happy Birthday!
I think you should swap 13 postcards for another number (11? 19?) and use 13 to make a “baker’s dozen” homemade donuts (or a baker’s dozen of anything really)!
For 18, do 18 things that you could TOTALLY pull off at 18 that you don’t think would be “appropriate” at 30..wear pj pants to the grocery store, sit with your knees up in a professional setting (I always wonder when I’m going to be “too old” to do that), have a jersey shore marathon, get smashed and go dancing in a bar that’s full of underage college kids, paint your nails neon colours …you get my drift.
And then totally dismiss these silly notions of what’s appropriate and do them all again in the years to come!! :)
P.S love your blog – it’s by far my fav of all the food blogs out there! you make me laugh every time.
Joy, Go for a bike ride. Ride Across the US, June 2012. UL
doing it!
How about a dinner party for 10 people, or making a list of 20 places you want to visit in your 30’s. I really like the planting trees or herbs idea too. The big 3-0 comes for me July 13th. 1981… what a wonderful year!
I love the planting idea too. Could also try a little vegetable garden.
Eek!! I feel ya, I’m turning 30 in June! Um, how about plant a garden with 20 different vegetables, herbs, and fruits? Or even flowers? I love your idea, makes me think of what I should do for my final countdown…
how about…
10 hours of community service..(soup kitchen, local pet adoption site, litter control, etc etc)
11 different dates with 11 different people ;)
18- give away 18 different single flowers to 18 different strangers
20- Watch a 20 hour marathon of Jersey Shore. Get your fix in now…
21- Take someone out for their 21st birthday.
25- Teach a cooking class of 25 KIDS
30- Perhaps a home-cooked meal for 30 of your nearest and dearest….
man this IS hard.
Lindsey, these are awesome. And they sound way more fun than what I did for my 30th: ran a marathon. Skip the marathon, Joy! Go the single-stems and cooking class. :)
These are awesome ideas!
ooo and how about buy a ‘taoism’ book, the man who made it(i think he made it?) lived to 150 hehehe :D
or how about… go to Hawaii and celebrate and party and have a blast whilst doing all the other great ideas, for two months!!! hahaha :D
I have nothing to add to the great ideas above, but I do have to say that, thanks to your commentators, I now have gotten it into my head to run a half-marathon before I turn 35 (six months from now). I mean, seriously, Joy. I come here for buttery, chocolaty baked goods, not for real ideas that make me do something constructive and healthy in my life! At least I will know what to bake to celebrate completing my half marathon.
There’s nothing like completing a half marathon. But beware. You will finish the half and some lovely friend will ask you when you ware going to run a full marathon and you’ll laugh them off but some time later you’ll find yourself sitting on the couch watching a movie thinking, “What’s so funny? I could run a full marathon. Couldn’t I?” That is when the fun begins.
Hear hear to Sherron’s tree-planting idea.
How about:
– Try X food items you’ve never had before (consuming or cooking/baking with)
– Finish X books from a top-reads list
– Run/bike/walk X miles a week
In Judaism, 18 is a lucky number. In hebrew, 18 is chai (pronounced with that guttural, throat clearing “ch” sound). In my family (even though I no longer participate in the religion I was raised) when you give someone a monetary gift, you do it in denominations of 18. How about giving 18 dollars to your favorite charity? Or what about 18 dollars to helping out Japan’s tsunami/earthquake relief efforts? Or give one dollar to 18 different charities? You get my point.
Good luck with your 30 things before 30!!
PS – Just because you’re turning 30 doesn’t mean you have to give up watching fascinating yet crappy television like Jersey Shore. A train wreck is still a train wreck and sometimes you just have to look.
Make 30 wonderful boxes of food for people who don´t have any…
and then, because if you are turning 30 you have to do a 31st thing for good luck, write 31 letters to every level and kind of politician, groups, associations, churces, Obamas (both of them), etc. etc. telling them to get their booties moving on policies that allow everyone to enjoy having some dignified place to live and a decent hot meal with their friends or families when they have a birthday (and every other day of the year would be nice too).
I love all your ideas and those in the comments. This is my 29th year as well, so you’ve inspired me to get a-crackin on a big 30 list too : ) good luck!
Pretend you’re 21 in Santa Barbara
I WAS in Santa Barbara at UCSB on my 21st b-day (BS biochem/molecular biology, BA music.) My sorority sisters/frat bro I was lil sis to kidnapped me, took me to LA, went to a concert (who was it?) and had dinner on the beach at a family house in Malibu. The day of my last final senior yr which was 2 wk later we (who was it again?) went bar-hopping at 1030 a.m. hitting 6 bars in the subsequent 12 hr. Alas my undergrad days were over, graduation and marriage the next month, two mo. play time, then umpteen years of medical school and training. Sigh….thanks for the trip down memory lane. Time for my first bucket list, me thinks! BTW, I know I drank more in 4 yr of college with a fake ID, remember I was barely 21 at graduation, than in all the years since.
Where does the beginningof this blog start?. I’m enjoying it so much and hate that i must have been in the dark for some time about it. Found it by myself surfing. Enjoy this one very much. Patti
press the ‘home’ button on the top left and it’ll always take you to the beginning.
plant x number of seeds to grow your own herbs and spices for your delicious recipes
Plant 30 trees!
Swim with the dolphins! You never know where they will lead you………
I love this! I recently made a bucket list. So much fun and makes me more active in doing silly things in life. The next thing to check off is singing “Fat Bottomed Girls” at a karaoke bar. I hope you have lots of silly fun with your 30 list!
i literally had my 29th bday the day you posted this….. you have INSPIRED me to do something like this before i, myself, turn 30. THANK YOU FOR BEING AMAZING! :D
happy birthday!
Have a Silly String War with Friends
Make Marshmellow Guns and have an impromptu fight in a park.
Play Human-Shoe in a public place. (More or less Horse Shoes but with the shoes you are wearing, my friends and I used a purse as the target and we would play this near a starbucks at a local outdoors mall :) super fun and you get TONS of great onlookers)
Loved your idea, so give 10 kisses to 10 strangers, perhaps, could it be?
Give 19 smiles to 19 people that you know really need them.
Color X pages of a coloringbook. (that’s just fun)
give a stranger an additional 20 minutes on their parking meter. or randomly feed change into 20 parking meters.
I just turned 30 as well and in that time I accomplished quite a few amazing things. Some of which are getting married, giving birth to 2 beautiful boys, making a couple wedding cakes, starting a soy candle business. What else though? I would have donated more of my time and be more studious in lots of different areas. I only got as far as reading half of an ancient world history book. But enough of me, what are you gong to finish up your 20’s doing?
How about take 11 dogs for a walk at the same time,
Gather 10 friends to do a great deed like paint over graffiti and then go out for a beer,
Take 11 dance classes,
They say it takes 21 days to break a habit- (or start one!)
Read 10 great novels
Tag a map of 25 places your going to go in your 30’s
Create a list of the 30 things your going to accomplish in your 30’s
Learn to sign your name in 30 different languages . Get creative. Do it on handmade paper…. Get it framed….
You can send me a postcard if you like. My childhood-sweetheart/love-of-my-life fiancee dumped me by text message today, so any cheering up will be greatly appreciated:)
Although postage to Ireland probably costs a bomb.
Such a sweet idea! I just turned 30. Maybe I’ll do a 30 WHILE 30
definitely! i like.
30. Listen to an album from every year since you were born (so 30 albums in total)
i love this!
Come to spain – europe to visit your europeans followers. You will have good time and better dinners and fiesta! A dream for the 30ths
To plug into any number of your choice:
Read X stories to X Children (maybe at your local library if you don’t have that many kids in your family/friends.
Donate X children’s books to local literacy charity
Use those film pictures to create X memory cards for friends/family
Spend X hours visiting at the local nursing home with people who don’t get visitors.
Read X books from your “I’ll read someday” list
Listen to X new types of music.
Learn X new dances.
Joy, my boyfriend is turning 31 and he acts like he’s in his 20’s more than I do, and I’m 25. Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to relate to the people on the Jersey Shore ;)
How about finishing X amount of scrapbook pages?
So fun!
…I am turning thirty in 25 days.
and have been thinking of my “pre-thirty bucket list”….
1 kinda lame thing that is on there for me is to
sing Karaoke.
I’m also glad that I am not alone in my desire to do all these things before my twenties end….
10) Put 10 little messages in 10 medium-sized air-tight bottles (so animals won’t choke) and throw them out into the ocean.
11) Starting next month (April 1st) go to a new coffee cafe for 11 days to pick up your morning coffee. If you don’t drink coffee, breakfast joint or tea shop.
18) Take out a world map. Pin point 18 random countries you know nothing about. Learn and find out about those 18 countries:) What language they speak, who’s their current president/prime minister, their national dish…
20) Do 20 push ups! And not the modified version!! :)
21) Try not to spend more than $21 in one day. Pick any day, and see if you can do it!
22) Eat 22 mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, because, yes, you deserve it!
23) Pick up 23 pieces of garbage at your local park/playground. Use one of those stick thingys and not your hand!
30) Give 30 kisses to your mom for birthing you and/or raising you :)
Run x miles, do something for x about of minutes?
Don’t freak out about 30. Freak out about how quickly 31 comes on the heels of 30. In eight months I turn 50, feels like I was just 30 a couple of years ago. It’s only a number, inside you still feel 25 and really don’t change that much; just tolerate more from people and live your life a little kinder.
Susan, I will soon turn 67. I am not sure how I should feel for this age. I do know that I feel great and have more energy than most 50 year olds. I am active, possibly a bit slower but I smell more roses and wild flowers. I enjoy the stars, gaze at the moon and still sunbathe nude. What does the age number have to do with it? Patti
Hi Joy!
18. spend 18 minutes strolling in the sunshine in your favorite sun dress!
19. Find 19 inspiring people on your stroll- all over the age of 30- who somehow catch your eye. Find out more about each of them. Introduce yourself and maybe even tell them what you are doing for your 30’th Birthday. If you are feeling particularly brave add them to facebook!!
20. Go on a twenty mile hike!! Take a good friend, a camera, and a picnic lunch- and document the adventure!
21. Go shopping at a vintage/ thrift store. Buy 21 impractical and adorable items you couldn’t buy at a regular store today. They have to be totally archaic, and the more useless…the better!
22. Volunteer 22 hours of your time to an animal shelter- spread out over the course of a couple of weeks of course.
23. Go through old family photos and make a collage of 23 of your favorite childhood memories!
24. Have a girl’s only sleepover that lasts for twenty-four hours. The only rule is that nobody is actually allowed to sleep at any point during the 24 hours.
25. Go for an evening jog 25 times that lasts at least 25 minutes. The only catch is that you can’t skip a day-it has to be 25 days in a row!
28. Invite 28 people over for wine and cheese- pick a theme for the little soiree and request that everyone dresses up according to the theme.
Invite 10 friends to a bonfire (if you do it at the beach you can know out a sunset as well) and make 20 s’mores with them
leave 11 hidden messages on post-it notes for our friends/family to find.
pick 18 wildflowers
tie 20 ribbons onto your bike
give away 19 balloons
do 22 cartwheels
knock out*
Hello, Joy. It seems you’re approaching your 30th year with the same vibrant, generous spirit you exhibit here. I wish you the sweetest possible transition into a new chapter (which, in my experience, isn’t much different from the 20-something one). I turned 30 this year, and also had a list of 30 things. Though it was structured differently, I think some of these things could be done in multiples of 10 or 19. Some would be hard to do in two months, and some I didn’t actually accomplish. Anyway, for what it’s worth:
1. Take an art class.
2. Knit something I like enough to wear.
3. Publish something I’ve written.
4. See fall in Maine.
5. Apply to three graduate programs I like.
6. Take a road trip somewhere I’ve never been.
7. Find and make a great granola recipe.
8. Create art in a public space.
9. Read five books on the list of 1001 Books to Read Before You Die.
10. Act in a play.
11. Hold a dinner party in our backyard with candles in the trees.
12. Model nude for an art class.
13. Record a song.
14. Go on a picnic.
15. Kayak or canoe on the Charles River.
16. See the Northern Lights in Iceland.
17. Travel around Europe.
18. Sell two of my photographs.
19. Learn to reupholster chairs.
20. Leave encouraging messages in public places.
21. Paint a mural.
22. Kiss someone worth kissing.
23. Attend a writing conference.
24. Go camping.
25. Tattoo myself with a message I need to hear.
26. Write on my blog every day for a month.
27. Write real letters to seven friends.
28. Plant a garden.
29. Memorize two poems I would like to whisper in someone’s ear.
30. Do something that surprises even me.
erinn, i love your list! have to say, #12 makes you incredibly bold and brave in my mind. i hope i have your confidence some day! :)
Take 10 shots of bourbon in one day. Send in 11 Post Secrets (maybe one of them will get published!).
Run X miles. Donate X cans of food. Volunteer for X hours. Visit X sick and/or elderly people. Drive X miles and see where you end up. Plant X plants. Pick up trash on X blocks. Tuck X $5 bills into random library books.
Sounds like you’ll have a fun two months!
Skip to 10 places.
Eat 18 ice cream cones.
Dance with 20 people.
I’ll sign up for postcard volunteers if you need more :)
I’ve always thought it would be fun to sit down and come up with x # of new outfits out of stuff already in my closet. I kind of get stuck in wearing the same stuff over and over.
Run a 10 minute mile? I know that’s not very fast but it’s been a while since I’ve ran so…
for 30 make a list of 30 books you want to read during your 30th year.
I love this idea! I am turning 30 in the middle of the year. Maybe, just maybe I’ll try to do something like this myself :)
You could:
Try 10 new coffee shops.
Drink 11 cocktails (even better if you come up with the recipe yourself)
Tell 18 people your favorite things about them.
Dance with 19 different people.
Swim 20 laps of a pool continuously
Design 25 cards
Make pizzas for 28 friends, relations or homeless people (your pick).
Blow up 30 balloons, or blow out 30 candles ;)
Or write down 30 of your favorite things that have happened in the last 30 years.
What about pick X number of wildflowers and leave the bundle on someone’s doorstep?
Plant 10 trees!
Leave 18 motivational post-its in public places.
Cook/bake x amount of things that you are afraid of (for me – puff pastry and lobster)
Go to x amount of new restaurants
Make x amount of friendship bracelets
Make x amount of care packages for the soldiers
Take 30 bites of birthday cake!!
A little late to this one, and sorry if I stole anyones idea :)
Buy yourself 30 roses, take 30 steps toward someone you love, take a 30 hr road trip (not all in on day although I once drove 24hrs non stop Calif. to Iowa) , buy 30 oz of gold. Have fun.
Experience one beach bonfire.
Introduce two of your friends who you think would be a perfect match.
Melt three of your favorite dessert sauces over a scope of ice cream.
Have four dinner parties, each with a different theme!
Do five of your favorite yoga poses when you wake up.
I am 30
A. I still watch Teen Mom (and Jersey shore)
B. I do not watch the Real world
C. I realized I was too old for MTV when the cut off age to be on all the shows is 24
D. I still say “whatevs” frequently
E. I would be happy to be your new friend for your 30th ;)
Its great over here! Happy early bday :)
Um, I hereby second the 30 high fives idea.
This is a great idea. I turn 24 this year and was kind of hyperventilating. But tackling it this way makes it a lot more fun! You’re the best.
Try 18, 19, 20, etc. new foods. I’m trying it this year and its a ton of fun!
Listen to 25 new songs
I just turned 30 and I wish i would have made a list of things to do before turning 30, so creative.
had another inspiration besides the wine….. ride your bike, x amount of miles…. or read X amount of poems from various authors….
Taste X amount of different wines!!
I think you should give 30 high fives to 30 different people.
OMG, I love this. 30 high fives. That rocks.
Great idea! Did anyone mention “give X number of hugs to your friends/family”? How about pick X number of strangers to give a complement to? Make a list of the X number of things you like best about yourself? Sorry if these are duplicates–I didn’t have time to read the whole list of comments.
11: is a very lucky number. and mine in this list of comments. and: i’m a yoga teacher. so my recommendation is: do a yoga meditation for 11 minutes. it’ll make your heart sing. promise.
the simplest one: put your left hand on your heart, your right hand on top of it and breathe in and out very slowly for 11 minutes. your mind will stop talking if you let it think “sat” (truth) and “nam” (identity) as you inhale and exhale.
en-joy!
(sorry for the pun…)
L
Hi Joy,
Happy upcoming 30th birthday!! You’re gonna rock it; I just know it!
My suggestion for your ‘to do’ list is to learn something about the local flora/fauna you’ve got there in LA. Before you start getting any crazy ideas, I just mean that it might be nice to learn 10 bird names of common (native) birds around you, and 11 plant names of common (native) plants around you. Totally do it….maybe you’ll even like it! I’m a biologist, and in school we learned how most kids can name off 200+ logos (Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, etc.) but they couldn’t name 5 birds or plants/trees in their local park if asked. I think that’s kind of crazy, but maybe it’s just me??
Or….you could bake 10 pies and then bake 11 batches of cookies. Mmmmm….cookies!
p.s. I just looked and LA even has its own Audobon site….lucky ducks! :) (oh yes, I’m a bird nerd….)
https://www.losangelesaudubon.org/
I am going to suggest replacing number 13. I ran a half marathon when I turned 30 last year and it was the best feeling of my life. I’m not a runner, but I was determined to do it. I can’t reccommend it enough.
13 – run 13.1 miles
Go for a 10km run
Walk 11 dogs at a time
Dance for at least 18 minutes to a totally random song
Feature 19 aspiring chefs/bakers on your blog (idea stolen from Elysa cuz I like it!)
Visit a local centre for kids/cancer patients/battered women and spend at least 20 minutes with at least 20 of them.
Burn your favourite 21 songs into a CD
Make 22 pieces of sushi and eat them all!
Volunter at a local charity centre and bring along 23 other people.
Donate 25 bucks to the local animal shelter!
Sign a meaningful petition (be it to help the environment/animals/human rights) and get 28 people to sign it as well
Pluck 29 wildflowers and make your own bouquet.
Spend 30 minutes having a luxurious soak in the tub with your favourite bath soap/salt
Hope you manage to fulfill your list!!! Btw I love your style of writing and your recipes!!!
*sorry if I accidently stole anyone’s ideas. I didn’t read all the comments.*
Spend 20 dollars on something completely unnecessary but makes you smile.
Drive 10 miles on the 10 (or drive 10 miles up or down PCH)
Make a CD of your 11 favorite songs
Meditate for 25 minutes
Watch the Thriller sequence of “13 going on 30” 18 times in a row
Write “I will still be RAD when I turn 30!” 19 times on the sidewalk with chalk
Stick 20 smiley face stickers on 19 bathroom stall doors
Drink 21 glasses of water
Hmmm, make 10 birthday cakes and donate them … there is a charity called Free Cakes for Kids or you can see about contacting a shelter … giving a birthday cake to a kid, what could be better?!
11 blankets to a shelter? 18 long walks to “sniff the roses” …. I’ll have to keep thinking about this. Very cool way to ring in your new decade :)
I’m 30 something and still say whatevs along with amaze balls … and other corny things like lulz however I do think there is a time when some MTV shows you simply out grow … such is life.
get a dog. ;)
awesome idea!!
explore 10 towns you haven’t been to yet
photograph the 30 things you did!
i’m all out, but i’m totally down for a postcard ;)
come up with 18 ORIGINAL recipes. just a thought. and girl, i’m down with the postcard.
Walk or run a 10k race.
Donate ____ pounds or bags of food to an animal shelter. Or see if the shelter has a wish list – it might be 30 rolls of paper towels! Or sponsor a number of kitty spays or neuters.
I’ll take that postcard if you need any help :)
Color 13 dozen Easter Eggs for your Church’s Easter Service!
Donate X amount of children’s books to the LA chapter of Reach out and read. There are some other really great ideas on here!
I turn 30 in two months! May 24. Great ideas.
Oh, if only I didn’t have a mere week and a half until I turn 30 I would join you in your escapade. But I say you can totally say whatevs when you turn 30, because I plan to!
Hike 10 miles!
Do 25 push-ups!
Ok, I’m 32, and I said “whatevs” in conversation to my boss today, and he said, “yes, Alison, whatevs.” Age means nothing :)
Also, buy 10 colorful balloons and give them away to children you see walking around.
Ooo, this is fun!! Recount 10 (or 11?) of your fondest memories from your 20’s (reflection is fun and allows you to grow!). Wait, I have another for 11. Buy and try 11 new (to you) items at the grocery store.
Do 29 push-ups (at once). Someone once told me it’s good luck to do as many push-ups as your age at least once a year. I’m not sure if it gave me good luck, but it has given me strong arms!
Find 30 other people turning 30 this year and have a virtual 30th birthday party?
By the way, some of the things on your list are so generous – good for you!
Make 30 (or any of the other unfullfilled numbers) strangers smile.
Love this… and that you’re doing stuff with other people in mind. I have my own “pre-30” project going… but you are much more selfless than I am. props to you for that. Enjoy! (I am so jealous that you are in a position to watch so many beach sunsets!)
All the best Joy; hope this helps :)
10 – Watch the Oscar winning movies from 1981* (there are 10)
11 – Plant 11 trees/ bushes/ plants in your local community garden (Totally stealing this one from other commenters. I love it!)
18 – Play a full round of golf (18 holes)
19 – Learn 19 phrases in a new language.
20 – Donate 20 items to your local animal shelter
21 – Create 21 ‘JOY’ stickers and stick them on public surfaces as you go about a regular day (bus stop, lamp post, US Mail box, brick wall, the tips cup at your local coffee shop, park bench… you get the idea.)
22 – Invite 22 kids of friends and family to the park for a party. String up balloons and streamers. Eat fairy floss and hot dogs. Have sack races and face painting and a pinata. Play duck, duck, goose. Throw water balloons.
23 – On April 23rd, spend only $23.
25 – Be a Micro Lender – http://www.kiva.org
*FYI they are: Chariots of Fire, Close Harmony, Crac, Genocide, Mephisto, On Golden Pond, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Reds, Violet, ET: The Extra Terrestrial
I thought of another one – spend $30 at your local spacies arcade and give away all the tokens you buy/ tickets you win.
(do you have spacies arcades? where you buy tokens and then use them to play games and win tickets and then exchange the tickets for prizes??)
18: visit a local shelter or rescue and walk 18 shelter dogs (not at once :))
19: make 19 mix tapes and send them anonymously to friends
20: buy $20 worth of $1 scratch tickets and give them away
21: make a mini cocktail book with 21 drink recipes a nod to your 21st bday and how far you’ve come
22: make 22 cookies and give them to someone for a pick me up on the 22nd day of the month
23: a significant number for me, commit to spending time with 23 important people in your life before you are 30
25: watch 25 of your all time favorite movies
28: write the first 28 lines of your autobiography
29: do 29 a year in review… relive highlights from your 29th year :)
30: set 30 goals for yourself to accomplish in your 30’s
(or give/buy/make yourself 30 gifts, that is what my girlfriend did for me when i turned 30)
Read 10 books.
Make 11 new dishes that each include a vegetable.
Support 18 etsy sellers.
Listen to 19 new songs by 19 new bands you’ve never heard before.
Give me 20 things I should do while I’m 20.
Make 23 three peoples day.
Give 30 things away to all your loving followers.
Give away 20 roses in 20 minutes.
Adopt a dog :)
I just learned about the coolest party EVER, but since I am pushing 40, I don’t think my friends could pull it off… so have an “Anything but clothes party” and invite 26 friends. They can wear all manner of materials except cloth, leather, fur… the normal clothing materials. And take lots of pics so we can see the great costumes.
Also, have 10 friends donate $10 each to one charity of your choice.
And, volunteer at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen 11 times. Bring a different friend each time.
Good luck and have a blast
Hey Joy,
Here are some more ideas:
1. Make # bags of ingredients for a favorite recipe (recipe included) and give to folks to enjoy at home.
2. Make a mixed cd of # songs (you know the ones — they make you sing with them, regardless of where you are at the time they come on) and give them to the barista, the grocery cashier, the mailman, etc.
3. Carpool for # days
4. Try a new wine from # different countries
5. Have a killer candlelight dinner by lighting # candles and setting them around the house. Turn off that silly electricity and enjoy the ambiance.
6. Ask # strangers for their favorite local foodie spot — take a friend and visit!
7. Go # days without wearing the same outfit twice, and have fun experimenting!
Oh, and move that “17 beach sunsets” up . . . seriously, 17 is slacking, even for a 29 yr. old :)
Best,
Kaitlin
Fold x (lucky) paper cranes.
Donate x cans/items of food to the food bank.
Smile at x strangers you cross on the street.
Buy x balloons/daisies and give them to x strangers.
Great idea Joy! (time no. 420 someone has said that to you)
Here are my suggestions:
donate $10 to each of your 10 favorite non-profits
pick 11 peaches from the tree and make a few pies for a few friends
and for 30? Commit to visiting 30 different countries over the next 30 years!
Happy early birthday. May the next two months especially be blessed!
visit 10 new towns you’ve never been to!
I can be your new friend!! :-D
oh and pet a kitty 29 times. the kitty will love it & YOU!
Visit 10 different places/sites/landmarks that you always wanted to go to but haven’t had a chance to visit yet.
Try 11 different gelato flavours!
Tell someone how much you love them 25 to 30 times. :)
Great idea Joy!! I was so happy to hit my thirty’s and I still enjoy all the guilty pleasures of reality tv.
19 – write down 19 of your favorite recipes and give them to friends along with the dish. This could be time consuming. And awesome for the recipient. And I would like a postcard please. :)
26/13- run a marathon or half marathon
X- learn to knit and knit X hats for cancer patients
X- travel to X number of new states or all the ones you havent’ been to yet
X- no caffeine for X number of days.
X- spend X hours talking to and catching up with old friends
X- hours with the older people in your life: grandparents, aunts, uncles
X- X number of little love notes and surprises to your parents to let them know how much you appreciate them
X- number of days with out eating meat or dairy/ making the smallest impact foodwise/ eating as low as possible on the food chain.(the production of 1 lb of beef = your showers for 6 months in water consumption)
Hi Joy!
Feature 10 aspiring chefs/bakers on your blog! It would give you a break from baking and give them an amazing jump-start to success :) It’ll be a fun read!
Tell 20 people who made your life better something nice about why they are special.
Spend 30 hours by yourself without electricity – appreciate who you are.
Walk or run 10 miles over 10 days.
Try 22 different kinds of bread.
Great idea – who needs to have a milestone birthday to do this? Please post your final list, maybe we can all do some of these.
Joy! Once again… why are we not friends in real life?! Ha I realize we are now friends but wish we could hang out. For one of the numbers you should make it: ask _ of my blog readers to send in an ingredient and come up with a fun new recipe for it!
p.s. i would be willing to let you send me a postcard to fulfill #13! (: i live in northern ireland and will send you one back! penpals.. woo!
Suddenly you’re this joythecooker, I miss the baking! :)
Haha! I just turned 30 a couple of weeks ago…I’m not gonna lie, I freaked out a little. Last year I wrote a whole post on things I wanted to do every year to stay young. I didn’t really get around to all of those in the last year…but I guess every year is a chance to try again! :) Anyway, I love your list it looks like lots of fun…My thoughts are things like leave X many boxes of treats on friends doorsteps, can x many jars of jam, pickles, or something else tasty that will last, make X bottles of beer or ginger ale, try X many new restaurants. Have fun! (By the way…it turns out that 30 is not so bad.)
Tip my waitress $14 above average.
This is wonderful to hear, from a waitress!
wow. inspiring joy. how about taking a walk around a neighborhood you enjoy and letting your mind wander toward dreams coming true for you.
This is inspiring me to make my own list! Everyone has such great ideas. I love the idea about memorizing a certain number of Bible verses!
10 – document the top ten blessings in your life!
30 – take your 30 favourite photographs from this year/decade/the last 30 years. Have them printed. Put them in a book and write your favourite memories down.
29 – teach 29 kids how to bake. This is the average number of kids in a class in the UK, I’m sure the US isn’t too difficult. Go into one of your local schools and teach them how to bake something brilliant.
28 – try 28 types of bourbon. There’s a pub near me that does 50.
27 – plant 27 plants/herbs/flowers. All together in a couple of big pots.
26 – hold a dinner party for 26 people. Pot luck if you like.
25 – write postcards to 25 people you haven’t spoken to as often as you should. Ask for replies on postcards. Keep them.
24 – photograph 24 things you love about your city.
23 – Go to 23 new places. Countries/cities/restaurants/new friends’ houses/parks/hills/anything.
22 – time capsule with 22 things in (22 = 20+1+1, like 2011). Bury it somewhere awesome. (Ideally I’d have put this at number 30 but I like my 30 idea more, this was the only way I could think of making 22 relevant)
21 – do 21 different bikes around LA. Explore new roads/new routes.
If watching Teen Mom (or Teen Mom 2 for that matter) and The Real World is wrong after 30… Then Joy, I don’t want to be right!
Wow… I turned 30 in October and now i feel bad about not thinking of a list like this myself…
for ten – how about trying ten international foods/snacks you have never tasted before (not one after the other though…)
or for 29
on the day before your birthday – at 11:31pm – look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself about 29 things you like about yourself so you wont forget them by the time you are 30….
Visit x number of children on a cancer ward of a hospital.
Walk x number of dogs at a shelter.
Visit x number of residents of a nursing home…bring cookies, of course!!
Donate x number of food items to a food bank.
Serve x number of meals at a shelter for battered women.
Enjoy every minute of it…30 sounds awfully good from where I sit…but it’s ALL good!!!
YOU inspire me!! I’m totally going to steal this idea and make 50 memorable for me this year. Luv ya!
Pick up 18 shells from the beach and put them in a bowl to decorate your flat.
Make 10 cans of dulce de leche and find a way to use them all!
Learn how to say “_______” in 20 different languages.
Collect 25 hugs from 25 strangers,
Make and eat 21 vodka gummy bears.
10 – Watch 10 movies at the suggestion of other people
11 – Learn 11 random facts and share them with at least 11 people
18 – Try 18 flavor combinations that you have never tried before
19 – Donate 19 food items to a local food shelter
20 – Read the 20th page of 20 random books
21 – Compliment yourself 21 times (a different compliment each time)
22 – Make a list of Top 22 recipes on your to-do list (whether you have made them before or not)
23 – Compile a list of the 23 best quotes (in your humble opinion)
25 – Bake something with 25 ingredients (and EAT it!)
28 – Spend 28 minutes doing something you’ve been needing to do, but have been putting off.
29 – Stop and smell 29 things (and if you want, write about it)
30 – Photograph 30 of your absolute favorite things.
<3 Love your blog btw.
Wow, what a cool idea! Learn the 26 letters of the alphabet in sign language? Volunteer in a classroom of 20 or so kindergarten kids & read a story or help with a craft? List x number of reasons someone in your life influenced you positively? (and then tell them or give them the list) Dump a bunch of coins into a jukebox & play the same song x number of times till you get kicked out? (I actually did that… :D) I love Sarah’s comment of the baskets & then a ding-dong dash! You’ve given me impetus for my 55th b’day!! Rock on — and enjoy!! Attitude is EVERYTHING~
Oh goodness me, I’m right there with you! I’ll be 30 on May 26. It felt the weirdest on my 29th birthday, but I feel good about it now. I like how you’re kicking it in.
How about:
Hand write and snail mail 10 letters to people you know or don’t know (ideas: aunts, siblings, old friends from “back home”, veterans, congressmen or women).
Learn 18 different words in a language you don’t speak.
Ride 19 roller coasters.
Eat 20 jelly beans.
Write down 30 more things you want to do by the time you’re 31.
10 days without wearing a bra. And not just hang out in your house days; productive, grown-up lady days.
Hippie, but liberating.
Oh! Thirty, and life is good! Um, I think you should totally hug 28 people. Not because they are leaving, or because you just met up, but because there is something super awesome and unique about them that you just had to hug them in appreciation! Then, have a party and have these same people bring 28 things (you’ll make 29) to deep fry that you’ve never deep fried before. Why? I don’t really know. But it could be a random, reckless experiment before you get serious and mature and have to do things like drink prune juice and watch the weather channel. Together. For fun.
You should also write down 30 things that you absotively, posilutely love about yourself and will not change no matter what. Tuck them away, and then read them again in 10 years!
watch 10 episodes of your favorite 20-something tv show and have a marathon
make a wish at 11:11
relive your 21st birthday (haha) or take someone out
23 is one of my lucky numbers…buy 23 lottery tickets?!
have 20 min of “me” time every day
have a bakesale and donate the proceeds to a local charity
…that’s all i have. I’m going to be 30 in a few years and have a bucket list too..although it’s not as creative as this.
Good luck!
ps. for 30 you should do the “bee dance”
See 11 theatre shows!
I say that as a biased theatre actor who wants to spread the joy.
You could watch 19 sunsets or sunrises.
Paint 10 pictures and hang them on your walls!! Do it Trading Spaces style and make ’em abstract.
OH, and visit your top 20 favourite places (or some other number, you choose) and take one spectacular picture at each place.
Bake an 18, 19, or 20 layer cake! Bakerella has instructions on a 14 layer one – just add more layers! It turns out wonderfully and would make a wonderful birthday surprise for someone, or for yourself! Don’t tell your guest how many layers are in the cake – when you cut it, they’ll be amazed! Bring your camera! And Happy Birthday!
I LOVE this one! totally, do this!
Yes Joy! I would totally love to see you make a 30 layer cake too!
There is this indonesian cake called a “thousand layer cake”, ofcourse not actually 1000 layers, but many many thin layers baked in sheet pans. Have been meaning to try it, but think I’ll leave it to the professionals!
Cook 10 loaves of bread and leave them on ten neighbor doorstops.
oooh i like this one! easy and a great way to meet your neighbors, if you haven’t already.
Did you know you’d get over 400 suggestions?
Write 18 haiku poems
Plant 19 trees – or plants – or seeds
Donate 20 items of clothing to a local homeless shelter
I just wrapped up the 30s – they’re bomb dot com.
Enjoy!
volunteer at a homeless shelter?
make food for food pantry?
Donate X amount of dollars
Volunteer at an animal shelter x amount of hours..
support the red tent project for x amount of dollars.
https://www.redtentwomensproject.org/
start a garden of 18 kinds of herbs and vegetables? (its perfect time of year for htat!)
TOTALLY love this idea!!!! I’m loving spring because I get to play in the dirt!! If not a garden outside, maybe some potted plants or a potted garden?
what a wonderful idea! try x number of new recipes, or make up your own creations and tell us about them. leave post it notes in the woman’s bathrooms around town with encouraging messages like: “you are so beautiful!” “what a wonder you are!” it will make someone smile.
Plant 30 trees to commemorate your first 30 years of life. :)
Learn 11 Bible verses off by heart.
Invent 10 new flavour combinations.
buy 10 bags of cat food and take them to your favorite no-kill shelter?
burn a favorite playlist to 19 CDs and send them out to friends?
I second the donate $x to a favorite charity!
Find x amount of seashells on the beach and make something crafty out of them (bracelet, necklace, picture frame, etc.)
Make a wish at 11:11 11 times!!
Hand out “x” little jars of bubbles (they’re fairly inexpensive) to beautify the world and make people smile. I love love love the plant “x” packets of seeds randomly around town. On a nice day get outside and pick up “x” pieces of trash and dispose of them preoperly. Surprise “x” friends/people you know with a bag lunch/dinner. Support your local emergency response personnel and bake them a tray of “x” different cookies or healthy treats and show them your appreciation.
It’s an awesome thing you’re doing no matter what you decide to do! I look forward to reading all about it!!! And thirty wasn’t bad at all – looking back now…..I looked so YOUNG! LOL I attended a funeral on my 30th birthday. Seemed fitting somehow!
I remember 30—way back when! You could walk 19 miles or blocks. Give $10 to a favorite charity. This is fun, but it takes time to think! Joy, you will figure this out, but don’t forget to smell the flowers as you go into 30’s, I will be getting ready for my 60’s in 10 months! WOW!!!!
Tell someone under 30 30 pieces of advice.
Have 21 drinks (not all at once)
Find x new books to read.
Make a mix cd of your favorite songs and send it to x people.
I both love and loathe lists, I like how many uplifting doable things are on yours : ) What about revisiting x number of childhood favorite things?
I second the take a break from technology thing. Maybe go 30 hours without using a computer, cell phone, or turning on the TV?
Make 19 may baskets and give to 19 old people (or whoever) in your neighborhood. And totally ring the doorbell and run.
Get rid of/give away 18 cookbooks you don’t ever use?
Walk/bike 11 miles of new road/sidewalk you’ve never been on before.
Plant 28 seeds of your favorite flowers in public places? (in flower beds, preferably)
Go to a humane society or shelter and volunteer to play with/socialize/pet 29 different animals.
Okay, that’s all I’ve got for now…
Spend 30 minutes listening to someone who needs to be heard. A child in need, an elderly person in need. Anyone in need.
Joy! I’ve been following your blog for quite some time, and it’s delicious (and marvelous and silly and lovely and…).
as for this, i have some great suggestions! this is what i do on campus, this is how i brighten people up!
say Happy Saturday! (or happy sunday, etc.) to 10 strangers!
Stare at 5 pieces of nature and bask in their gloryness
go up on a stage and sing for 21 minutes!
lay on the grass and watch 9 different clouds go by…
and then name them for what they look like!
enjoy :) ~lauren
Stay in bed until 11 o´clock for a few days. Just relax and read a book, watch a movie or just think!
find 10 friends to adopt 10 kittens who need a home
Donate $25 to your favorite charity. Passionately kiss someone you love once a day for the month of April. A win-win (unless you’re a stalker). ; D
have a good one buy 10 lottery tickets for 10 people or 20 for 20 people! you get the idea?
Sounds great cant wait to hear your Master list!
find a fitness class that you have never done and go x many times.
watch x episodes of icarly or spongebob and laugh like a tweener. i am 46 and it cracks me up.
take a break from technology for x hours. seriously, it would be so peaceful and reflective.
I turn 30 in four months! I LOVE this idea! Looking through these suggestions, I see that most of the ones I could think of were covered. Except maybe… date a 23 year old! I do! Sometimes I feel a little weird being the older woman, but all in all I think it can be pretty freeing. Men, after all, do it all the time! Of course, feel free to insert the age of any little hotty that comes along!!!
Learn to count to 25 in a foreign language
Paint all 10 toes a different color
One more…
Listen to the Paul McCartney Pandora station for 10 straight hours (like I’ve just done). It will make you a better person, honestly.
Leave 22 roses on 22 random people’s front steps
Make 23 new cookie recipes that I can steal and call my own
Love this idea, love your blog…I might steal some, 7 compliments, 9 favorite books, buy 3 cups of coffee for strangers. Honestly you’re awesome! Happy 29th and 10 months!
You continue to inspire me! I’ve been doing something similar in the lead up to my 25th birthday… Maybe these will help with your list:
– Smile 30 times a day for the last 30 days
– Write a list of your 29 favourite memories from your 20’s (include the people you were with) and start a “remember when we…” conversation with each one of them
– eat 28 different chocolate bars
– stop and smell the flowers 25 times
– make 23 cookie baskets and drop them off at a womens shelter
– instead of just walking, skip like a kid 23 times
– go down 10 streets you’ve never been on
wow what a cute idea! I turn 29 in May, it makes me want to make a list too!
Kiss 10 men…. Even if they are all family or elderly grandpa types on the cheek
I think you should do ONE keg stand and eat TWO hotdogs!
walk or run a 10k.
stay awake for 20 hours.
make a recipe with 25 ingredients.
give away 28 hugs in a day.
I love this idea… !!
Wow, this is a lot to take on in 30 days, but here goes…
#10 – invite 10 girlfriends (old and new) to your place for a potluck & cocktails
#11 – watch 11 classic movies that you’ve never seen before
#18- ask 18 friends and family members to send you a love letter… such an amazing gift to recieve!
#19- try 19 new recipes
#20- take all 20 of your nails out for a deluxe mani-pedi
#21- smile sweetly and start conversations with 21 new people (maybe while grocery shopping?)
#22- say 22 prayers for others
#23- learn how to say “hello” and “thank you” in 23 different languages
#25- make 25 little treats and drop them at the local fire station (bonus: cute firemen!)
#28- read 28 chapters in a new book
#29- keep fresh flowers in your bedroom for 29 days in a row
#30- write down 30 big and small things that you really, truly would like to do in the next decade, and put it in a frame on your wall. The best is yet to come! -xxoo
give 29 high fives
give 30 hugs
drink 28 lattes/coffees
paint your nails 20 different colors
blow 21 balloons
write 27 blog posts
take a 25 minute nap
I love this idea! I have a year and a half until i turn 30, but I think 30 bucket list ideas would be a great way to step into that next stage of life
I love what you have so far…and I don’t really have any ideas for you, but it seems everyone else has some good ones to add in there! How fun you are! Okay…here’s one…go for a 30 mile bike ride…or you can use it on one of the smaller numbers. :)
This month I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy. The best thing that has come out of it is the outpouring of love from family and friends. I’ve never felt so loved. So, take a moment and tell 30 people why they mean so much to you. Email, write or call. It doesn’t matter, just let them know.
Make 10 new recipes and share/teach them to 20 new people.
Sharing is caring (:
Hug 10 people you normally wouldn’t.
Eat 11 of something you normally shouldn’t (oreos would top my list)…Because 30 means no more joyous binges (and regretful morning-afters).
Taste 25 things you’ve never eaten before.
Have 30 babies? In two months… you can do it.
30 is The BEST! I was SO happy to turn 30..actually as soon as I Turned 29, I told ppl the whole next year that I was “almost 30” whenever my age was asked :)
Take a 25 mile bike ride, 30 days of giveaways, post 10 of your recipes using bourbon, journal 20 great things that happened to you during your 20’s, deliver 11 greeting cards to a nursing home., 29 things you are looking forward to accomplishing during your 30’s..etc.
The possiblities are endless…
Brilliant idea Joy. Can I tell you, that whichever landmark birthday you reach, you never ever feel you’ve grown up. I’m nudging 50 and maybe I’m a bit wiser but I don’t feel any older – this age attached to me feels like an alien concept! Love some of your ideas – I’m going to do some myself.
Yes and amen! And hooray! I’m 54 & still feel young. The mirror lets me know I’m not in my 20’s but it’s all good! Friendships are better – life is better! My teenager often tells me that I’m not a “real” grownup – like after I turn her on to movies like “Young Frankenstein” & “Ferris Beuller’s Day Off”
whatevs :D
Wow! You’re doing a lot more than 30 things here! I am doing a 30-by-30 list as well. I’ve been working on mine all year and with just 3 months go to, I need to get my butt in gear!
I love all the recommendations to volunteer and give things away!
Bake 10 dozen cookies and give them away to 10 neighbors.
Pick up 11 pieces of trash while you’re out and about.
List of 18 things you’d like to accomplish in your 30th year of life.
Rearrange 19 things in your house.
Call your kitty 20 new names like goofball, sweetums, lovey dovey……
Sit 21 minutes a day resting. No agenda, no making lists in your mind…just sit and be peaceful.
Try 22 dance moves at home that you’d never try in public.
23 days of taking time to notice something during your day and be thankful for it.
25 days of taking a moment to stop, raise your face to the sun and enjoy the moment.
28 prayers for people you come across during your day.
29 prayers for people you come across during your day. Prayer is good~~
Pick 30 flowers.
Peace.
Teach 10 kids how to bake something fun (cupcakes, muffins, cookies, etc.).
Sew 11 cloth napkins.
Take a weekend trip to Sonoma and visit 18 wineries.
Volunteer for 20 hours at your favorite charity.
Help find good homes for 25 shelter animals.
I’m going to be 50 soon…okay, in, like, a few years. It only gets better.
id love one of those postcards Joy!!Since India is waaaayyy too far off to ask for of em cupcakes!! :|
:):)
#18 try not to make 40 years olds feel so dorky. I watch The Real world and Jersey shore. Teen mom makes me shake my head….but I can’t stop watching it (even though I have 2 teens of my own). MTV out of the question? why? Hoarders is awful and there is no such thing as a women not knowing she is pregnant. Ever. Toddlers and Tiaras??? We old people don’t watch that crap. Whatevs. The 30’s is awesome (yes we still say awesome). #19 be excited, you have much to look forward to. :0)
Can I still say ‘Whatevs’ when I turn 30? Prob not.
Thanx, today I turn 42! I never did this but now I wish I did…maybe when I turn 50.
How about on your 30th birthday you go to Disneyland and ride a rollercoaster 30 x’s. You never get too old for that! I do it every summer with my kids.
Go to 20 places that you haven’t been to before in your city.
Go watch the stars at 11 minutes before midnight!
I turned 30 in 2010, and I’m lovin the confidence a new decade brings. I don’t know what number should go with these, but here are a few ideas:
Hugs (you could assign 30 to this)
Get a pattern and sew something to wear.
Read a book
Buy a cute new spring/summer pajama set (ya know, something that matches!)
Climb a tree
Wink at a cute boy!
Take a road trip
Use an ingredient you’ve never tried before.
Memorize a short poem or verse.
Paint a little canvas for your house or apt.
Ride a carousel
Tell someone “I love you”
Volunteer
Wear a flower in your hair
Have fun choosing your 30 before 30!
Donate 10 birthday cakes to your local Ronald McDonald House. Someone in charge there can probably tell you when someone has an upcoming birthday….
11= Surprise someone with a box of 11 balloons
20= Manicure & pedicure treat (10 fingers +10 toes)
22= Take friends out on a scavenger hunt with 22 items on the list
28= Spend 28 minutes doing the grown up paperwork checklist “legacy drawer”and put it in one safe easy to find place where the people who would need it can find it- like a safe deposit box. Not nearly as fun as everything else, I know. Then have a grown up drink.
29= Set off 29 floating sky lanterns
30= Get a 30 minute massage
I remember when I thought 30 was so old, like grandma territory. lol
I turned 30 last August and honestly, I love this age. I have a greater sense of self. I’m still young enough to have fun but old enough to be taken seriously in the working world.
Hug 10 random people! :)
How about give 30 give aways in 30 days (or any other number you need filling in). I would love to donate one of my original necklaces to the cause. And maybe even a fun birthday candle full of color and glitter and bling! :)
Alright, this took a lot of thought, but I got it.
10- ride 10 roller coasters or carnival rides
11- listen to 11 songs by artists you’ve never listened to before
18- open 18 doors for people
19- read 19 blogs you’ve never read before
20- tip the Barista at Starbucks $20 (we as Baristas love the random $20 tips that never happen except maybe on Christmas)
21- watch 21 movies made before the 21st century
22- find 22 things with unexpected heart shapes and take pics (i.e. a heart-shaped rock, a heart shape in the foam of your latte, etc.)
23- save 23 random objects you find anywhere
25- buy 25 different things at $.25 each
28- pick 28 flowers
29- pick out you favorite photo from each of the previous 29 years of your life
30- put 30 candles on your birthday cake to show how proud you are to be 30!
Again 20 is very important ;)
WOW Those are all great ideas! i cannot even top it…i am inspired
Melissa
– go on an 18-hour road trip
– listen to 14 new bands {churchilltheband.com; jennyandtylermusic.com} are two that I can think of off the top of my head
– Take 29 paint swatch samples from home depot and write goals for year 30. Then post them all over the house
– send out 22 thank you notes to people who made you who you are today.
– randomly find 11 addresses in a phone book then go to restaurant.com and purchase 11 gift certificates; Send them out!
I have Geocaching on my list. Also do 10 random acts of kindness(see https://www.secretagentl.com/ for ideas or what I was thinking).
#11 – spend 11 months in 11 different countries (That’s what I’m going to be doing!) :)
http://www.theworldrace.org
wow .. neat! =)
10 – Send 10 letters to your former teachers and mentors, telling them how they inspired you and how you use their teachings in your life
11 – Plant 11 fruit and vegetable plants in your yard (if you have one).
18 – Meditate 18 times
19 – Let 19 people pull out ahead of you in grid lock
20 – Do 20 sit ups during every commerical break you watch tv
21 – Initate conversation with 21 people in lines
22 – ‘Drop’ 22 one dollar bills in passing on the sidewalk
23 – Sign up for 23 piano lessons, sign language classes, French lessons, whatever, sign up for what you want to learn.
25 – Go to the store (probably more than one) and buy 25 things that you’ve never eaten before. Mangosteen, dragon fruit, acai, goji, acerola, marion berry, Persian lime, new (or heritage) varieties of fruit and vegetables
28 – Endevour to make and write preliminary recipes to 28 new dishes over the next year, substituting fruit for vegetables
29 – Add 29 quarters to ‘about to expire’ parking meters
30 – Donate 30 minutes of each week to volunteering at a food shelter
Use 30, one dollar bills and buy a dress that costs $30, and wear it on your 30th birthday!
Make 21 cakes in 21 days and give them to 21 families with small children that desperately love sugar?!
Take 10 bike rides along 10 new routes?
Eat 11 doughnut holes in 11 minutes.
Take 28 stressed out 20-something’s out for something fun and silly – like mini golfing or bumper-lane bowling.
I turned 30 a few months ago, and frankly, it was awesome. It’s like, totally new and fresh decade (with no mistakes in it, as Miss Stacy would say.) I felt like my twenties went on forever!
Make-out for 29 minutes… just for old time’s sake!
Walk 20 miles in one day for The Cure!
(You can walk the other 19 miles the next day in either Santa Barbara or San Francisco and then get 21 people to massage your sore feet – I volunteer to be the 1st!) :D
Can I just say that I love how positive your list of 30 things is? Giving compliments to strangers, bringing people to church, baking cupcakes for people… so sweet! I’m inspired :)
Spend 14 hours on a flight to Sydney Australia!
Ride your bike 10 days in a row
invite 11 friends to lunch where you serve your homemade ranch dressing
make a batch of cookies that has 18 ingredients
Pick out your favorite 21 Bible verses
Take 24 calming deep breathes in a 24 hour period
Start a calming, warm, candlelite bubblebath 29 minutes before your turn 30
Spend 22 minutes singing and dancing to your favorite tunes
Be ” kinder than necessary 30 times!”…….or hopefully 30000000000000000000000000000000000times.
I hear ya girlfriend. 30 is creeping up on me too and I’ve been seriously searching for ways to make it a celebration of life rather than spending the day looking for new wrinkles or gray hair.
I love the way you think!
How about…….
Visit 10 little old ladies in a nursing home
Stay at 11 Bed and Breakfasts (one a month, save the 12th for your 31st birthday!)
Smile and wave at 18 fellow commuters
Plant 19 trees
Make a list of 20 places in the U.S. you want to see and do a road trip with your girlfriends
And for the big 3-0, make a list of 30 things you want to do AFTER you turn 30!
i was all set to come to you with ideas… then i saw “coffee ice cream cream puffs” and after that my mind cannot focus on anything else. i am turning the big 3-0 in 2.5 months; i say we enjoy that one together to celebrate [o:
Pauly D is 30
you can not be serious.
o_O!
Pauly D is 30?! No wonder he’s the most put together out of all of them. I also feel way less lame for watching that show now :)
Fun doesn’t stop at 30! I hope you have a list of 30 things to do once you turn 30 and I hope that list includes: continue enjoying things I enjoyed in my 20s without feeling funny about it
giiiiirl. i know the fun don’t stop!
Make a list of __ things you’re thankful for
I turned 30 three months ago and didn’t freak out, either. Although I love your idea of making a list of things to do before turning 30 — I wish I had done that. And don’t worry — you can still watch all of those shows. I still do! :)
#30: give a 30 minute baking lesson at your local high school in their home ec class
#21: create a cocktail that you had on your 21st birthday and have your friends over to share in their 21st birthday stories
#15: do 15 man push-ups in a row
#11: make a wish when the clock turns 11:11 for eleven days
#28: help plant 28 plant starts in your local school garden
I love all of these, especially #21
I love all of these too! They are so sweet
love #15: may take me awhile to conquer : )
Memorize (blank numba) amount of verses! shyeahz!
10-volunteer 10 times to walk dogs in a shelter
11- attempt 11 recipes that scare you (I am scared of anything flambe)
18- send 18 postcards to friends around the world (everyone loves non bill mail)
19- map a 30 mile radius of you house and try 19 new coffee shops, restaurants and taco trucks
20- watch 20 vintage movies with amazing female leads, that you have not seen
21- teach 21 kids how to make those cupcakes you are giving away
22- eat a homemade meal outside on 22 different benches, beaches, parks, etc
I think that all I got. good luck!
Wow! Those area amazing suggestions!! Corrie, you’re awesome! :)
wow! those are really great ideas!
I went to Vegas before my 30th for a wild and crazy good time. I also bought some skimpy shirt at Forever 21 that I would never be caught dead in before I turned 30 or after, but it was sure fun wearing it and dancing with my girlfriends at one of the night clubs there. We had a nice girls trip that I will never forget!
Play 18 holes of golf
* volunteer 10 times at the pet shelter (petting kitties)
* visit 11 espresso bars
* dye 25 easter eggs
:)
Damn. I turn 40 in less than two months. Way to raise the bar on celebration, Joy! You’re in your twenties, so I have no doubt you’ll accomplish whatever you set your mind to. Enjoy it, ’cause your 30s are going to make you appreciate when you were “young” and single ;-). Trust me on this.
I like the “take a picture every day” someone else mentioned… chronicle your last thirty days as a 20-something with 30 pictures! Then put it together in a scrapbook. Also pick a number and volunteer with an organization that many times. Good luck with your list! :)
I didn’t read all the comments so this might be a repeat, but how about:
Memorizing x number of lines from a favorite book, poem or scripture passage?
I started college as an English lit major before switching to elementary education. This year, I’m trying to read some classic novels and memorize my favorite poems. My boys and I have also been memorizing scripture passages. We memorized the NLT version of the “love” chapter I Corin 13. It was so good for me to remind myself to be patient or not to be rude to my loved ones!
Your goal is inspiring! You should find something you’re passionate about that you’ve pushed aside for everyday life and go for it!
I turned 30 in November and honestly, I had a harder time turning 29. I feel confident and happy at 30. I know you will too! :)
So many good ideas have been listed I don’t think I could think of anything.
But I did want to tell you that 30 is the best. I’ve always said if I could be any age I would pick 30 the best year of my life and all the other years after have been pretty darn good since.
What a wonderful idea and already I see years of memories.
10 – tickle 10 babies
11 – sew on 11 stray buttons
18 – play 18 games of snakes and ladders
19 – drain 19 glasses of wine
20 – put 20 kinds of sprinkles on an ice cream sundae
21 – make a 21 year-old boy’s day ;)
22 – give kitty 22 cat treats
23 – twirl 23 times
25 – roll 25 pennies
28 – sweep up 28 dust bunnies
29 – write down 29 great things about being in your 20s
30 – take 30 deep breaths
Wear a tutu on the 22 of the month!
Every time I look at what you are cooking up I get hungry…and I love it.
10 – Paint your nails 10 different colors
11 – Bake something that has 11 ingredients in it
18 – Don’t talk for 18 minutes
19 – Find a picture from when you were 19
20 – Reverse pickpocket someone with 20$
21 – Sing your favorite song to the 21st contact in your phone
22 – Donate 22$ to your local animal shelter
23 – Bake 23 cookies and give them to your neighbor
25 – Send your sister 25 reasons why you love her
28 – Do 28 crunches
29 – Write down your 29 favorite memories
30 – Slide around your house in socks for 30 minutes
It’s an awesome list already… what a great idea! Here’s my suggestions for you:
This always makes me feel happy…
Leave positive/sweet/happy notes inside 10 library books (or at the bookstore) for someone to discover.
This may not seem so fun at first but it feels really freeing after….
Throw 20 things away
Give 21 things away
Happy early birthday! Have fun with your list!
Great idea Joy!
I am turning 40 in May and dealing with it as well as you are turnign 30 :( I may have to make a similar list for myself to put a positive spin on it!
10 – reconnect with 10 friends
11 – say “11:11” over and over for the entire minute at least once a day at that time
18 – vote 18 times for your favorite contestant on American Idol
19 – take 19 different photos of different things highlighting your favorite color
20 – make 1 recipe from 20 different blogs (and post on your site)
21 – try 21 new cocktails
22 – Make 22 care packages to send to the troops
23 – read Psalm 23
25 – do 25 situps each morning
28 – compliment 28 strangers
29 – find a photo from every month you were 29 and make a collage
30 – Blow out 30 candles on your cake
10: I don’t know if you love rollercoasters as much as I do, but if you do, than you really ought to ride the same rollercoaster 10 times in a row. I did that with a friend once, and it was awesome :D
11: Host a pyjama party for 11 friends (with pillow fight and scary movies).
18: Write a letter to your 18-year-old self and tell her what you think she ought to know.
19: I love Adele’s album “19”, so I would recommend listening to it without doing anything else.
20: Do a twenty hour movie-marathon with some friends – popcorn and all
21: Do 21 days of eating something you have not tried before every day
22: Find 22 new blogs that interest you
23: Hug 23 strangers
25: Hide 25$ all over your house (so you’ll be surprised when you find it again after a while)
28: In one day, put up 28 Operation Beautiful (operationbeautiful.com) post-it’s all over your town
29: Make a flip book of your cat with 29 pictures (I hope you know flip books – they’re so much fun: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_book)
30: Throw a REALLY BIG party for your 30th birthday
I think suggestion #19 is excellent… such an amazing album! :)
10- Watch 10 episodes of “Jersey Shore” to get it out of your system.
11- Watch 11 movies you’d always wanted to see.
18-Wave to 18 people on a walk around the block.
19-Volunteer for 19 hours at a local school or library or food kitchen
20-Eat 20 Jelly Beans at once!
22-Invite 22 people over an old fashioned “Kentucky Derby” Party (Bourbon allowed!–Old Fashioneds, Chocolate Bourbon Pie, etc…)
23-Write 23 Haikus and leave them on your neighbor’s doors.
25-
Hey Joy,
These might sound kind of lame, since they are obvious, but I think that they are two of the most important things that could and should play a role in your list:
Enjoy life to the fullest before 30 and after 30.
Spend time with your family and friends before you turn 30 and after you turn thirty.
People do say that thirty is the new twenty, or is it 40 is the new thirty. Just subtract 10 to 15 from your age and that’s what you are.
Kartik
Working backwards… blow out 30 candles on your cake. Learn to knit and knit a scarf with 29 rows, it’ll be short but at least it’s done, plant 28 plant’s in the flowerbed outside a old folks home. Ummmm, be glad you aren’t 50.
I’m a first time visitor to your website and am pretty sure I just gained 20 lbs looking at the photos. Also, I had stumbled across your pull apart cinnamon bread recipe a month ago and foolishly did not save it so imagine my happiness right now!
Having said all that I do not have 30 things to offer you as thanks. I’m sorry! I turn 50 in 5 months (oooo…didn’t notice the symmetry until just now) and just thinking abuot it freezes my brain. Still I love your blog…thank you thank you thank you!
Go to a thrift/junk store and buy 10 old, but still inspiring magazines
Experiment with 11 different lipsticks
Read 18 short stories–and not by American/British authors
Email 19 people you haven’t talked to in a while, but who still cross your mind
Assemble 20 different truffles and see which one you like best
Deviate from the norm and walk/bike home 21 different ways
Give 22 hours of your time to charity, tutoring, working at a soup kitchen, cleaning your neighborhood
Drive for 23 miles and then find a cute hole-in-the-wall restaurant to eat at
How about volunteer 18 hours at a charity or volunteer at 18 different charities?
Joy,
My daughter started blogging about crossing off the list of 30 things she wanted to do before turning 30. She has been having a really good time stretching herself to complete the list.
If you want some more ideas for your list check it out at:
https://30things-msdee.blogspot.com/
Good luck on your quest and enjoy every second of every age. Trust me on this … it only gets better!!
30 – Volunteer somewhere for 30 hours
29 – Donate 29 Items from your home to a shelter/goodwill
28 – bake 28 boxes of cookies for the troops
27 – No sugar for 27 days, only good substitutes
26 – Call someone you love 26 days in a row
25 – Find and follow 25 new bloggers you like
24 – Make 2 dozen cookies for your neighbors
23 – Read 23 chapters of your favorite book
22 – Work out for 22 days in one month, take before and afters
10: bake/cook then things you’ve been avoiding because the recipe might be too complicated
11: visit 11 different places in your area/county that you’ve never been to before
18: learn to pronounce the word peace in 18 different languages
19: listen to (at least) nineteen different songs from artists you’ve never listened to before
20: 10 fingers and 10 toes, paint each one in a different colour nail polish. If you don’t have 20 different shades, borrow from friends. It’s for a good cause ;-)
21: learn 21 new things that you though you could never do. Simple things like changing a tyre or how to tie a satin bow.
22: make a list of 22 things in your life that scare you, acknowledge the fear and let go…
23: I never cared much for 23
25: think of at least 25 recipes that require cinammon and do share!
28: put together a collection of 28 really, really funny jokes
29: how about 29 different coctails, one for each day prior to the day you turn 30?
30: have an awesome B-day party with 30 different flavours ice-cream for dessert
I will leave the exact number up to you but I think I have a few ideas….I feel the pressure of comig up with good ones!
Make (#) differet dishes, each from its own country
Make (#) different types of crepes
Make (#) videos that show the create time you’re had in your 20s and what the end of 29 was like
Go to (#) local restaurents and order something you’ve never tried/been afraid to try before
Leave (#) notes in bathrooms of places you visit telling people how great they are [EX: “You are beautiful inside and out” on a post-it on the mirror]
…and I’m out but everyone else has good ideas too
10- Paint your nails 10 different colors (one for every nail ^_^)
11- Find someone with 11 fingers (or toes)
18- Try 18 different flavors of ice cream
19- Wear 19 different bracelets on your arms
20- Wave to 20 strangers
21- Do 21 cartwheels, straight (how cruel am I?)
22- Watch 22 sunrises
23- Donate to 23 different charities (or relief groups, shelters, etc.)
25- Find 25 friends that you remember from school or collage
28- Make 28 kinds of muffins
29- Pet 29 random dogs
30- Keep a journal reflecting your life for 30 days
Hope the advice helps Joy!
-Sonia
Decorate an 18-ct carton of eggs for Easter!!
Ah, you’re turning 30? I always assumed that you were way younger, like, I dunno; 20-24 ish? Be prepared for some strange compliments on yo’ B-day, then.
30: make a list of 30 things you want to do in your first yr of being 30
29: let the 29 ppl who have had the most influence on your first 29 yrs know that they did, good or bad
28: read 28 poems and share the favorites with your friends
25: ride your bike for 25 blocks or miles- if you can
23: eat an ice cream cone a day for 23 days ( nope cant do that forever either- trust me)
18: have 18 different colors in your hair, if only for one day
11: where something extremely trendy for 11 days in a row- show your navel, or your thighs ( cant do that forever- trust me on that)
10: tell yourself 10x that you are never too old for MTV ( trust me on this)
10: try a different tea each morning for 10 days
11: tell eleven people that something he or she is wearing is cute or beautiful or fun or whatever it takes to get a smile
18: record the names of 18 teachers who left an impression
23: donate 23 cans of food to a food bank
24: I know you already have one, but memorizing the 24 birthstones and flowers is a great bit of trivial knowledge that has served me well
25: get yourself 25 stems/blooms of your birth flower (May? lily of the valley; June? roses)
28: learn about 28 endangered species and then give $28 to World Wildlife Foundation
29: go to the zoo and say hello to 29 different animals
30: volunteer 30 hours to a cause you believe in
make paper cranes and leave in places for others to find. (you can do that with how ever many you can make)
make x amount of cards and send to a retirement home
make 10 cascarones for Easter!
Thanks so much for the idea! I’m coming home from a semester abroad in London and beginning a ’21 by 21′ list! Some ideas I’ve come up with for myself:
Meditate x days a week.
Make x friendship bracelets.
Throw a birthday celebration for my favorite x year old (my 18 for my little sister)
Eat x French-style family picnics (became obsessed with this over my week in France… baguettes, fruit, wine, cheese. it’s heavenly)
I want to make a collage of my list when I’m all done, and I adore yours- which program do you use to make them? They’re lovely!
Leave a paper crane in 30 people’s mailbox. This can easily be replaced by another object if you don’t know how to do origami.
Write 10 quotes from 10 famous people on 10 pieces of paper and leave them in 10 different places.
Give 11 strangers a thumbs-up.
I hope you enjoy your last two months of being 29!
One more. Make 20 cards to leave in 20 random books in a bookstore. I think I’ll do one of these lists for my birthday. I’m not gonna tell you how old I am.
Share 18 of your favorite blogs you read regularly, and tell us why you love them/how they inspire you. :)
30-Bake a birthday cake with 30 layers :)
how about donating 10 children’s books to your local preschool and 11 toys to the children’s floor at a nearby hospital. is it obvious that i work with underprivileged children? have a wonderful birthday and thanks for your delicious blog!!! 20’s and 30’s were good, but 40’s has been fabulous. i am a little anxious about fifty, but i have a while
I’m turning 30 in October and this is an AWESOME idea! I think I’m going to borrow some of your ideas and make a list of my own!! VERY cool concept and a great way to say g’bye to my 20’s!
First off, your recipes and pictures are wonderful to drool over! And I love your writing style – it’s so down to earth. :o)
10: Memorize ten lines from ten different peoms, completely unconnected, and use them randomly on your friends.
Ride your bike 10 miles.
Invite 11 people over for dessert.
Everyone is right. The 30’s are awesome. You can still feel young and vibrant, and you are, but people tend to take you a little more seriously, unless you still look like you’re 22, in which case– SCORE!
The only suggestion that I have is that you should watch 10 episodes of Thirtysomething, you know, so you’ll know how to act and stuff. I’m 32 and keep telling myself I need some pointers from the show because I still feel like an awkward junior higher most of the time but haven’t got around to it. One of these days. One of these days.
Enjoy your pre-birthday shenanigans. =)
30: Write down 30 goals for the next ___ years. (30?) (10?)
Watch 10 classic films
Leave 11 random notes of encouragement for random people (anonymous of course)
Take a photo for 18 days straight
mmmm I am bad at making up ideas.
Read 10 new books.
Hand out 18 copies of your favorite poem to strangers.
Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you love (that’s not baking! :)
Buy a jump rope and invite 11 people to double dutch with you at the park (not at the same time…:)
Buy 18 roses (or your favorite flower) and give them out to friends/strangers.
Learn the capitals of 19 countries.
Collect 20 wildflowers and press them into books.
Find 21 new songs that you love.
Ok, I’m out for the moment. Sounds like great fun! I hope you get it all accomplished.
Oh, one more!
Write 22 secret/happy messages in library books for people to find.
I have to say, I found a note written on a piece of paper tucked in the back cover of a library book once and it was fun. I can’t remember what it said, something about having a great day and had a list of books on the back. I ended up taking out one of the books from the list and loved it. I have to guess it was either a list of someone’s favorite books or ones they meant to read. Either way it was fun and I think that’s a great idea. As long as the note isn’t on the book itself, of course lol.
Wow! What a bonanza! Books are the BEST finding random encouragement is awesome! Here are some books I’ve enjoyed recently… the Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke; “Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie” by David Lubar; “Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie” by Jordan Sonnenbleck.
I really loved the Inkheart series!! :) That last one sounds interesting!
I love your list ~ it has inspired me to try it myself (however, this year I am turning 41!)
#10 – you could spend a special day with a ten year old (be their hero)
#20 – get all your nails done (mani & pedi) in some new funky color
#25 – volunteer a day in an elementary school classroom with 25 students ~ teach them something new
Have fun & enjoy your thirties ~ happy upcoming birthday :)
You can still say “whatevs” when you’re 30. I’m 37 and I sound cool when I say it :)
#20 – Go skydiving at 15,000 feet, and after the free-fall, “…you will have a terrific time flying our canopies across the sky at approximately 20 mph…” (https://skydive-losangeles.net/skydiving_faq.html).
I always told myself I would go skydiving, and I did 5 years ago. It was amazing!
30: set up a kissing booth and kiss 30 boys
29: write 29 poems
28: high-five 28 strangers
25: hula hoop for 25 minutes straight
23: smell 23 babies
18: eat 18 hotdogs upside down
11: adopt 11 puppies and give them to little kids and photograph their parents’ reactions
10: run a 10k in a bikini
Donate 10lbs of dog or cat food to your local shelter (it comes in 10lb bags I’m pretty sure).
Make a CD of # songs a friend hasn’t heard before but might like.
Walk or bike # miles somewhere instead of driving.
This is a very nice way to at the future! Only good things to come!
Donate $10 to 10 different animal shelters in your area
Visit 11 new coffee shops/eateries
Choose your top favorite 18 songs and sing them until you know all the words
Pick up 23 pieces of litter
Forgive 25 people for being rude and give them a big smile (cutting you off in traffic, not waiting their turn, etc.)
Joy! I’m counting down, 9 days until the big 3-0. I’m in your boat totally not freaked out, kinda excited.
So many good ideas, I love the idea of donating x amount of hours to a food bank. You could also write a story about someone you live in 28 words, or a poem. Or if you were in the mood to write you could wire 18 min a day for 20 days. wear 21 different out fits in 21 days. Or, use one article of clothing 20 different ways…forces you to utilize your whole closet. I also was going to suggest biking so many miles.
It’s an ambitious list for two months, but you are a bound and determined lady who i am sure will be able to do it.
yay! happy soon to be birthday.
make 19 mix cd’s of your top 19 favorite songs and mail them or hand them out to 19 strangers. :)
This is hard! I feel like there’s so much to do that picking any one (or thirty things) is tough. I think that talking to strangers is a good one. And baking! And blogging! Here are some more (I’m not sure what numbers would work best, so I left that for you to fill in):
Eat # foods you’ve tried before (I saw a dragon fruit for the first time last week and now I really want to try one.)
Run # miles (I started running when I turned 18 and for some reason it more than anything else has made me feel like a grown up. Running is all about self confidence and self-motivation, about training your head to be stronger than your body thinks it can be. Picking up running is definitely the best thing I’ve done since my last “landmark” birthday. And it’s fun! And people think you’re super cool and intense when you tell them about it.)
Read # articles in the newspaper you wouldn’t normally read.
Listen to # new artists you’ve never heard before (My roomate is obsessed with music and one of the best parts of living with her is being exposed to all the cool/random/weird stuff she listens to.)
Go to # museums, concerts, and other cultural type places
Make # different kinds of cookies
Have a slumberparty with # friends and watch # movies
Read the dictionary and work # news words into your daily vocabulary
Spend # minutes a week dancing around your apartment in your bathrobe after you shower (I may or may not do this every time I get out of the shower after I run. It’s really fun!)
Eat # spoonfuls of raw batter
This sounds like an awesome project! Have fun!
#30: Donate $30 to help the Japanese people who are suffering after the devastating earthquake and tsunami
#29: Donate 29 food items to help the less fortunate people in your area.
#28: Spend 28 minutes just soaking up some sun rays.
#25: Donate another $25 to help the Japanese people.
#23 Invite 23 people to a beach party.
#18 Make a list of 18 things you’re grateful for.
#11 Make 12 cupcakes and give 11 of them away.
#10 Plant 10 different things…flowers, herbs, vegetables, a lemon tree, etc.
how about try some some types of food
10-try ten new resturants
11-make 11 appetizers and invite friends for tapas night
12- make12 kitty treats and hand them out to friends with cats. Of course dont for get your baby.
higher numbers
24-mail out 24 people a fav recipe card with a recipe
25-chew 25 balls of gum and make a big bubble
26-find a long side walk and leave cute sayings on 26 concrete squares
27-go to a fun place that has statues or public and take pics of you and someone else doing funny poses.
28-go to a public place and give out 28 pieces of candy
just some ideas and dont forget have fun.
Jenna
29-make 29 cookies and take them to a school and give out to a lucky class
30-spend the day with friends and family
I don’t know about all of them but
Create 30 blogs in 30 days (that way you don’t have to do one a day but average one a day) and this can include, at your discretion, guest blogs that you do or that others do for you.
I’ll let you rearrange the numbers as needed… (my brain can’t keep the pattern straight right now)
Try 10 new flavors of coffee with a friend
Invite 11 friends to join you for a picnic lunch
18 new scrapbook pages on whatever you like (if you scrapbook)
Post 19 photos of yourself from glam to gaudy (if you ever look that way ;)
20-something should be 20 things that have been the highlight of your twenties
Try 21 new flavors of ice cream or cupcakes or some combination of the two
22 ~ see 22 new movies or give away 22 tickets to a movie to friends (or even IOU’s to attend with friends)
23 write down and pray for 23 specific things for 23 nights in a row
Okay so that’s my little addition… I must say I like some of the ideas above as well… interested to see what your final list looks like.
11. Be brave: Give 11 genuine compliments to random strangers. Noticing someone is the greatest gift you can give. You’ll give them something good to hold onto for a long time.
How about dropping off your baked goodies (or flowers/balloons) at a nursing home or children’s ward of a hospital? Or going to either of those places to read them books?
Plant a tree.
Make a home-cooked meal for a busy family.
Go on a ‘x’ mile hike.
Adopt 29 puppies.
Watch 30 episodes of 30 Rock (another good show for your 30’s)! But maybe don’t watch them all on your birthday, because that would take all day.
Joy, I just want you to know that my friends and I had a big 30 birthday bash for all of us and there were keg stands at said party. We plan to repeat when we turn 40… after all the kids have been sent home with their grandparents, of course.
awww loved this post!! soo cute. I love those Joy! Hmmm perhaps, make 30 goodie/toiletry bags for people on the streets? or….decorate your house with 28 different diy decorations? :)
Pick XX wildflowers, put them in a vase (or mason jar) and leave them on a stranger’s doorstep.
Leave XX Operation Beautiful notes (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out the Operation Beautiful website)
I’ve got nothing other than your 30’s will ROCK even more so than your 20’s!
I LOVED my thirty’s and would be happy to do them all over again!
~ Mary
Better yet, make the sandwiches to give to the homeless!
Play 18 holes of golf in a kicky little golf outfit? Golf seems like something one should do by the time they reach 30…or at least I keep thinking I should get to it!
Dig out 30 old photos from a parent/grandparent/other relative, get the backstory, scan, and make a photobook through one of many site options.
Hugs.
Give 30 hugs :) (and maybe a couple of kisses ;) )
18 – make a playlist of 18 songs you can’t live without. give a copy to 18 friends and/or strangers
19 – write down 19 grudges. forgive them all. even the darn dmv. dance around wildly in the new free space.
20 – order 20 things (over the 2 months) at restaurants, cafes, food trucks, delis, etc. etc. that you would have never ordered in the past
21 – hand write (or, heck, copy) 21 of your favorite recipes and hide them around the city for lucky people to find!
22 – make a mosaic with 22 items you find at the beach
23 – give 23 eskimo kisses
25 – take 25 bubble baths
28 – hand out 28 donuts on the street
29 – spend a full 29 minutes devoted to nothing other than sitting & smiling
30 – write 30 sentences that all begin with “i love”
(joy – i recently found your blog. YOU make me so happy it’s just silly. i turned 30 on january 10 and i think this is a fantastically swell number to be. i love your list. i want to join you, even though i am 30 & 3 months)
I swear you never fail to crack me up. I am turning 32 in a few weeks, but I remember turning 30. I wasn’t sad about it either. But my life mentality did mature a bit. Didn’t want to waste my life if you know what I mean.
Get seeds from your favorite wildflower. Plant 30 seeds (or packets of seeds!!) in your 18 favorite places… as long as it is legal, of course. Perhaps places you drive by a lot – something that will make you smile when you see them pop up. You might get a few different kinds, some that bloom in spring, summer, and fall. Have fun and happy almost birthday, Joy! :)
I love this one.
I love the seeds and flowers idea too. I’m turning 36 in 3 months and somehow I’m not as enthusiastic as you are.
Thanks! My enthusiasm hasn’t waned yet, although I am finding it harder and harder to remember how old I am. :)
10 – Think of 10 things you want to have accomplished in the next 10 years
11- Be a local tourist and visit 11 new places in LA
18 – Wake up smiling on 18 days
23 – Pick up 23 pieces of litter
25 – Do 25 jumping jacks for 25 days, because you’re still young and fabulous
28 – Find 28 ways to help your parents around the house
29 – Give 29 compliments to 29 people
30 – Do 30 things for yourself on your birthday!
give blood 10 times.
leave 11 inspiring, touching, and uplifting messages in random places for others to find (mirrors in public bathrooms, sticky notes on doors, an old receipt in a book) there’s no harm in spreading the smiles.
take a relaxing bath 18 times.
learn 19 new words and use them like you own them ;)
buy 20 sandwiches and give them to the homeless.
find 21 things in your closet that you don’t wear and give it to charity.
go on a shopping spree and spend $22 at the dollar store and do something creative with it. or give them to friends as gag gifts :)
give your kitty 23 special treats
find 25 new songs/artists to jam out to.
perform 28 random acts of kindness. (offer to pay someone bus fair, pay the toll for the person behind you, leave a compliment on the receipt for your waitress to find, etc etc etc)
wish on 29 stars.
spend your day with 30 of the best people in your life that you could ever ask for.
i feel like my list is pretty lame compared to others, but i really hope that your turning 30 and completing this list brings happiness to all those affected by it, most importantly you. i can’t wait to make my own 30 by 30 list. :)
I like your ideas :-) but giving blood 10 times in 2 months isn’t possible, the limit is one donation every 56 days (I’m a med tech, so I had to know the blood donation guidelines by heart… lol!) But I’m so glad you’re encouraging blood donation! :-)
I love it!! Awesome idea!
I vote for biking 30 miles on your 30th birthday :)
i love this idea! can’t wait to see you document this challenge :)
10 – learn how to count to 10 in 10 different languages
11 – give away 11 donuts and eat the last one
18 – let 18 balloons go and watch them float away
19 – collect 19 of your all-time favorite pictures and make a wall collage with them
20 – repost 20 of your favorite recipes on your blog
21 – try 21 flavors of jellybeans and find your favorite
22 – leave nice notes in 22 random books at Barnes & Noble
23 – memorize the 23rd Psalm
25 – spend 25 minutes reflecting on your 20s
28 – go visit 28 patients at a hospital and cheer them up
29 – make 29 wishes – on dandelions, throwing coins in fountains, on eyelashes, etc.
30 – invite 30 people to your 30th birthday party!
Nice job Sherri lyn! Great ideas
lurve this!!!
Awesome job!!
I love them all except #18 is kinda littering.
My favs that you listed are buy 3 strangers coffee and tip a waitress $14 extra dollars.
How about give 11 bags of cat/dog food to a rescue organization.
Awesome Idea! Best of luck!
I like your pet food idea!! or even blankets would work for an animal rescue place. the one’s in this area are desperate for things like blankets, toys, food, and bowls.
loved your list… especially the lucky quarters!!
Hug 30 people.
Try not to talk for 10 hours, enjoy the silence. Listen.
Take pictures of 19 things you love.
Make 24 letters with an inspiring quotes; put 23 in anonymous mailboxes, keep one for yourself.
I feel so inspired by this project! I’m already brainstorming for my own list when I turn 30 next year. I haven’t come up with enough to fill all the gaps, but a few ideas:
Memorize 10 lines of poetry/literature that moves you
Spend 11 minutes chasing the cat every day
Feed 18 expired parking meters
Sit quietly (in a sauna?) for 19 minutes and just breathe
Leave 20 complimentary/inspiring Post-It notes on public bathroom mirrors
Buy 21 items from the farmers’ market and cook up some delicious feasts
Say “thank you” to 22 people in your life for their support/love/help/goofiness/whatevs
Share 23 cookies with your nearest neighbors
Try 10 different cocktails (maybe not all on the same night…)!
Happy early birthday!
Joy,
Judy Dews is my cousin and she sent me your list. I’m so proud of you and all you have accomplished in 30 short years.
My suggestion for 10 would be….
have a slumber party with 10 of your favorite people.
Can’t wait to read the final list.
enJOY,
Sue Ann
xxxooo
Happy birthday Joy! I just turned 40 last week and it rocks! And I got 2 major compliments in the last month. One, I got carded (yay!), and then the bartenders said she had thought I was 28 or 29 (woohoo!). Two, somebody at the gym thought I was a fitness instructor. Uh, nooo, but thank you!!!
As far as suggestions for your 30th….hmmm….wouldn’t it be great if you could send all your yummy cookies and cupcakes to Japan? It would make their day…no their year!!
Happy birthday Joy!!!
– take 10 friends on a picnic.
– invite 11 friends for a potluck
– Invent 18 new holidays for the upcoming year and determine the way these holidays are celebrated, what foods are eaten for them and their durations (I feel like there aren’t enough awesome holidays for just because- for example, a dear friend of mine and myself celebrate “Greatest gangster day” – in honor of my getting drunk once and announcing that she and i were, in fact, the greatest gangsters)
– Donate 19 baked goods to a local Church sale, bake sale, something for a good cause
…erm.. I’m out of ideas.
But you can still say whatevs when you are 30… and Hoarders is strangely addictive…
I turned 30 in february….It rocks. I wish I would have made a list.
30 I would give out 30 hugs for my bday. I also read a book 29 gifts in 29 days. I tried to apply it with the one to grow on thought process.
Learn a new skill or hobby.
do a video post and teach someone how to bake something ( you tube/ustream/vimeo)
Climb a peak/do a hike you’ve never done before.
Plant 30 dahlia bulbs!
Write down 30 things you want to do in your 30’s.
Have a kick *** party with 30 people!
I am about to turn 35 and I say ‘whatevs’ all the time. It works, if you make it work. And you can so make it work.
I love LOVE your blog and what a fabulous idea.
I don’t have many suggestions, maybe leave 18 secrets (Like Post Secret) in Library Books, or books at Chapters.
I have to say, I’ll be 31 in August. Whatevs STILL works. Jersday will never get old. I still watch Teen Mom. (I have two boys under 2) and this season of the Real World is amazingly hilarious so far.
Good Luck!!
J
thirty means watching all the real housewives franchises with abandon!
30–send 30 packages of baked goods to the men & women serving in afghanistan.
10 or 11, make a traditonal dish from a 10 different countries, and add your own spin on it. :)
plant a seed & document it with photos for 30 days…
too cheesy? boring? I’m stumped.
Build an edible sculpture out of 30 Oreo cookies and peanut butter!
How about “go on 30 bike rides” since bike rides are awesome? That means you get to go on a bike ride every other day :)
You should also play capture the flag or some other kid-game (dodgeball maybe?) with 10 people.
Tell 20 people what you really think of them, or something you appreciate about them, or write down a fun memory or story about each of them in a notebook.
Wow this is gonna be fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Buy and give # of roses to random # of people on the street.
Dance for said # of minutes with said # of different people.
Take a ride on the farris wheel every day for said # of days!
Enjoy chasing thirty..by the way she has a great blog!
This is a great idea! I wish I had more time before my 18th birthday so I could do something like this! I might do it for my 21st birthday instead. :)
Here’s what I could come up with…
I’ve always wanted to leave notes in random books at Barnes and Noble… Maybe leave 20 inspirational notes in 20 random books?
Read 10 books from this list: https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml
Run 11 miles?
Take 30 minutes to do something you’d never ordinarily do (jump out of an airplane? scuba diving? etc.)
Give $25 on a form of public transport to a person you think might need it. This article made me think of that one: https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/02/portland_woman_who_gave_away_1.html
Overall, do things that will make you and other people happier! :)
I just have to say that you are SO COOL Joy! Geez! Unfortunately I don’t have that many great ideas. Maybe give a lot of hugs? Maybe cartwheels? Maybe listen to your favorite song so many times? Maybe try so many different types of food? Maybe laugh really hard so many times?
10 new variations on a recipe
25 hugs to people who need them (which could lend to a lot of different things–volunteer work, etc)
that’s all i’ve got for now, i’ll try to return :)
run 10 miles?
read 11 novels?…if you’re ambitious
learn 25 useful words of a different language?
Good luck!
Visit ten new wineries :)
I really hope I get a postcard or those cupcakes, pretty please!
Joy, you brighten my morning. I love this idea (and have never heard of it, what? I know…craziness).
I feel a little lame being at the end of this list because all my ideas seem too easy after reading everyone’s really great and giving ideas. I guess birthdays to me are indulgent, so that’s why mine are that way…
10 – take ten buttons off your clothes, and replace them with CRAZY buttons found at a thrift shop or consignment or craft store
11 – meditate for 11 minutes
18 – Spring Clean for 18 minutes
19 – throw 19 things away you found Spring Cleaning
20 – buy $20 worth of new accesories appropriate for a 30 year old (you’ll have to get creative. $20 isn’t much!)
21 – Find 21 new recipes for make with your favorite ingredient
22 – Make a 22 minute mix to ride your bike to
23 – Try on 23 pairs of shoes at Nordstrom, or your favorite extravagant shoe store.
24 – Make two dozen treats and take them to someone in need (I love the ideas about going to an assisted living center and taking them treats, but you’d have to make sure that’s allowed. There’s all those weird rules about store bought goods…so maybe I’d find 24 people in your church who could use some extra love, or just 12 and give each two treats)
28 – Perfect 28 yoga poses.
29 – Get a 29 minute massage or spa treatment the day before you turn 30
Happy Birthday Joy!!
give out 30 kisses to 30 people you love!
10: Create a signature spice mix with 10 ingredients.
11: Taste 11 new foods.
18: Call or e-mail 18 old friends/relatives/acquaintances that you have lost touch with.
19: Make a list of 19 classic movies that you have not seen and watch them over the next year.
20: Buy 20 lbs of whole grain pasta for your local food pantry.
21: Give 21 people a free basic cooking lesson (3 groups of 7 people).
22: Bookmark 22 recipes from your favorite blogs to try over the next year.
23: Set the timer and spend 23 minutes each day clearing clutter from your home.
25: Give a $25 loan to an entrepreneur via Kiva.
30: Spend 30 minutes right after you turn 30 and brace yourself for the best years of your life!
HAND WRITTEN LETTERS!! I am so excited. Why don’t you have a fan mail page!? I would LOVE to send you mail! Sending mail is my favorite. Why 30? I think I might do this for every birthday. 19 things to do before I’m 19! You’re perfect, always coming up with such wonderful ideas.
Hmmmm, here’s a few.
You can make (insert number here) swans, and place them around your neighborhood for people to find. My friend found one in a bathroom one time. IT WAS THE GREATEST DAY OF HER LIFE. Have you ever read the story of Sadako? I love the book, and now I’m obsessed with making 1000 cranes. Start today!
Volunteer a total of 24, or 25, or 26 hours with the elderly, at a food kitchen, animal shelter. Bring your kitten! Or maybe not. He seems like he would eat other kittens…
Leave (insert number here) anonymous notes for people, AND NEVER REVEAL YOURSELF. Something simple, like you’re beautiful, i appreciate you, the whole shabang.
Go 24 hours WITHOUT electronics, television, basically live like the Amish. That means no fancy pants iPhones! My rules are: only surround yourself with books, paper, pens, food, and sunshine.
These are just what I like to do!
:)
Congrats Joy! Well, in 2 months anyways…
* plant 30 trees (maybe through the arbor foundation or something like that) so, they would still make a difference 30 years from now :)
p.s. I had my 30 last year and I still use ‘whatevs’… please don’t say it’s time to stop :D
Take 18 walks along the beach, or bicycle rides, etc.
Take 19 pictures of cookies/flowers/books.
Do 20 push-ups.
Start out one day with 21 long, deep breaths.
Give out 22 pennies to young children or 22 one dollar bills as a RAOK.
i spent much of my early 20’s making mix cds for my friends and boyfriends…you should make one of your fave songs from your 20’s and then drive somewhere whilst listening to it. dorky, maybe…awesome, i think so.
Make an (epic) 10 layer cake (this could actually be applied to any number, depending on how ambitious you are :) )
Try 11 new restaurants in the LA area.
Buy 20 helium balloons… then let them go!
Take 21 polaroids of a place of you love, and make a mosaic collage out of it.
Have 22 solid dance parties in your living space. Tutus can play a part in this.
Plant 23 sweet peas in a pot and put them in a sunny spot! (Rhymes, YES)
All I got.
xx
#10- Plant 10 trees in 10 different places.
#18- Try 18 different beer or wine from 18 different states. (I’ll ship some to you from NC/SC!)
#25- Make a 25 minute video of things you’ve loved/been into in the past year.
#30- Eat 30 kinds of treats on your big day. (Okay, this might be a lil much.)
Have tons of fun doing these!
Love Courtney’s ideas!!
*Write 10 letters to yourself – to be opened every year on your birthday for the next 10 years.*
Buy 11 cheap umbrellas and give them to people without one on a rainy day.
Offer to return 18 people’s grocery carts back to the front of the store.
Sample 19 different types of cuisine (Ethiopian, Thai, Vietnamese, etc.)
Give $20 to a street musician.
And Anna’s – Plant 20 seeds in your container garden
So many good ones! Awesome people who follow you Dude ;o)
*love*
Donate 25 pounds of cat food to the local no-Kill Shelter
Read # books to a child/ children
# volunteering at the kitty shelter
Prank call # phone numbers and who ever answers, tell them that they have a secret admirer :-)
Joy! I just ADORE you. This is my first time writing on your blog, but I check it just about everyday while my 8 month old daughter naps! You’ve inspired me to do a lot of things… I’ve tried a few of your yummy recipes, dang they are good.
I love your idea….30 things before you turn 30! I feel inspired to follow and create my own list! I still have 4 years to go, but I can start brainstorming all the different things I need to do and maybe start a few. I like some of the ideas you have.
Maybe you can learn 10 sign language vocab- all words that apply to you, such as “cake”, “kitten”, “fun”, “delicious”, “photography”, etc.
When you turn 30 and accomplished your list- maybe a new list of 50 things to do before you turn 50 can start! 30 is a piece of cake! ;)
Be sure to share with us when you’ve checked off your list and the funny things that have happened doing them!
sign language! i love this!
Send an anonymous package of goodies to someone who needs cheering up.
Skydive.
Go to the movies/dinner/the theater all by yourself.
One thing you have already done is comfort and inspire a whole realm of people you’ve never met. Thanks so much for how much you brighten my days.
Happy last two months of twenty-something!
#10: paint your ten fingernails in ten different colors. Quick!…do it before you start to wonder if someone in their thirties should do such things.
10 ~ donate 10 items to your local animal shelter (old towels, blankets, etc.)
25 ~ spend 25 minutes giving advice to a newbie blogger wanna be =) (possibly me, hey a girl can dream can’t she)
28 ~ skip 28 rocks across a lake/pond
29 ~ invite 29 friends over for cake
30 ~ blow out 30 candles on above mentioned cake
I can’t wait to see your posts about where these adventures leading up to 30 take you! Yours was the first blog I ever followed & still my favorite!
Love this list. I made mine a couple months ago (https://darbyoshea.wordpress.com/3030-2/)and gave myself a whole year (almost) to do them. Not making much progress yet!
One of the things on my list is to cook from ten new-to-me cookbooks – could you do something like that for one of your numbers?
Or make 19 people laugh?
Or how about printing photos! I never get around to printing my digital photos – that could be cool. Print 11 photos. (If you framed them, they’d also make great gifts! Two birds with one stone!)
Good luck with your list! If you’re looking for postcard or blog comment volunteers, I’m your girl!
How about Riding your bike for a certain number of miles.
That could be the # 10 or # 11. May be more if you are up to the challange of 18 miles and up?
Here is another, make a 3 course meal for a couple of friends under a certain amount of money.
Say $25.00.
For the big 3-0: make a list of your 30 achievments.
This is agreat idea. I turn 30 in a few months. Like you said, it isnt a big deal, but it certainly feels different and momentus. Cheers!
#10: Convice 10 people to contribute $10 to Japan.
10- Give away 10 items of clothing that you never wear anymore!
I’m just gonna throw it out there that I would love to receive a postcard from you, it would be an especially special addition to my postcard collection (which I plan on making a collage with someday!).
Woah. You’re setting yourself up for a challenge! 30 is a pretty cool so far for me. Rarely do I feel old; )
Paint your 10 nails a crazy color. Could also work for 20 and paint those toes. (ooh someone posted that already: ) )
Travel a certain amount of miles from home and see what you can find.
Try a certain amount of different wine/beer.
Good luck! I hope you share with us your adventures.
Hmm? Thanks….now I am counting down 3 1/12 months to my big 30. I wasn’t even thinking but now I am in full panic mode. I think I will just go into denial, that’ll work better for me. I want to do the Ironman Bike Tour, I have always wanted to do it. Guess I should before I am too old to pedal ;) That will get some fire under my bike seat for sure! Give away 30 compliments to 30 random people! That always makes me feel good when someone I don’t know will compliment something about me or my attire.
You could plant a garden:
18…different kinds/varieties of vegies
19…make 19 different types of dishes from your garden!
20…list 20 reasons why you hated weeding the garden!
21…list why it was really worth it because of all the yummy new/fresh recipes!
Happy Birthday…soon
Watch 18 classic movies.
Give out 19 chocolate truffles.
Make 20 chocolate truffles (you’ll eat one of course).
Recruit 21 people to give money to the tsunami relief fund.
Kiss 10 cute boys
oooh my.
Or you could just give 1 cute boy 10 kisses…
OMG, such a coincidence! I turned 25 this year and my goal is to do 25 new things during my 25th year … I’ve got whole year though, you’re ambitious to complete all 30 in 2 months. Good luck!
Take 10 turns around a go kart track
Try 11 new flavours of ice cream
Say thank you for 18 things you are grateful for in a day
Eat your recommended amount of veggies everyday for 19 days
Plant 20 seeds in your container garden (do you still have it?)
Dance with a 21-year-old (bending the rules, but you’ll for sure be robbing the cradle, if you ever do this when you’re 30)
Yeah, waking up in time (or staying up) to see 22 sunrises would be great
Invite 25 neighbours for a block party (including rude (shy?) neighbour next door)
Donate 30 hours at a food bank
I gotsa go, good luck.
Go outside and introduce yourself to your post(wo)man or garbage(wo)man, and tell them thank you (this should take approximately 10 minutes);
Eat 11 different things you’ve never eaten before (produce, prepared dishes or beverages all count);
Clean out your bathroom (and purse) and donate 18 makeup/toiletry items to a local charity that supports homeless or battered women who are working to get back into the labor force;
Allow yourself to sleep in for 19 extra minutes every day for a whole week;
Learn 20 new words or phrases in a foreign language of your choice – preferably not all curse words;
Plant a window box herb garden for yourself with 3 rows of 7 plants in it;
Make an old school mix tape (or CD if you must) with 22 bangin’ songs and give it to someone you love;
Eat 23 mini marshmallows in one sitting (You have to stuff all 23 in your mouth at one time. This is not allowed after one turns 30.)
Take 25 minutes to clean out your email Inbox and Trashcan;
Bake 28 cookies and bring them with you the next time you take lil’ kitty for his checkup at the vet
Take 29 minutes to call the relative with whom you haven’t spoken in the longest amount of time;
30 – This is the special one – only you can come up with this one. :)
Yeah, doing all that stuff is great but factor in x amount of down time too like- all these things interspersed with 10 (+) luxuriant soaks in the bathtub – soft music, candle light, good book (if you like reading in the bath, personally I don’t), beautiful scented bath oil.. 21 back or foot massages…. that sort of stuff to keep you level.
I love these suggestions!
29- Make a cd/playlist of all the songs that were number 1 on your birthday over the years. ‘Flashdance’ was number 1 on the Billboard charts on the day that I was born. I feel like this has shaped my life in so many ways.
30- Play it at your birthday party!
I love this idea! I turned thirty last year, and really, it’s not so bad. I was kinda over the Real World before that, and I’m not sure I could have ever related to the Jersey Shore.
Good luck with your list!
Write 10 letters to yourself – to be opened every year on your birthday for the next 10 years.
Buy 11 cheap umbrellas and give them to people without one on a rainy day.
Offer to return 18 people’s grocery carts back to the front of the store.
Sample 19 different types of cuisine (Ethiopian, Thai, Vietnamese, etc.)
Give $20 to a street musician.
Put 21 dimes in someone’s parking meter that is about to expire.
Wait and hold open the door for 22 people.
Pick up 23 pieces of trash from a local park.
Donate 24 hours of your time.
Drop off 25 childrens’ books at a local shelter.
Give up your seat to someone on public transportation 28 times.
Collect 29 pounds of food for the local food bank.
Smile and say Hello to 30 strangers.
I LOVE these ideas, Courtney! So special!
I love these suggestions! Such good ideas, and so thoughtful. :)
Know that you’ve warmed 30+ x 30 hearts every day with your thoughts, photos and sweet things. Happy early birthday Joy.
I’m not so good with numbers, but here’s some ideas: Volunteer at different charities, make food for an assisted living facility, teach a cooking class at a high school, send mix cds to friends from different eras of your life, go out dancing, ideally a kind that you know less about (salsa? Merenge? is that how you even spell that?)…take some of these suggestions to do in your 30th year as well…the list goes on. If you wanted a nascent food blog to read, I’ve got a suggestion, too: sbroudy.wordpress.com :)
-Go to a thrift store and buy 11 new (to you) records on the cheap. (If you don’t have a record player, then for goodness sake, get yourself one, poste haste! The sound really is beautiful.)
-Play 18 holes of disc golf on a beautiful course (or putt putt golf)
-read 19 poems by Emily Dickinson (or your poet of choice)
-Meditate for 20 minutes
-go camping with a friend or two for a few days and hike for a total of 21 miles
-help a young kid color 22 pages of a coloring book
-Write a story in 30 words
30! Be thankful for 30 things! One from each year of your life:D Rock it girl! 30 is awesome!!
Again, with the thoughtfulness. Thanks for inspiring me not just to be a better baker but a better person.
10-Sing at the top of your lungs for 10 minutes.
11-Spend 11 minutes talking to the homeless guy on the street.
18-Memorize 18 scripture verses.
25- Donate 25 pieces of fresh produce to the local food pantry.
26-Find 26 ways to tell someone you love them without using words.
30-Take 30 minutes to completely unplug in the middle of the day. No cellphone, ipod, computer, magazines, books, etc. Just blessed, peaceful silence.
10,11,18,19
25-30
Come to Seattle and do a thirty mile back packing trip with your sister and some friends. You ole’ lady.
i love you for life.
I too am turning 30 in a few short months and I love this idea. I’m just a little too lazy to actually go through with it :). Best of luck to you though :).
30 – Take thirty minutes to reflect on these thirty things.
You could put this one at any number, but you make a number of visits to housebound (or just a little lonely) elderly people. I am sure they would appreciate it!
Joy-you are great….I’ll admit that I was surprised that I’m older than you. Not that I had a preconceived notion of your age, it’s just when I’m older that people I admire, I feel older :-) I have no clever suggestions like all the creative readers above. I’m an avid music freak-the first thing that came to mind was somehow giving you music recommendations based on numbers–Adele has albums titled 19 and 21. 21 is better (who knew!) Anyhow…my point, which I do have….when I turned 30, the weirdest part was seeing the # on paper. Other than that….no change. I don’t watch hoarders (because I kinda am one, and I don’t my problem in my face…) or “Intervention” (again, I drink a lot of whiskey….) You should watch American Idol if you want to feel really old…they did “songs from the year you were born” a few weeks ago…MAN! I felt old! Anyhow….hope you have a wonderful birthday :-) I applaud your effort in doing something special (or 30 things special) before you turn da, da, daaaaaa 30! Happy Birthday :-)
this comment totally made me laugh.
You are so fun! If you want to send one of those 13 postcards to Ecuador, let me know and I’ll give you my address. Real mail is always fun, especially when you’re living abroad. Enjoy the rest of 29, but know that your 30s are pretty awesome too.
I’ll be turning 30 in August and I want you to know that I have no intentions of removing “whatevs” from my vocab. And if the Real World happens to land on my DVR post-30, I can’t promise that I won’t watch it. Just saying…
I truly love the idea of your list! As for more things to add to it, what about committing to trying cooking with 10 new foods, taking portraits of 11 friends as a gift, giving 18 loyal fans (ahem) tips on how to improve their own food blogs :), call 19 relatives/old friends to say hello, walk 20 miles, smile at 21 strangers, think of 22 things you’re grateful for, find a new place to visit that you’ve never been to within 25 miles of your house… Good luck!
I love this idea.
explore 10 brand new places in your area (stores/beaches/hidden gardens)
good luck on turning 30!
You’ve got a lot of great ideas here. You might want to get a jumpstart of 40 things to do before you turn 40! It’ll be here before you know it (not trying to scare you). Savor each day to the fullest and you’ll have no regrets. But it sounds to me like you’re doing that now. Happy early birthday to you!
I dont know what you would want to put it one number spot… But here are some ideas:
~Bake pasteries and take them to a local old folks home. Ask the nurses who never gets a visitor and brighten their day with yummy goodness!
~Ride your bike somehwere you’ve never gone before
~Send care packages to the troops
Love this idea! Cant wait to see what you come up with. Im turning 26 on Sunday, maybe I’ll take you idea and do it over my 29th year in preparation for 30!! :)
You’re blog always makes me smile. I love seeing the email update letting me know there is a new Joy posting! I bet your 30’s will be the best yet :)
~Kelly
This is the first time that I have posted a comment, but I wanted to say that I love your site. I will 38 in two months – I can honestly tell you that I love the 30’s! I am more confident and comfortabe in my skin that I ever was in my 20’s. So embrace them! Good luck on your list!
This sounds amazing, how about creating new ice cream flavours or trying new teas, volunteering planting new trees? I’m very inspired to make my own list now to xoxo
I love the idea of donating ten books… But how about to a children’s hospital in the area?
Or spend 10 hours visiting at a retirement home – play 11 games of bingo :)
DANG Joy, you’re gona be busy for the next two months. I really love this idea. I try to do one good deed and try something new everyday. Turning 30 wasn’t hard for me, 31 was for some unknown reason. But you do get over it by 33, lol, and then it’s just another day.
I’m trying to help you out with your list. I work in the healthcare field and people are always looking for new reading material in the waiting rooms. I bet you have a few magazines that you are finished with :) Or you could always get 20 nails painted some funky color! And don’t worry about saying “dude”, which is still my favorite word, or the reckless shenanigans that you think won’t be happening. They still happen, you just have a little more class. Good luck Joy!
Voluteer for 10 days at a local animal shelter
Host a pancake breakfast for 11 people
Give 18 people your new cookbook !! (this one is my fave)
Wine or bourbon for 19 days striaght leading up to the big 3-0
Spinning for 20 days straight
Write 21 letters to family and friends
Goes vegan or gluten free for 22 days
make 23 of your favourite cookie to give away to someone who deserves it
try 24 different things that you’ve never eaten before. think ethnic.
I’m maxed out. Happy travels on trying to find your 30 things! I can’t wait for an update.
10 – Visit 10 places near you (within 10 miles?) that you’ve never been before.
11 – Say ‘thank you’ to 11 people you interact with frequently. (Parents, neighbor, guy on the spin bike next to you…)
18 – Assemble 18 care packages for a designated group and include necessities for them. (Example: Homeless – Toothbrush/Toothpaste, Granola Bars, Water… Orphans – coloring books, story books, small stuffed animal… or donate 18 small stuffed animals to a cancer ward at the local hospital)
19 – Offer help to 19 people. (Ie. Hands full trying to get through a door… someone dropped everything they were holding on the sidewalk.)
20 – For x (amount) of days, go to bed 20 minutes earlier.
30 – Invite 30 friends over for an awesome 30th birthday bash!
Watch 10 times “Amelie” ,discovering 11 different details every time…Buy 18 ice cream flavors for your party..19 minutes of classical music while you ride your bicycle… Write your genealogical tree with at least 21 members…Plan a trip to Italy of 23 days…and taste 22 different type of pasta !… (call me & I help you ;) )…Smell 25 types of flowers to decorate and to perfume your party … Film a shortfilm” One day with Joy” of 28 minutes…(hummm is that a short..?! ) And you can buy 29 different candle color and one white…and I agree with “invite 30 friends to say goodbye to the 20s “!!
Have fun,and 30s are awesome !! (I’m 37 cof cof cof…) ;)
Okay so here goes:
10: Make a time capsule with 10 things you love or that represents you today to be opened 10 years from now.
11: Create/make 11 recipes using 1 ingredient as the star. (i.e., 11 recipes with lemon)
18: Teach a cooking class for 18 people.
19: Watch 19 new movies that you haven’t seen before.
20: Make a top 20 list of your favorite recipes from other bakers/chefs/bloggers/people/etc.
21: Get up early on 21 days to watch the sunrise (I took this from Brian above b/c its a wonderful feeling).
22: Make a mixed CD of 22 songs you like right now.
23: Tell 23 people you love that you love them.
25: Host a giveaway of baked goods to 25 deserving individuals, wherein the bloggers giveaway the food? Sorta like I Am Baker.
26: Blog about 26 random facts about you. (26 for every letter of the alphabet.)
27: Review 27 different restaurants
28: Have wine pairing/tasting party with 28 different types of wine.
29: Meditate for 29 days.
30: Host a party for 30 friends. Around the time of your birthday? Presents? :)
Ooh, a time capsule! I love that idea!
Great list! I’m doing my own 30 before 30 (https://andruswilliams.com/the-list/) – but I gave myself 6 years to accomplish it! I’m impressed that you’re doing yours in 2 months!
30 — make a list of 30 wonderful, admirable, lovable things about yourself and post it somewhere in your home (maybe not the living room, necessarily!) to read when life tries to get you down and make you feel “less than.” happy birthday to you! i LOVED turning 30 (i’m 32 now) and truly feel that the 30’s are going to be so much better than the 20’s (which were pretty great, too). enjoy!
I am also finishing up my 30 before 30 list, however your list is much cleverer (is that a real word?.. who knows) I’d like to suggest things like, buying 10 hideous items from a flea market (or the likes) to display proudly in your home… maybe squirrel salt and pepper shakers? What about 30 self portraits in the last 30 days before you are 30… think about the 30 sides to your personality :D
Hope it goes well for you!
I am also finishing up my 30 before 30 list, however your list is much cleverer (is that a real word?.. who knows) I’d like to suggest things like, buying 10 hideous items from a flea market (or the likes) to display proudly in your home… maybe squirrel salt and pepper shakers? What about 30 self portairts in the last 30 days before you are 30… think about the 30 sides to your personality :D
Hope it goes well for you!
I like the way you think! Looks like you have got some really good ideas and some great suggestions from other readers. I hated turning 30, it felt so old. Now, as someone who is looking at turning 40 in 7 months I can tell you that the experiences I had in my 30’s were much better than my 20’s!
My suggestion for your “to do” list is to write a list of things that are great about you. Maybe this would be good for #30. Keep it and read it on your 40th birthday.
List 30 new websites others should visit :)
Host a dinner for 10 of your friends.
Get 11 hours of sleep one night.
Give 19 hugs to your mom.
Read 25 poems or short stories.
joyful – i did the same thing when i was turning 30. made the list like life was over. but the secret is the 30s are fabulous. so i embraced the “to do” list after i turned 30 and haven’t looked back. happy early birthday!
25- Hug 25 different people
Make 10 random breakfasts to share with 10 friends.
That’s all I got. Hmmmmm….
I’m turning 40 in 11 months. I guess I should start making my own list now. I’m gonna need a lot more time than you. ;)
And yes, you can still say whatevs. I still say dude. (Shhhhh…Don’t tell anyone.)
I’m so glad you posted this… I’m 37 and I wonder if it’s ridiculous that I still call people that. I wonder if I’ll still be saying it at 50?
I am 35 and call my kids dude. I was told I was old because I still say cool beans.lol I think the older you get there are less rules.
I’ll be 42 in a month and I still call people dude…you can always tell who grew up in the 80s.
Joy! We were born on the same day, same year. I’ll turn 30 in two months and I AM freaking out! Life is goood, but 30??? So soon. I’ll inspire myself in your list, right? Maybe that’ll work.
Lots of love,
Elisa
10- 10 days before your birthday enjoy a breakfast of 10 pancakes all at once.
11- try taking 11 dogs for a walk at the same time.
Happy happy birthdayy!!
I highly recommend adding sunrises to the list… sunsets are beautiful, but I find it easier to reflect in the morning… and it’s a great way to start the day.
What a fun idea! Here’s my idea for #10
Sample 10 different kinds of Bourbon! (Might as well live it up while you can! =) )
I’m not sure about doing the # of things each time… but I love the idea of doing 30 things for your 30th. Finding the right # of things to do could be tricky.
Some ideas that I like but don’t know how to assign a # to…
Take flowers to a hospital ward and give them to someone who hasn’t had any visitors.
Open the phone book, pick a name, and send them something (movie tickets, thank you card, you are appreciated card, book, etc.) anonymously.
Write anonymous, loving post-its for strangers to find.
Send an anonymous scratch card, lottery or theater ticket to someone you know – or a gift voucher, a funny card, a chocolate bar, or whatever you feel they would enjoy
Whatever you decide to do, have fun! I <3 this idea. I hope you blog about your adventures. :)
Admit it – Teen Mom already infuriates you!
Bike 10 miles in a new direction
Eat at 11 new restaurants
Try 18 new hairstyles
Ride the ferris wheel at the Santa Monica Pier 19 times
Read 20 books of the Bible
Well, I’ve seen and past 30 a few years ago. But, I love this idea. Why not come up with a “bucket list” for each year? I’m stealing some of your ideas and some of the others’ too. Thanks!
I love this idea, and might have to steal it when I turn 30! (1.5 years to go!)
Donate $20 to a new charity.
Plant 25 wildflowers in an abandoned public lot.
10- Give away 10 books to your local public library.
11- Plant 11 different herbs in pots.
18- Try 18 different wines you’ve never had before.
19- Come up with 19 unique frosting recipes.
20- Buy 20 worth of hot breakfasts’ and give to the homeless.
21- Buy something at a Forever 21 store (if you have one near you).
22- Toss 22 pennies into a fountain.
23- Walk around your neighborhood for 23 minutes and see how much garbage you can clean up.
25- Go on a quarter-century bike ride. :)
28- Eat 28 different types of foods you’ve never had before.
29- Make a list of 29 things you’ve accomplished in your 29 years of life.
30- Give flowers to 30 random strangers on your 30th birthday.
This sounds good to me, you go girl!! And good luck to you Joy!! I (this Joy) turn 30 this year also in July. We are definitely kindred spirits!!
Bake 27 homemade dog treats and give them to 27 dogs at the park.
-Bake 18 homemade fortune cookies and fill them with handmade fortunes – use some that you would love to receive in your 30’s.
-Write yourself 30 notes in sealed envelopes and hide them around your house to find over the next year.
-Spend 25 minutes with an elderly person just listening to their stories.
10 minute dancy party. Maybe to Phil Collins. 25 minutes of silence outside (protect your epidermis!) 11 day TV sabbatical. Spice of the life of 29 of your dollars you would normally spend on yourself, by spending them on someone with a legit (I’m still in the allotted age of abbrev’s) need. Find and incorporate 19 jazzy words into your everyday vocabulary. Discover how many days it takes you to rack up 23 sneezes. Maybe keep a sneeze journal.
It’s good you already cartwheel.
10 -Post Ten Homeless animals from your local animal shelter on your blog
11-plant 11 flowers in your neighbors yard
18- make a meal for 18 friends
19-help someone find there lost pet by taking their lost poster and making 19 copies and then posting them around town
20-buy two bags of food to give to your local food bank
21-buy someone a drink for their 21st birthday!
22- pay for a stay at home mom to get her nails done and maybe help watch her kids so she can go.
23-bake two dozen cupcakes (eat one for yourself) then give them away to a sunday school class @ church
28- donate a half an hour of your time to your local homeless shelter to help serve food.
29- Do 29 push ups—-(i can’t do them not even girly ones…..im a weakling)
THIRTY- Thank God for each one of these things you got to do on your list, and thank Him for another year to become a better person.
i love your ideas…ESPECIALLY number 10!!
Call 30 people you’ve encountered in your life and tell them thank you for being a part of your journey thus far. I turn 30 this year too. We’ll be fine, right?
For one of the giving away ones, you can give away a certain number (19? one of the other ones?) of kitty toys to people who are adopting new kittens… it will make both the kittens and the owners happy! And if you actually get to see the kittens while doing it, that’s even better because kittens are adorable! :-)
#18
Write a list of things you are grateful for
# 30
Proclaim loudly, or softly but with conviction, the next decade I will not say no to any adventure that presents itself, however small/huge/scary/silly/uncomfortable it may seem. This is the only way I know how to prolong life. By making sure it is packed with memories. And I have found that life just get’s better and better. Happy B day!
Sing 10 songs onstage at a karaoke bar.
Find your favorite board game from when you were 11 and invite friends over to play.
Go to a theme park and ride rides 18 times (you may repeat rides if wanted/needed).
Drive 19 miles in any direction. Stop and take a picture. Perhaps have lunch.
Ask a magic 8-ball 20 questions.
Play 21 at a casino.
Ask friends for recommendations of funny internet/viral videos. Watch 22 of them.
Go to a thrift store and buy 23 dining items (plates, mugs, silverware, serving bowls, etc.)
Go back 25 years and watch the best picture Oscar winner from the year you were 5.
Buy 14 pairs (28) of goofy socks. You may keep them or give them away.
Clip 29 coupons. Use at least half of them.
I like the 30 minute nap idea. I <3 naps.
Make 10 mixed tapes for 10 people who won’t expect it. You can’t do mixed tapes anymore when you’re past 20. It’s not allowed.
Call 11 people you haven’t spoken to in over a year.
Write 30 poems.
Go to karaoke and sing 10 songs.
Make 29 cards and send them to 28 friends (keep one so you remember what you sent).
Ride your bike 26 days.
Tell 18 people grocery store secrets, like for me, I’d tell them that they can buy every spice imaginable behind the meat counter! And it’s cheaper!
Invite 10 people to a weekly cooking class.
Pass out 18 bowls of homemade soup to homeless people on the street.
Learn and perform a flash dance with 20 friends in a public place.
Write 29 letters to soliders overseas.
Oh I love all of these ideas. A friend and I also turn 30 later this year and talked a few days ago about doing a 30 before 30 list. When we googled for inspiration everything that came up was quite depressing (one, rubbish, newspaper had a list of what not to do after 30, such as wearing short skirts because you will have saggy knees???? Wtf?)
I am definitely feeling inspired by all of these ideas though, what better way to get over fear of the big 30 than by focussing on doing nice things for others? Beautiful!
10- Volunteer on 10 seperate occasions
11-Spend 11 dollars on a meal for a homeless person
18-Write 18 letters to the troops in Afghanistan
19- Find 19 ways to make those around you crack a smile (simple as a good joke, or a single flower)
20-Spend 20 minutes in a conversation with a friend, talking about what is new with them
21- Write down 21 things you wish you knew in your early 20’s but now know in your early 30’s
22- Go for a 22 minute run or beach bike ride to clear your head
23- Donate $25 to your charity of choice.
25- Go for a 25 minute run or beach bike ride to clear your head
28- Set 28 goals for your 30’s
29- Spend 29 minutes with an elderly person or a child
30-Donate $30 to Japan’s Relief Aid
try 11 foods you’ve never eaten before
Enjoy 23 hours of tech-free bliss. No computer, no cell phone, no ipod. Just you, your bike and, if desired, a honey dip.
(30 rules, btw. Just wait.)
Revisit 10 of your favorite places/ redo your favorite dates from the past ten years.
I did this before my birthday last year- I looked back at my favorite moments of the year, and then made an effort to redo them! For me it was coffee at a special garden at sunset; going into a bookstore and treating myself to two cookbooks- just because; ordering sushi and opening a bottle of champagne with my best friend, very late at night, and driving around with that same friend, also very late at night, with no purpose, as if we were teenagers, without husbands/kids waiting at home for us. It’s fun to realize that some of your favorite moments are pretty simple ones and can be recreated easily :)
Btw- that coffee looks delicious!
identify and repeat/re-enact your top 10 favorite things from your twenties ( ie get puking drunk one more time, hit on random cute boys flagrantly, eat a whole cheesecake for breakfast)
come up with 29 things you can not wait to do when you are 30!(but I also love the idea of inviting 29-30 people to you farewell 20’s bash!)
Spend 30 minutes reflecting on how wonderful your 20s were and what an adventure your 30s will be!
Wonderful post!
Wow! This is an impressive list! You make me feel behind and I am 27 and have more time before 30.
-Ooh! You should take something you bake and pass out a large number to people at nursing homes (or since they might have specific dietary needs that will be hard to match- maybe a homeless shelter).
-Did you know you can volunteer to walk dogs from dog shelters? You could do that for a certain number of days and meet many different dogs. But don’t fall in love, your orange kitty would not thank you for the company!
-You should deliver flowers to the people you love.
-You should plant something to make your mark on the earth!
-You should post more posts than usual and use that as one of your number markers. We love it when you post! ;)
I would take 30 photos leading up to your 30th birthday in places or with people who are important to me or places that are fun and wacky. Then I would frame it! :)
Bike 25 miles for 25 days in 25 different places
Make 25 mixed CDs with music from your 20’s and leave them around the city like the library, bus stop… anywhere.
What about watch xx episodes of your favourite series?
Or watch xx classic movies?
Run xx miles
Create 30 different cocktails for 30 friends on your birthday
Spend xx hours relaxing with someone you love
Go to xx cafes, buy your favourite drink and people watch for an hour at each
Buy xx of your favourite books and give them to strangers to read
Enjoy. And if you’re anything like me, your 30s will be even better than your 20s. They will be different, but if you have the right attitude you will continue to have a wonderful joyful life!
Donate X amount of dollars to charity.
Make 25 different kinds of cookies.
Call 10 friends you haven’t talked to recently.
I love this idea!! I cheated and saw someone else’s idea to volunteer 25 or however many hours and liked that one. (And will you please share the recipe for the coffee ice cream puffs when you bake them please?)
You could plant XX amount of herbs (basil, mint, rosemary, oregano chives, oh my!) and give them to friends as gifts for their baking. I LOVE fresh herbs!!
Make a list (10) of your favorite things that happened for each year of your 20’s (1 per year, just in case I wasn’t clear. =])
Congrats!!!!!
Love this idea, So fun!!
26 Yoga classes – I recommend Ashtanga Yoga, I practice and it is amazing, a full on complete workout for your body. If you are in LA than I know a teacher there who I could recommend?!
Sample 10 different bottle of wine over dinner with 10 friends.
Bake 11 new recipes you’ve kept bookmarked over the years.
Kiss someone 25 different ways… (preferably bf).
I love the idea of cycling/driving 28 miles away from your house and seeing where you end up?! So will completely repeat that idea!
xxxx
What a great idea!!!! I love this and will definitely have to do this for my next birthday.
I live in the DC Metro Area and unfortunately there are so many homeless people all over the city. When I walk to work everyday I see some of the same men and they always are smiling and saying hello. If I were you, I would choose 10 homeless people (of course in a public place) and chat with them for 10 minutes. A lot of them seem lonely and are always being brushed aside by people on their way to work. Just a thought for #10!
If 10 isn’t taken already… I would like to send you a box with 10 little things from Barcelona :)
My roommate and I were just discussing thirty before thirty lists! She has one and I don’t, so now I think I need to come up with one too. All the cool kids are doing it.
Watch the top 10 movies on AFI’s 100 greatest movies of all time (You’d have to sit through Citizen Kane though…)
Bake an 11 layer cake (Could be super impressive.)
Date an 18 year old (just kidding.)
Learn 19 words in sign language (or some other language)
Invite 20 friends over for fancy cocktails
Make a bouquet with 21 fresh picked flowers (and then give it to a cute boy. or keep it for yourself.)
Make a playlist of the 22 most embarrassing songs you own, share it with your friends, dance around like fools
Make a list of 23 things you love about yourself. Or 23 things you love about someone else and share it with them.
Hand out 20 red balloons to random people in the park
Leave a basket of goodies for 10 friends at work or on their porch, etc.
Ride your bike 11 miles.
Nap for 30 minutes in a new place (park, etc)
My suggestions are ride 18 different amusement park rides, play Black Jack for 21 minutes, swim in the ocean for 25 minutes, say hello to 29 different strangers as you pass them, and write a list of 30 for 30 things that you would like to accomplish in your 30s.
This is a wonderful project. I wish you all the best, the 30s are fun!
Try not to speak for 23 hours. Then, on the next day, learn 25 (or 28….29…) new words in a foreign language.
enjoy every day to its best ok life doesnt stop at 30 save some things to do when you reach 40 and 50 and 60 etc. you get the drift. Im over fifty and there are still plenty of things to do on my list do what your heart says dont think to hard or it will need 10 asprin for the headache ;)
There are so many amazing suggestions that I’m at a loss to top any of them! Oh – but if we’re talking about topping something, how about making pancakes for your Dad and topping them with exactly 19 blueberries? Or baking a truly delish cupcake, topping it with 23 flower-shaped sprinkles and splitting it with someone special to celebrate a Spring birthday? I can’t wait to see what you do, so make sure that you post about at least 27 of your favorite 30-before-30 adventures!! :)
Spend 10 days not using ANY technology – no mobile, no internet, no phone… maybe go on holiday for that one. It’s liberating, trust me!
Make 30 ‘survival kits’ of all the things you’d want to eat if you were down on your luck and then leave them at a homeless shelter or at a refuge.
Look after a friend’s kids for 11 hours – my God they will love you.
Complete 18 interviews with family members to find out about your family tree and past.
Write a list of 21 jobs you’re intrigued by and endeavour to spend a couple of hours watching/shadowing etc how other people spend their working lives.
I’m out of ideas. For the moment. Happy happy birthday to you. Turning 30 rocks. I stopped using face cream and worrying about wrinkles. I think I might even look a little better for it. x
LOVE the survival kit idea – that is amazing!
you’re just so cute and original!
Publish a book with your — favorite recipes!! What a way to commemorate your twenties!
What a great project :) Its a great way to make the most out of your last days as a 20-something. Its funny how as you approach 30 the panic can subside as you realise you are older yes, but also wiser, fitter and more in your prime than you were when you entered your 20s :)
How about compiling a list/collection/post on the 10 or 25 of the best things to do with chocolate (or cake, or cranberries, or peanut butter, etc…)
Give or send 20 thank you notes to the twenty most important people in your life. Attatch a lolly if you are so inclined. I am always inclined toward lollipops. People always like hearing when they’ve had a positive impact on someone’s life.
pick 18 wildflowers!
18 – Climb 18 high peaks on the West Coast (weekend road trip for each peak)
19 – Get 19 massages, preferable one after each hike. Plus an extra for good measure.
20 – Buy 20 bottles of wine and have several sunset wine tasting with friends (unless you can finish 20 in one sitting. . .
21 – Take a swing dancing lesson and dance with 21 different partners over the course of the night
22 – Go clothes and shoe shopping, and BUY 22 ARTICLES OF CLOTHING AND PAIRS OF DELICIOUS SHOES. Return all but one pair of shoes and one outfit.
23 – Arrive 23 minutes early for a date and people watch while you wait.
25 – Bake 25 cookies (approx. 1-2 batches, right?), package them up, and deliver them to a neighbor.
28 – Drive 28 miles outside of LA w/o a map, and see where it puts you. Spend 3 hours in given location, even if its at a sleazy diner.
29 – Make a list of 29 things that make you happy.
THIRTY – in the 30 days leading up to your birthday, do one of those 29 things each day, final day, is of course your birthday and the day you frame the list with all the 29 things crossed off.
Guarantee 30 of your readers a cookbook when it is published. Just a thought. Although, I’m pretty sure you were going to send me one anyway, since it was MY idea and I am, of course, the secret to your success.
P.S. Sometimes I lie.
You can still watch MTV’s Real World if you want to. I watched it until about 4 seasons ago and I’m wayyyyy over 30. I finally stopped watching when I decided they were all annoying and ungrateful. For 10 (or any other number), how about a letter to your mom and dad and tell them the 10 things you are grateful for? Either 10 things you like about them or 10 things that they taught you.
Go to a nursing home and pass out 23 giant cookies – preferably chocolate chip.
Girl, I’m 33 and make no apologies for watching The Real World and Jersey Shore. I’ve even been known to get excited for the Road Rules Challenges. Turning 30 is something to get excited about–it’s a pretty kickass decade.
What a sweet idea! I can’t wait to read everyone’s suggestions. Maybe make __ new recipes? That one will probably be simple :)
Love this!! Maybe donate _____ number of articles of clothing to Salvation Army/Goodwill.
How about making a list of 10 reasons why your 30’s are going to rock!
I had my first baby 4 days before I turned 30, I didn’t have time to lament the passing of my 20’s, but turning 35 hit me like a brick. I thought about it for a little bit and realized that my 30’s have been awesome for lots of reasons.
What a great idea. I turned 46 last friday!! It only gets better. Remember age is in your mind for the most part. I will put my older brain on this task but alas I’m off to take advantage of Wholefoods deal on tulips today!! Life without flowers is dull.
I do agree with the fellow commenter s 30 should be celebrating with 30 friends!
Buy 10 dog and cat toys and bring them to your local animal rescue organization.
Bake 28 cupcakes and take them to your local homeless shelter. (Maybe someone there has a birthday and it would be a thrill to have them!)
Plant 30 wild flower seeds and watch them grow and bloom.
chrissy i love this!
i’m turning 30 in July… happy b’day Joy :) you’ve given us the delight of sharing this blog with all of us. so- thank you. (ps. i made avocado pound cake again – left it in for an extra 20mins, halved the sugar and it turned out spectaculi-cious!)
Drink 10 bottles of wine (not all in the same day!)
Drive/bike for 27 minutes and stop at somewhere you’ve never been before (don’t cheat with google maps)
I think I might give $10 dollars to 10 different charities and try 18 different bottles of wine… I could do $18 dollars to 18 different charities but then I wouldn’t have enough money for 10 different bottles of wine!
#10: Convince 10 people to donate $10 each to help Japan.
Bake 28 crackers
30! LoL…. your a Spring Chick…. my second to the youngest just turned 30 in Feb. and she was using me as a measuring stick because I had 4 kids b/4 I was 30! I told her she needed to stop worrying about what others did or had done and just live her life…
But 40 was my….heyyyyy what happened…. when did all this time go bye?
Hmmm how about 10 -10 minute calls to someone you love! How about buying 11 Hamburgers and giving them to the homeless! Service…. girl… you would be surprised what it does for a person… makes you appreciate who you are and what you have and the opportunities that life gives you each and every day! I’m in my 50’s….. yes scarey hmmmm! I have a friend who will be 91 this year, and this gal…. puts a lot of people to shame with her get up and go! Live your life and good luck trying to do all those things…. doesn’t sound like your going to be doing much eating, sleeping or cooking with all you “HAVE TO DO”…..
Read a new 29 new poems.
Wear a different pair of shoes for 14 (or 15 or how ever many you have) days.
Find 20 people to join you in a cause you care about.
This is a great idea! Your list is so fun, I wish I had ideas for you, but I’m having Friday brain fog today and my creativity is shot. Also, don’t feel bad – Teen Mom infuriates me now and I’m only 25. It also infuriates my 17 year old cousin because she thinks it makes people think all teenage girls are nuts and when she goes out with her three year old sister people always ask if she’s the mom.
Watch ___ sunrises or sunsets.
Give out ? free hugs
Bike ? miles
Volunteer ? hours
Learn about ? different pieces of art
Invite 30 people to your birthday party
I love the volunteer idea!
learn 10 words in another language
make 11 more eco friendly choices
say hi to 18 strangers on the street
meditate for 20 minutes by the ocean with the sun on your face
volunteer 30 minutes of your time to a soup kitchen or homeless shelter
… enjoy!
Buy yourself 28 new things to put in your closet!
Post your top 10 fave savory foods you’ve made on this blog
Make 20 kitty treats from scratch
Cook dinner for 11 friends
18…make a lunch date with the girl/guy who was your best friend at 18.
10…have 10 people to dinner who have effected your life in a positive way the past 30 years.
30…give 30 balloons away to random strangers to help you celebrate your 30.
give the balloons to kids, they appreciate them so much more than us old fogeys ;-)
10. Volunteer at local animal shelter, give 10 dogs love, baths, walk, etc…
11. 11 Free hugs to those who look like they need it.
18. Use 18 new ingredients in your recipes.
21. Party and/or Re-live a day as if you were 21.
30. Share 30 shots of your favorite bourbon.
Please don’t stop saying “whateves”. I love it.
You should change 16 to “Light 16 candles” and make 24 cream puffs.
Enjoy the last of your frivolous 20s. ;-)
I feel your pain sister – I turn 30 in a few short weeks, eek! The only plan I have is to go to London for the weekend and sample something in virtually every vegan restaurant there and take a trip to Wholefoods. Call me sad but I’m pretty pumped about it:) How about a pretty ’30’ tattoo just to remind you when you’re 40 that you once thought that age was scary.
Happy 30. Find 30 30+ old people and say how young they are.
Buy whatever number of new shoes you want.
Buy 25 new kitchen gadgets.
Visit 15 restaurants for the first time (or whichever the number)
Oh, I don’t know. Go have fun Joy. That is more important.
As someone who is 30+ (but just barely), I definitely vote for having someone tell me how fabulously young I look. Great idea!! ;)
This is great. Eat 10 oz of mint chocolate chip ice cream while watching Ocean’s 11. Or 10 scoops, if it’s Hershey’s :)
Paint ten toe nails ten different colors; hard boil 18 eggs, dye them, and hand them out on Easter Sunday; plant nineteen lettuce seeds; play 21 rounds of 21 (black jack); and I agree with the post – “invite 30 friends to say goodbye to the 20s”! My 30s were my best decade – moved across the country to SF, ran marathons, met a great/amazing group of women, met and married my husband, and had 3 beautiful daughters. I hope yours are just as fun and full of “Joy”!!
I like inviting “30 friends to say goodbye to the 20s!”.
Read 10 different books
Do 11 cartwheels
Make 21 different ice cream flavours
Love this! I have a 30 before 30 list too but I have myself a couple of years to do it and most of them have 30 in them. (?? below means whatever number fits!)
– Print ?? of your favourite photos and send them to people.
– Write ?? thank you cards to people who have impacted your life so far
– Make a mix CD for 11 people with 11 tracks
– Or make a playlist with ?? tracks which tells your life so far
– Spend ?? hours volunteering – at a soup kitchen, or at a charity shop etc. or somewhere else you’ll be useful.
Enjoy! Look forward to hearing how it goes.
Make a list of our top ?? days in
I love all of these ideas!
And I’ll be 33 in August and still say “Whatevs”–I also say “totes,” but I teach ninth grade, so maybe that’s my excuse?!
Those sounds like wonderful ideas! How about for one of the unfilled numbers to do something like write 20 things I love about myself.
Come up with 10 new cupcake flavors?
Find 10 new ways to wear a scarf. Love scarves.
Taste 11 different kinds of tequila. Yes, there are different kinds. You can even make them into 11 margaritas.
I’m working on the rest!
Bake and deliver thirty cupcakes to your local fire department.
I’d be delighted to volunteer to be one of the blog readers you send a postcard to. Yeah, I’m helpful like that. :-D
Spend 20 minutes meditating each week, letting all these new things soak in!
This is exciting. You continue to inspire me, Joy!
Love,
Jessie
Draw 10 chalk drawings on the sidewalk or driveway.
Eat 25 pieces of high quality chocolate.
Make 28 pancakes and eat them with friends.
Contact 11 people you’ve fallen out of touch with recently just to say hi.
Ohhh I LOVE number 11! I think we could all do that.
I am totally going to leave lucky quarters around…what a happy thing to find!
Hiya!
So I JUST turned 29 and I a TOTALLY stealing this idea!
For starters, here is my blog IS you wanna use it as part of your quest :-)
http://www.idratherbessailing.tumblr.com
I don’t have any direct ideas,but I like the theme of helping others, meeting new people, and all around positiveness of this endeavor. I would say, for the higher numbers, don’t overwhelm yourself. This is supposed to be positive, not a chore. Maybe you can even use it to meditate on who you were as you progressed through your twenties and who you are now?
Like find 25 positive events that took place in your twenties?
Or get in contact, any which way, with 18 people who influenced your life the most up to this point?
I really love your blog and am SO happy I stumbled over it one day!
Good luck on your list and THANK you for the idea!
~ Becca
Hi Joy,
First time commenter, long time admirer. I really like that your list is about doing kind things for others, I guess that just comes naturally to you, but I think mine would be a lot more self-centred! Anyway, I’m 25 and you’ve got me inspired:
– Write 10 heartfelt thank you notes, to people who won’t be expecting them for thanks long overdue. A favourite teacher, the guy who makes your coffee every Saturday, etc…
– Volunteer for 11 worthy causes.
– Host a dinner for 18 of your friends/family who don’t know each other well?
Good Luck!
18…Come celebrate my birthday with me in Minneapolis its in June so it will be plenty warm…and it falls on a Saturday. Lots of fun.
how do you make coffee ice cream cream puffs?? sounds yummy!
When my mom turned 65, I gave her 65 DIFFERENT candy bars! So you could buy 20 different candy bars, eat them, and then do 21 laps!
Happy 30th!
That list is such a great idea!
10- Try 10 new foods that you’ve never had before
Take a 30 minute nap, cause after all that your gonna need it.
Joy, my daughter told me about your blog a few months ago…Blog, hmmmm didn’t know people did this!!! I am a 50 something mom and I love reading this. And this 30 before 30 idea, I wish I would have done 50 before 50…maybe 55 before 55. If I did this I would make sure I did something for our soldiers. I would send boxes, buy lunches or maybe even host a party for the brave men and women who serve our country. Or how about the children of deployed soldiers. How about something for them? After reading most of the ideas that people have given you, I think you have a lot of fun ones to pick from. I like the bike idea…biking miles, sounds like fun. Or the dancing to songs and not having a care in the world…Enjoy I am sure you will have a blast. Can not wait to see the finished list.
I like the idea of a working list! May I suggest that you spend 10 hours volunteering at an animal shelter? I know you’re busy, but you’d love yourself for doing i!
You absolutely can say “Whatevs” once you are over 30. I say it all the time. I also say “Soz” for sorry… But as you can probably already tell, I am fantastically cool :)
Have a great birthday. I celebrated mine with an afternoon tea in London. High Recommended.
I’ve been creepin’ on your blog for a while now but here is my first comment. I’m 25 and I stopped watching MTV in college, now I feel five years older :( what if you did something like try ten new flavors in recipes. you know something you wouldn’t normal think to add but you try it anyway? What if you give out 18 (or any other number. i’m reading this on my phone and can’t remember what they all were) to 18 strangers.
That’s all I’ve got. Happy early birthday!
Spend 10 days in Paris
Make 11 different macaroons
bake home-made pizzas with 18 different toppings/topping combinations, buy 19 different kinds of beer and invite 30 of your friends to a farewell-20s party.
Happy 30!
great ideas!!! love the 30 friends/farewell 20’s party!
30. Get a 30 minute massage
18. Eat 18 inches of licorice.
19. Pass out 19 individual fancy chocolates to friends, wrapped in cute packaging. (Cellophane and ribbons? Origami boxes?
Find an 18 year-old girl who needs a friend, and take her under your baking wing.Teach her, mentor her, give something that only you give to her – your time and talent :)
You should totally treat yourself to a gloriously lush and sweet bouquet of 30 darling flowers, for your “30” :D
Do it!!!
You could volunteer 10 hours at a local animal adoption center or library or soup kitchen or senior center!
I love the idea of this!! Travel somewhere. Are there any things that you’ve always wanted to do but never did? Do something that challenges you! I know when I do something that I never thought I could do, it fills me with the greatest satisfaction ever! Can’t wait to see what you do!
plant 30 trees – with 30 of your mates…… Enjoy – Joy – 30 is wonderful!!!
How about run/bike 10 or 11 miles? Hold a baking class with 30 people?? Go for it girl!
Butcher 10 chickens? Walk 30 miles? Dance for 11 minutes in public?
Here’s a fun activity: take all of the things around your house and hide ’em. Then take a nap. When you wake up, try to find ’em. Then when you find ’em, it’s like all your stuff is new. Now ya got new stuff, ya dummy.
For your health.
I love this idea so much. . . and will need to copy it since I turn 30 in 6 short months!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!
Love, love, love this idea!!! I turn 40 in November so you have given me a wonderful idea on embracing this age (not taking it too well so far)…so my idea for #10 is to help out 10 charities such as doing walks or runs and #30 bake 30 yummy treats and donate them to a Veterans Hospital or Nursing Home….we often forget about our Vet’s and elderly so this would bring a smile to their faces…again thank you for the idea, good luck, and Happy early Birthday!!!
joy! i love your blog, and i had to comment because this is almost the exact topic of my blog! except i did six one month projects starting six months before my big 3-0. Here’s a couple I can think of that would lend themselves easily to your list:
Donate 10 items of clothing you don’t wear anymore
Leave 18 cookies for the mailman
Pick up 27 pieces of litter
I also loved meditating for a month – maybe that could somehow be slipped in too. Thanks for your beautiful blog!
Please include me in your postcard thing, i would love to get one from you here in germany :)
As for your list:
Make 30 people believe that life is beautiful, i´m sure with your skills and a smile this is very easy.
I love your blog here on the other side of the world and enjoy it very much!!
I’m 33. Take it from me, you can totes still say whatevs in your 30s.
Your 30s are just like your 20s, only with more money and a better wardrobe. What’s not to love?
Hey, add “go to London and bake for your UK readers” to the list…
Nic
-Eat 10 different varieties of doughnuts
-Give away 20 helium filled balloons.
-Give away 21 new pairs of brightly colored socks to kids in the peds. ward.
-Make 22 phone calls to people you haven’t heard from lately.
-take your picture with 25 beautiful firemen??? (i’m not sure if this counts)
-Drive 23 miles in a random direction and take a picture of whatever you find!
El dia que cumplas 30.Di a la persona que amas….. que te de 30 besos.
Feliz cumpleaños!!!!! Estás en lo mejor de la vida.
Ana
Hi Joy, you’ve been told this a million times probably, but your blog is lovely lovely lovely!!!
I’m a frequent reader of yours but haven’t commented yet. The reason I’m doing it now is because I’ll turn 30 in 2 months, too! And I’ve never thought we are the same age, you look about 25 maximum :) If you don’t my request too weird, please let us (my friend and myself – we are both fans of your blog and your cat) send you a little birthday surprise from Britain. If you have a PO box address or something like that, let us know by email.
Take care,
Katalin
What a great idea! Hmmm… I really like Kieran’s ideas!
dude, you can totally say “Whatevs” after 30…and MTV only becomes a guilty pleasure that you curl up with at night with a bowl of ice cream. can you tell I’m still in denial about being in my [early] 30s? ;) i love your non-traditional 30×30 list though!
23 – take 23 little care packages of your wares (baked goods, that is) to some of the families at your local children’s hospital.
Hey Joy,
I’m turning thirty this year too.. I’ve been planning on Greece for my 30th since I was in my early 20s and a friend of mine made it happen for me.. So stoked!!
Anyway, about you and your list. I’m a big fan of jumping shots, shots of people taking pictures and reflection shots.. I’m thinking you pick one of those (jumping shots would be my pick) and do any number that’s left over of them. I hate to pick the number for you..
I’m even part of a jumping group on facebook. It’s ridiculously fun!
https://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=41912005241
turning thirty is something u will enjoy,thats what i did.just live it
Spend 30 minutes in a hot air balloon. Take X number of toys to a children’s hospital and hang out with the kids. Bake X number of treats for a homeless shelter. Host a baking class for X number of people. Hand out X number of balloons to people on the street. Get a massage for X number of minutes.
Thinking of gifts to give…blood donations. I can think of no greater gift :)
I am no coming up with anything clever, but do something for or with your Mummy and Daddy! They’re going to feel your thirty-ness!
Invite 10 people to come bake with you from all over the states? YES YES!
plant 25 tulips
Hi Joy!! What about catching up on lost sleep? Getting 9-straight hours of beauty rest. Omg sounds divine :)
Helping #dogs/cats find new homes?
You’re the best,
Courtney
Make 10 (or 18) phone calls or in-person visits with people you might otherwise email/text.
OMG, I turn 30 this year too! :)
That’s an ambitious list! Looks like a lot of fun too! Here’s my suggestion:
Visit order a cappucinno in 10 different cafes and pick your favourite one
Make 18 origami paper cranes to remember those who have lost their lives in Japan.
Happy almost birthday!
Blow out 21 candles on your birthday cake b/c let’s face it, time stops there. None of us are really a day over 21.
Rock your 30s, babe! A great decade. Just keep doing you thing. And yes, whatev’s is still a word for old ladies like us in their 30s :)
I love lists like these! (and i love your blog)
See 10 new places in the city you’re living in.
Make 18 people dance with you to the 20 worst hit songs of the decade you were born
Oh the bucket list. I hit sixty last year and you should see my bucket list. Age has never bothered me until I hit fifty, freaked on that one and now its just a number. So when a birthday comes you must have a great sense of humor along with good genes. I think I have both thank god. By the way eat lots of chocolate on any birthday with friends. Paulette
30 push up’s the next 30 years, that’ll make you happy as you turn 60.
Hi Joy!
I turn 30 in 5 days! And I have unfortunately not such a great list like you :-(
But if I had one, I would try 10 different recipes with peanut butter and chocolate, decorate my apartment with 20 nice plants and make 30 loved friends happy.
eat 10 different flavoured lollies
kiss/hug 11 random kids
watch 25 of the saddest movies
feed any stray kittens 30 times
I must make me one of these list.. o_0
(i just turned 20 not long ago, by the way..)
Learn to make 10 different origamis and give them away! It’s not THAT easy as it looks.
Happy Birthday! What a wonderful list. So many things on there are so giving and thoughtful. I would love to be one of the 15 blogs you comment on!
Try 20 different types of cheese.
Cheese is the new chocolate, well, thats my reasoning!
Good Luck Joy :)
x
I did it, too: https://kompromisslostoll.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/ich-tus-30-before-30/
Will sneak in now and then and look what you and your list are doing… :-)
Great ideas Joy and I love the ones for you from pluvk.
But one from myself:
Buy 10 little things for yourself, don’t think just buy.
I wish I’d thought to do this for my 25th a couple of months ago! (25 was a big deal for me simply because it’s a quarter of a century!!) Good luck for achieving your 30 before 30 :)
Some more suggestions to add to the growing pile:
Try on 18 new shades of lipstick.
Host a pancake party for your friends and give them a stack of 10 (small!) pancakes each.
Skip for 11 minutes through your local streets instead of walking.
Buy 28 products (toys, litter trays, collars etc) and donate them to an animal shelter.
Paint each finger and toenail a different colour (20 colours at once!).
Smile at 19 different people in a day.
Donate a $25 loan to Kiva or a charity of your choice.
Place 23 smiley stickers in unusual places for your workmates/friends to find.
Sing out loud along to a total of 21 songs.
Write yourself a list of 24 things you like about you, to look at on days when everything is blah.
Invite 10 friends – old and new – for brunch.
Hi Joy!!!
I LOVE your blog and my affection for baked goods and cooking like a pro :) Any who, my entire blog is about my quest to 30!!! I have 9 months left and I am grateful because my blog is all about me, what I do how I feel and what I want. We (as women) spend so much of our lives giving to others but as a youthful, smart, independent woman, I have chosen to give to myself to make my gifts greater in the long run. Please make more of your gifts about you and for you…. You deserve it :) I “think” you are a fan of baking and giving but what do you selfishly love? And go hog wild you are only 29 once!
Skydive from 30(00) feet!
for 18, how about get to know 18 people under 18….. one for each year. Find a 1 year old, 2 year old, 3 year old….you get the picture and get involved in their lives. I’ve noticed you go to church, so I’m sure you could find some little people at church to get to know.
Nothing keeps you young like hanging out with kids. You can get away with saying “whatevs” and any other catchy slang you want to and the kids will appreciate you for it.
FUN!! I turn 30 in in June… this is a great idea!
-Try 10 restaurants you’ve always wanted to, but never have before.
-Watch 11 movies that are listed as movies you must watch before you die.
-Make/Buy 18 cookies and give them to less fortunate children (or as gifts) for Easter.
-Donate $1.00 each to 20 small charities.
-Learn to say “I Love You” in 29 different languages. Or you can say “Joy the Baker”… Here it is in Hawaiian: ?O Joy ke kanaka puhi palaoa. (Aloha wau i? ?oe is I love you.)
-Take 30 photographs (1 per day) of the last 30 days of your twenties.
Just some ideas. Good luck!
Joy, I’ve been reading your jewel of a blog for quite some time now. this is a great idea! I’m thinking about something similar for my own blog, too…. as I’ll have my 30th birthday in August!
What about taking 10 dogs of the home for animals for a walk? Or spending 11 hours for some interesting voluntary work?
I’ll let you know my ideas… Let’s accompany each other with this!!! While I’m writing this I notice I should begin to write an english short version of my german blog posts…
For 21, I think you should help a 21-year-old celebrate his or her 21st birthday (and get that person a drink that’s 10.5% alcohol – that’s 21 proof :)! My little brother just turned 21 and some random, awesome guy bought him and his friends a round of shots, which totally made their night. Plus, 21 is really the most significant birthday you have until you turn 30, so that’s a nice bookend, right? I like it.
Wonderful suggestions so far! I love this!
fun idea!
perform 10 random acts of kindness https://thekarmaseed.org
talk to 11 people that you’ve fallen out of touch with
read 18 great books
go stargazing and name 19 stars (with stories)
Go to 20 new places in LA
Eat 21 new foods
Do 22 things that scare you (kinda alot, but…)
Send 23 messages in bottles/balloons
Spend 25 minutes talking to someone you see often, but don’t know (like bus driver, barista, mailman etc)
Give out 28 compliments, and mean ’em.
Bike 29 miles that you’ve never biked before.
Throw a sick party (or kegger or you so desire to get that keg stand in) for you and your 30 closest friends
Hi Joy,
There is nothing you cannot do and say according to your age…I am 39 and still say cool bananas, cool beans, whatever and sweet! My hubby says I have a cheeky grin that makes me look like a 15 year old…so laugh, be happy and be the age you feel inside!
As for the 30…how about 30 care packs of cookies to soldiers in the big old sandbox?? My hubby is in the forces and I try to break a record of how many boxes a wife can send…so far I am at about 130 boxes or so :)
You can also send 29 Thank You postcards to soldiers?
If you need addresses, let me know, I can supply you with some.
Dx
If you have a garden, you could plant ## of something (to be harvested and enjoyed when you’re 30!). Or how about making treats for a firehouse (# whatever)? Good luck with your quest!
Drink 30 shots of tequila. Last time JS.
I turned 30 two weeks ago and started making a list last year, but only got to 7… and I feel ashamed as yours are so altruistic rather than self centred! One of my 30 by 30 is to read 30 books in the year I am 30… and a list of wonderful things I dreamt about eating all my life.
Also, how about learn something new this year? Dance? I started muay thai classes.
Would love to see your list, I hope I get to complete my as I go along!
I’m turning 30 in July. Now you’re putting a lot of preassure on me, I hadn’t thought of doing anything special!!! Well, except for buying myself a KA with an extra bowl, the pasta accessory and the ice-cream bowl. And a Le Creuset purple skillet. And, and, and… I know these things are big and expensive but… why don’t you give to yourself 30 nice little presents? Or 25. Or maybe 15. But I still think 30 would rock. You deserve it! Start buying them from now, some little things you see here and there, wrap them all nicely, put them in a bag and open them all on your birthday. I may actually do that for myself :)
Try 18 types of bourbon!
Pray for 19 people!
Make 20 encouraging post-it notes and leave them in unexpected public places!
Joy, you do know that you skipped 10 and 11 ? :)
hahaha! oops.
Free hugs, random acts of kindness? pretend you’re a tourist in your own city for X hours. defuse X number of arguments. Forgive yourself for X things that you’ve done in the past that you’re not proud of. Write X poems (including a limerick!). Turn off your TV and your computer for X hours. Volunteer for X hours. Throw X seed bombs (website here: https://popupcity.net/2010/07/the-seed-bomb-vending-machine/). Make X people smile directly at me in one day.
This is fun! do you still need more?
28 postcards to 28 people that you wish you were closer with. Perfect because postcard stamps are 28 cents each!
Good luck, Joy. You’re my favorite!
if you can relate to jersey shore at any point in your life, you got probs. ;)
Hug 28 strangers! :)
that could be a little creepy both for you and the stranger….
Cool take on the 30 before 30 Joy!
What about something to do with reading. Maybe not whole books necessarily (but you could!), but something like news articles or poems?
Maybe in the spirit of Camels & Chocolate’s suggestion to go places you could keep it local and go to places you haven’t been before such as local attractions, restaurants, shops, whatever!
Joy, I love your list! I think it’s really awesome you are going to set some awesome goals before your birthday. I think anyone could do this same thing too! I may just join you and make a list too! I love the quarters that is so cute! For number 18 you could maybe make 18 little handmade things like these cute little paper clips! https://www.thesweetestoccasion.com/2011/03/diy-paperclips/ :)
Dance to 21 music tracks which are guilty pleasure songs!
Hi! I recently found your blog, and love everything about it (writing, photos, style). It’s too bad that 12 and 24 are already taken or I would have suggested buying someone a dozen or two dozen roses. How about you pick a number and buy someone a bouquet of that many flowers?
How about you buy YOU a dozen or two roses or whatever flowers you love?
Try 18 new recipes!
Ride 30 miles – of COURSE! GEEZ! And then tell me all about it. Biking. Bikes. BIKE. Just do it. Go ride your bike and 30 will be a tailwind. May you always have a tail wind.
Ooh this is a hard one. I was going to say “Visit 18 new cities/states/countries,” but you hardly have enough time for that!
How about “Try 18 new ice cream flavors?” That also might be tough (though doable!).