I was recently asked if I’d done anything on my bucket list. I remembered making a “things to do while I’m single” list a couple years ago, and smiled upon recalling that several were completed!
One of the things on my (very attainable) bucket-list of things to do while I’m single was to become a “regular” somewhere (before I have a husband to account to for my spending habits!). One day last summer, I stopped at Starbucks before work and there was a new guy training on the register. The girl who was training him, greeted me by name and introduced me to the new guy by saying, “Now Amanda here is one of our regulars! She usually gets a triple espresso on ice.” Checking that one off the bucket list!
Some things in life are done simply because they must be – laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, showering, sleeping, driving to work, eating meals, etc. These are things to be done, regardless of your current status. I hope this article encourages you to find some extracurricular things to do to add fun to your life and give you some pre-marriage goals to shoot for!
[Disclaimer: These suggestions aren’t only for single girls, but I would venture to guess that single ladies have more flexibility to accomplish these things than married ladies have.]
1. Become a “regular” somewhere with a “usual” (Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Bath and Body Works, local café, bank, etc)
2. Learn to change your car’s oil, even just for bragging rights.
3. Kill a spider. You can do it! Bonus points if you can do it without screaming.
4. Pick a nearby destination and take yourself (and a girlfriend?) on a weekend day trip, and go somewhere really nice for lunch (tip: lunch menus are usually cheaper!)
5. Buy that thing that you’ve wanted forever. For me, it was a kayak. For you, it could be a fancy dress or silky pajamas or a gorgeous wall hanging. Just buy it and love it now!
6. Treat a friend or sister to a mani or pedi (or both!)
7. Get your passport and go somewhere. I suggest somewhere warm and picturesque!
8. Read through the entire Bible. Use a set of colored pens to mark promises, commands, encouragement, and favorite verses that jump out to you.
9. Practice making your favorite dish, then make fun variations of it. Mexican lasagna, pizza grilled cheese, purple velvet cake…then please share with me!
10. Go for a long walk in the moonlight (in a safe part of town, of course, since your knight in shining armor is still MIA).
11. Learn to sew a straight line. That’s all that’s required for hemming pants, I promise. It’s a great selling point, or so I’ve been told.
There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.Ecclesiastes 2:24
12. Rearrange, repaint, or redecorate your bedroom. Create a “me corner” full of pictures of your favorite people, stacks of favorite books, a comfy chair, several fragrant candles, all of your loveliest mugs, and a stash of fancy chocolates.
13. Refinish a piece of furniture – paint, stain, varnish, decoupage some scrapbooking paper on there, be creative!
14. Learn a usable skill – study a language, take a self-defense class, attend a cooking class, make candles, practice calligraphy, etc.
15. Type Proverbs 31 into a blank document, and then replace the words “husband” or “children” with “friends,” “sisters,” “family,” “coworkers,” etc. Then reread it and realize that you don’t have to be married to be a virtuous woman.
16. Get life insurance. It’s just the responsible thing to do. You won’t have time to think about that when you’re married with kids hanging off your ear lobes, but that’s when you’d potentially need it most, so just get it now. It’ll be cheaper anyway.
17. Start a budget, and keep track of where your money goes. Make adjustments in the areas needed.
18. Get a library card.
19. Read books. Not novels, oh please no. Just read solid books to give you tons of information to chew on. Read books about friendship, or love styles, or money advice, or a biography. Read something that makes you realize, “Wow, I’ve got a lot of areas to grow in.”
20. Grow in those areas.
21. Have a social media fast for a day, a week, a month. Instead focus your time on those around you and be real-life social!
22. Send somebody flowers (even yourself!)
The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.Proverbs 13:4
23. Surprise your friends (far and near) with a handwritten card in the mail! Enclose a tea bag or seed packet!
24. Experiment with your diet. See if you can go a week without sugar. Try being completely meatless on Mondays. Swap your weekend sodas or iced teas for water. Don’t have seconds at every meal. It’s easier to make a dietary change when you’re just worried about food for one.
25. Buy a pocket-sized activity book (sudoku, word-search, crossword, coloring book) and complete every page without looking at the answers.
26. Try your hand at painting. In case of utter failure, have a bonfire.
27. Do that Pinterest project. You know the one that would take a whole weekend and you’d probably mess it up on the first try, but you really want the finished product? Yeah, do that one!
28. Try something that you’re always considered “weird” or our of your comfort zone.
29. Plan and host a party – pajama party, surprise party, dinner party (bonus points if you do all the cooking!)
30. Do something craaaazy fun. Skydiving might not be for you, but skeet shooting may be up your alley (just don’t shoot the skydivers). See a Broadway show in NYC! Go to an upscale store and try on an expensive dress that you can’t afford! Order dessert first at a restaurant!
31. Check out all the local parks in your area. You may find a great walking/running trail or a cozy gazebo to read in.
32. Rally some friends to run (or walk) a 5K with you.
33. Take yourself out to coffee at a cafe you’ve never been to before. Ask what their specialty drink is, and try one of their fanciest baked goods.
What else is on your bucket list? Ask a married friend if there’s anything they wish they could’ve done before they got married.
The goodness of God led Amanda to repentance when she was a 12-year-old girl, and despite a heart prone to wander, He daily draws her to Himself. She continues to attend Lehigh Valley Baptist Church where she was raised, and enjoys sharing digital art and snippets of what God is teaching her on her Instagram account (@amandaangrrr). When Amanda isn’t working her day-job of managing an insurance agency, she is likely to be found trying a new local restaurant, sipping a coffee delicacy, learning something from a podcast or audio book, or finding an excuse to show off pictures of her nieces & nephews.
Comments 3
What fun ideas! Serves as a great reminder to live fully, today, wherever we may be, and that being alive is a gift we should make the very most out of!
Thank you. my friend and I find ourselves divorced and single again. God moved us to a new church and as we talked about being lost and not knowing what to do…it hit me a bucket list but for two single Christian friends. Thanks for sharing and helping us out. Bless you!
Finding this resource in 2021 as a single woman is such a blessing. Thank you for sharing 🙂