Bucket List

Bucket lists are a great way to set goals and daydream about grand plans, but it's easy to feel overwhelmed by everything you hope to see and accomplish in your lifetime. To make your bucket list more manageable, divide it into parts and give it a yearly spin: "13 Things to Do in 2013." Choose one item to tackle each month and be realistic with your picks, setting aside the loftier ideas for a separate "someday" list.

Committing to just one item a month is reasonable enough, and when one fresh experience leaves you reenergized, you'll feel inspired to continue with the rest of your list. Not sure where to start? Here are 10 fun and doable bucket list ideas:

• Go to a museum in your city that you've never visited.
• Volunteer for a cause that means something to you.
• Visit a restaurant or attempt an intimidating recipe you'd usually avoid.
• Go all out and host the dinner party or birthday bash you've always imagined.
• Run a challenging race that requires regular training.
• Save $100 a week for four weeks and put the money toward a dream vacation.
• Do the thing you're always talking about but have been too scared to try.
• Take a beauty or fashion risk.
• Sign up for a class — fitness, language, etc. — that interests you.
• Spend a month focusing on your space and decorate in a way that inspires you.

What's on your bucket list? Share your ideas in the comments below!

Every season my kids and I create a "bucket list" of activities we want to do before the weather changes. Right now, given that it's Winter, that list includes everything from building a family of snowmen to learning how to play hockey (never mind that my son doesn't know how to ice-skate yet!). While some moms I know have their own "40 before 40 lists" of the 40 things they want to do before hitting the big 4-0, I never thought about actually creating age-specific lists for my kids.

Across the pond, Cow and Gate, a British baby-food maker, surveyed 1,000 parents to see what they wanted their kids to do before they turned 3. Among the top 10 items were "making a mud pie" and "climbing a big hill." Nowhere on the list were the ultracompetitive milestones often overheard on the playground here in the states. Rather, the parents named timeless experiences we could all desire for our kids.

Keep reading to see the entire list and, tell me, what's on your toddler bucket list?

Check out this new community group My Bucket List started by one of the SavvySugar Community members. Reader shellbenno shares what's on her bucket list, which is to travel the world. Read on to hear what she has to say:

Well I will share with you, I have been married for 19 years and have three children. I have always said to my husband that if I have not traveled overseas by the time I was 40, that I will be. It was a goal I had visioned. That goal became true as I really believed in it. I have many more goals and things for my bucket list that I am ticking off. I have been to Vietnam and Singapore. It has truly changed my whole aspects of life. You need to follow your passion and not let anything get in the road of that. We only have one chance of living this life.

Join the My Bucket List community group and share what's on your life to-do list!

You know the lede here, dear reader: Having a child inevitably changes your life forever. It's a deep, affirming, complicated and challenging adventure. Most of us say we want to buy a house, get in better shape and become better people before we become parents, but personal development and achieving smaller goals just for you is also a significant quest.

Before you start planning for a pregnancy, testing strollers, and contemplating just how much your world will change, make a pre-parenting bucket list. It may take months and it may take years, but you'll never regret getting the regrets out of your system and you can start it whenever you want.

Here's a starter guide of things you should do pre-baby so you never miss the days of being a single lady. If you've already added to your brood, share what you intentionally crossed off your list before reading baby naming guides.

Crazy:

1. Run risk-taking behavior out of your system.
2. Be the life of the party.
3. Zipline. Jump out of a plane. Get your motorcycle license.
4. Splurge on a big-ticket item you probably couldn't justify when you have diapers and a college fund to think about.
5. Challenge yourself to an athletic extreme: Run a marathon. Become a black belt. Take adult ballet.

Keep reading for the list of sexy and cool suggestions.