30 Before 30
Last weekend I turned 29, which means I’ve entered the final year of my twenties which quite frankly is a relief. The beginning of my twenties was full of anxiety and worry and even though I know that I’ll never say goodbye to those feelings entirely the fact I feel a lot more settled in who I am as a human is not something I take for granted at all. 30 feels like a huge milestone to reach as well after so many uncertainties in my younger years I know getting to that point will feel way more exciting than turning eighteen or twenty-one. And here are 30 things that I’d really like to achieve before I turn 30.
Get my eyebrows shaped professionally. I’ve been growing them out for years and I think it’s finally time to admit that they’ve returned to their full bushy state after years of over-plucking them.
Run a 5k, I’m currently using the Couch to 5k app and so far so good. I will say that I do repeat weeks until I feel a touch more at ease with them as I have quite a weak left knee which I don’t want to damage any further.
Do an unassisted pull-up, noodle arms no more!
Start to cook more at home, I’m not the chef in our house and even though we don’t eat anything really complex I would like to start cooking more. Something I have got into recently is baking for the dogs which is something that not only I enjoy but obviously, Josie and Edie love it.
Pick up the knitting needles more. A hobby that I absolutely adore is knitting but my skills are somewhat limited so I’d love to learn more and start knitting for the charity Galgo auction as that’s such an important cause to me.
Keep on top of clutter. I feel like I’m ever so slightly obsessed with decluttering at the moment but it’s making the house feel (and look) so much better.
Continue to live as sustainably as I can. It’s a hot topic at the moment and rightly so, we only have one planet and we really need to look after it. I know there are more steps I can take on top of what I can already do to make a difference.
Eat more plants, I have to admit that my diet is a little too beige at the moment due to needing to eat a low fibre diet but I’m sure I can get some more greens in there somehow.
Continue with my house plant collection. I get a serious amount of joy from tending to my house plants so it’s something I want to make sure I continue. I’ve had to let go of a couple recently but otherwise, they’re all looking healthy and growing plenty of new leaves which makes me very happy.
Re-read Harry Potter. It’s been a long time since I’ve dug out my favourite book series of all time and without fail it makes me so happy and fall back in love with books all over again.
Stop ripping the skin off my fingers, it’s such a bad anxious habit that I really need to kick once and for all.
Drive more on the motorway. If you’ve read this blog before then you will know that I’m a pretty anxious driver and the one thing that still gets to me is the motorway and even though I have driven on it it’s something I need to do a lot more to boost my confidence.
Get into a better routine with work. Something I’ve been struggling a lot with recently is working on things last minute and my routine is all over the place so I’d really like to get in back on track if I can as I thrive in a good routine.
Save more, something I’m always trying to do but we’re going to be looking to buy a new house in the next few years (I hope) so I’d like to save as much as I can to help us do that.
Keep on with my own version of the capsule wardrobe. I don’t stick to the traditional capsule wardrobe rules but I certainly own and purchase a lot less than I ever have before which is a wonderful feeling and something I want to make sure I do more.
Do a lot more photography related work. I finally launched my photography services this year and it’s something that I really want to push as it’s something I’m incredibly passionate about.
Give books to charity. I’m a little bit of a book hoarder, which isn’t something that I’m proud of but I cling onto books and there are some that I’ll always want to keep hold of but there is a lot that could go to charity for someone else to enjoy.
Support more small businesses. As much as I financially can I’ll always shop small when I can but it’s not always easy but it’s something I strive to do more and more.
Foster a sighthound. I already own two sighthounds and they’re the most wonderful creatures and there are sadly so many of them in rescue centres and realistically we can’t have another dog permanently yet but I’d love to be able to give a hound a comfy home for a little while.
Redecorate the house. Even though the home that I share with my boyfriend and the hounds isn’t our forever home it could do with being decorated as it’s been a while since some of the rooms were touched and it's starting to show.
Get better at DIY, this somewhat ties into redecorating but I’d really like to improve my DIY skills this year as I’m ashamed to say I can’t even put up a shelf by myself. Although, I am pretty good at putting together IKEA furniture together so there's that.
Photograph more for fun. I’ve been incredibly fortunate that photography has become a huge part of how I make my money but I don’t photograph for myself or just because I enjoy it much these days anymore.
Figure out what to do with my magazine stash. I’ve got a rather large collection of magazines that I’m not sure what to do with, because I never find myself flicking through them apart from a select few and as you can imagine they take up quite a lot of space.
Wear makeup more, I’ve become quite lazy with my beauty routine which is not something that I like at all because I adore makeup but I’ve just got out of the habit of applying it.
Visit Cornwall, I’ve not properly been back to Cornwall since I went 10 years ago with my mum and the last time we were there my mum was dying so it’s fair to say it was an emotionally distressing holiday. I really want to take my boyfriend for his first ever visit as well as take Josie & Edie for a zoom on Perranporth beach.
And Scotland, I’ve not been that far up North in such a long time and I’m desperate to go back and visit The Highlands. Now we know the dogs are ok with travelling and staying somewhere new it makes the prospect of going away much easier.
Prioritise sleep, considering how much I love to sleep I don’t get anywhere near as much I should and it’s something I need to prioritise once again so I don’t find myself needing an afternoon nap which then only leads me to working late and the cycle never gets broken.
Use up what I’ve got, this comes to beauty products and stationery. The two things that I own an abundance of and need to get through before I even think of buying anything else as like I said I’m really trying to keep on top of clutter and no-one needs 17 face masks.
Be kind to my hair, after going blonde last year (kind of) it has left my hair feels a tiny bit dry and frazzled so minimal colouring and heat styling are in order.
Make my mental health a priority. Admitting you’re struggling with your mental health is never easy, and I have to admit that I’ve really battled with mine over the past few years with various things and it’s taken a serious toll on me. When you’re dealing with these struggles on a daily basis you can easily get lost in it and forget what it’s like to have a day where you’re not so anxious you don’t want to leave the house or having such bad phantom thoughts you’re paralysed with fear. When things are good I forget that I really need to prioritise my mind to keep things ticking over but it’s something I need to do so I don’t have as many big crashes mentally.
