The Ultimate List of Lists to Make: Ideas for People Who Like Making Lists

Inspiration for creating your next list.
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Table of Contents:
- Introduction: Writing lists
- Why do people like to make lists? A list.
- The Ultimate List of Lists to Make
Scroll down to see list ideas for each list category- Bucket Lists
- Cleaning Lists
- Errands & To-Do Lists
- Experiences Lists
- Family Lists
- Fashion Lists
- Finances Lists
- Food & Drink Lists
- Gift Ideas Lists
- Goals Lists
- Hobbies Lists
- Holiday Lists
- Home Projects Lists
- Makeup, Skincare, & Beauty Lists
- Movie Lists
- Music Lists
- Organization Lists
- Pet Lists
- Photo Lists
- Podcast Lists
- Random Fun Lists
- Reading Lists
- Relationship Lists
- School, Education, Learning Lists
- Self-Care Lists
- Sports Lists
- Theater Lists
- Travel Lists
- TV Show Lists
- Save This List of List Ideas for Later

Do you love making lists? I do! There are so many benefits to making lists: I like that they keep me organized, help free up brain space, help me remember things, keep track of things I like, help keep stress under control, give me opportunities to plan and brainstorm for the future, and so much more. Writing them feels satisfying. You probably have your own reasons why you like making lists, too. List-making people just get it!
Writing lists can also be a fun and meaningful way to document the things that matter to you, like in a journal. You can record books you’ve read, shows you’ve watched, music you’ve enjoyed, or places you’ve explored. Looking back at these lists can bring a sense of accomplishment and spark memories.
I thought it would be fun to make a big list of lists for people who like making lists. Some of these ideas are taken from lists I’ve made for myself, some are lists I would like to make in the future, and some I thought other people might find useful or fun to write.
Use this list of lists to find new lists to make. Enjoy!
Why do people like to make lists? A list.

- Lists help to keep track of and remember things
- Making lists can be fun
- Lists can organize your thoughts
- Lists can help you stay focused on your goals
- Using lists to break down tasks can make it easier to accomplish them
- Lists can motivate you do to things you want to do
- Making a list can entertain you when you’re bored
- Keeping track of your accomplishments can boost your self-esteem
The Ultimate List of Lists to Make
Inspiration for different types of lists you can make, whether on a piece of paper, on a notepad, or in your journal. Browse these ideas and have fun making some new lists!

Bucket Lists
- Lifetime bucket list experiences
- Yearly winter bucket list activities
- Yearly spring bucket list activities
- Yearly summer bucket list activities
- Yearly fall bucket list activities
- Travel bucket list locations
- 30 under 30, 40 under 40, 50 under 50 bucket lists
Cleaning Lists
- Daily / weekly / monthly chores
- Detailed room-by-room cleaning list
- Rooms or areas in your home that need to be decluttered — such as your kitchen
- Seasonal cleaning list
- Outdoor spaces cleaning list
- Cleaning tasks assigned to each person
- Things that need to be deep cleaned
Errands & To-Do Lists
- Errands you need to run
- Weekly / monthly errands
- Things that need to be mailed
- Daily to-do list
- Weekly to-do list
- Weekend to-do list
- Monthly to-do list
- Yearly to-do list
- Upcoming deadlines
- Doctor / dentist appointments needed
- People you want to reach out to
- Things you want to do that you keep putting off
Experiences Lists
- Experiences you want to have
- Favorite past experiences
- Events you want to attend
- Museums you want to go to
- Things you want to do with friends
- Tours you want to take
- Cooking classes you want to take
Family Lists
- Weekly family schedule
- Fun local activities you want to do as a family
- Baby names you like
- Favorite childhood memories
- Your favorite memories of a certain relative
- Things you want to teach your kids
- Family traditions
- Words that describe your family
- Chore charts for kids
- List of possible babysitters
Fashion Lists
- Inventory of your clothes
- Inventory of your jewelry
- Inventory of your accessories
- Inventory of your shoes
- Inventory of purses / bags
- Clothes you want
- Jewelry you want
- Accessories you want
- Shoes you want
- Purses / bags you want
- Your favorite outfits
- What you want in your seasonal capsule wardrobe
- Clothing / shoes you want to sell
- Styles of clothing that you never want to wear
- Favorite stores to shop at
Finances Lists
- Budgeting
- Recurring monthly / yearly expenses
- Upcoming one-time expenses
- Bills to pay
- Things you’re saving for
- Savings goals (dollar amount) & progress
- Debt repayment plan & progress
- Your retirement plan
- Ways to save money
- Things you’re glad you spent money on
- Things you regret spending money on
- Side hustle ideas for extra money

Food & Drink Lists
- Weekly grocery list
- Breakfast recipes you want to make
- Lunches you want to make
- Dinners you want to make
- Desserts you want to make
- Your favorite go-to recipes
- Meal prep planning
- Healthy snack ideas
- Lunches to bring to work
- Restaurants you want to go to
- Restaurants you’ve been to
- Bars you want to go to
- Bars you’ve been to
- Foods you want to try
- Your all-time favorite foods
- Inventory of refrigerator & freezer
- Inventory of pantry
- Food / ingredients you need to use up soon
- All of the different ways you could use a specific ingredient
- Daily water intake tracker
- Favorite kinds of coffee / tea
- All of the beer you’ve tried
- Favorite beers
- All of the wine you’ve tried
- Favorite wines
- Cocktails / mocktails you know how to make
- Cocktails / mocktails you want to learn how to make
Gift Ideas Lists
- Gifts you need to buy for others
- Wish list (gifts you want)
- Family and friends’ birthdays
- Birthday gift ideas for others
- Holiday gift ideas for others
- Stocking stuffer ideas
- Secret Santa gift ideas
- White Elephant gift ideas
- Special occasion gift ideas
Goals Lists
- Short-term goals / what you hope to accomplish this year
- Long-term goals / what you hope to accomplish in 5–10 years
- Your fitness and exercise goals
- Daily habits you want to implement
- Career goals
- Things you want to learn
- New Year’s resolutions
- 101 Things in 1001 Days Project
- Positive qualities you want to have
Hobbies Lists
- Hobbies you enjoy
- Hobbies you want to try
- Craft projects you want to do
- Things you want to do or make for a specific hobby
- Things you collect
- Things you want to collect, or would collect if you had endless funds
- Inventory of your collectibles
- Birdwatching — list all of the birds you’ve seen
Holiday Lists
- Holiday crafts to make: Valentine’s Day / Easter / Halloween / Thanksgiving / Christmas / etc.
- Favorite Christmas activities
- Your Christmas traditions
- Christmas movies to watch
- Christmas TV show episodes to watch
- Christmas card names and addresses
- Christmas food menu
- Playlist of favorite Christmas songs
- Party guests to invite
- Nonprofit and/or charity donations
- Halloween activities to do
- Halloween movies to watch
- Halloween TV show episodes to watch
- Halloween costume ideas
- Halloween recipes
- Thanksgiving food menu
- Other holiday menus: Valentine’s Day / Easter / Independence Day / etc.
- Other holiday activities: Valentine’s Day / Easter / Independence Day / etc.
- Other holiday traditions: Valentine’s Day / Easter / Independence Day / etc.
- Birthday traditions
- Birthday party ideas
For holiday gift ideas, see separate list above named “Gift Ideas Lists”
Home Projects Lists
- House projects you want to do
- Log of home maintenance
- Necessary home repairs
- Paint colors you like
- Furniture and decor you want to purchase
- Items you want to sell
- Inventory of belongings (useful for insurance)
- Flowers / plants you want to plant in your garden / yard
Makeup, Skincare, & Beauty Lists
- Favorite makeup products
- Makeup you want to try
- Inventory of makeup you have
- Favorite perfume / cologne scents
- Perfume / cologne you want to try
- Inventory of perfume / cologne you have
- Favorite skincare products
- Skincare products you want to try
- Inventory of skincare products you have
- Favorite nail polish colors
- Nail polish colors you want to try
- Inventory of nail polish
- Hair styles you want to try
- Favorite ways to style your hair
Movie Lists
- Movies to watch
- Movies you’ve already watched
- Your favorite movies of all time
- Movies you started but didn’t finish
- Your favorite movie genres
- At-home movie night ideas you want to try
- Favorite holiday movies
- Movies you want to see again
- Movies you don’t want to see again
Music Lists
- Your favorite bands / musicians / music artists
- Your favorite songs
- Every concert you’ve been to
- Bands you wish you could see live
- Your favorite music genres
- Instruments you know how to play
- Instruments you want to learn how to play
- Make a party playlist
- Make a workout playlist
- The soundtrack if a movie was made about your life
- Inventory of the albums / records you own
- Albums / records you want to own
Organization Lists
- Rooms or spaces you want to organize
- Papers you need to organize and what categories to organize them into
- Passwords
- Digital decluttering for your phone
- Digital decluttering for your computer
- Important contacts / emergency contacts
- Your morning routine
- Your evening routine
- Step-by-step process for a task you do repeatedly
Pet Lists
- Pet names you like — get ideas here: 100 Fun Beach Dog Names for Your Seaside Pup (or Cat)
- Your pet’s likes / dislikes / favorite toys
- Tricks you want to teach your pet
- Feeding / care schedule
- Medications
- Vet appointment check-up dates
- List of emergency contacts (regular vet, emergency vet, animal poison control hotline, etc.)
Photo Lists
- Photo books or albums you want to make
- Photos you need to print
- Photos you want to take
- Digital photo files that need organizing
- Photo files that need to be backed up
- Wedding photo shoot list
- Event photo shoot list
- Photos you want to frame
Podcast Lists
- Podcasts you want to listen to
- Podcasts you’ve listened to
- Podcasts you want to recommend to other people
- Ideas for podcasts you want to make
Random Fun Lists
- A list of the lists you want to make
- Things you’ve found
- Things you’ve lost
- Superpowers you want
- Things you’d wish for if you had unlimited magic wishes
- Celebrities you’ve seen or met
- Your favorite celebrities
- Your favorite influencers
- Things you’re afraid of
- Your favorite names
- A to Z: pick any topic and try to write a word associated with it from A to Z (e.g. musicians, animals)
- Nice things you can do for others
- Rank colors in order from your favorite to least favorite
- Rank the months of the year in order from your favorite to least favorite
- Your favorite scents and smells
- Ideas for new inventions
- Favorite quotes
- A list of your friends and what you like about each of them
- The most useful things you own
- Your favorite topics to talk about
- Everything you have in your purse / backpack / bag
- Every place you’ve lived
Reading Lists
- Books to read
- Seasonal books & holiday books to read, (e.g. Fall Reading List: 10 Fall Books to Get Cozy With, and Cozy Coastal Christmas Books to Add to Your Holiday Reading List)
- Books you’ve already read
- Books you started but didn’t finish
- Your favorite books of all time
- Your favorite authors
- Your favorite genres
- Inventory of books you own
- Books you want to buy
- Books you own and want to give away
- Books you want to recommend to other people
- Books you want to reread
Relationship Lists
- Qualities you want in a partner
- Favorite things about your current partner
- Things you want to do together
- Date ideas for winter
- Date ideas for spring
- Date ideas for summer
- Date ideas for fall
- Favorite quotes about relationships
- Anniversary celebration ideas
- Everyone you’ve ever had a crush on
- Important dates in your relationship (met, first date, moved in together, engaged, etc.)
School, Education, Learning Lists
- Skills you want to learn
- Awards & achievements
- Courses you want to take
- Courses you’ve already taken
- Upcoming assignments list
- Your grades / GPA each year
- Your favorite and/or least favorite subjects
- Every teacher you’ve ever had
- Every school you’ve attended
- Colleges or universities you want to apply to
- Majors you’re considering
Self-Care Lists
- Things you are grateful for right now
- Activities that help you feel calm or relaxed
- Songs that make you happy
- Comfort movies
- Sleep tracker
- Mood tracker
- Changes you can make to reduce stress in your life
- Self-help books / videos
- Your favorite inspiring quotes
- Everything you love about yourself
- Accomplishments you’re most proud of
- Journal prompts you want to write to
- Things that make you happy
- People you can talk to when you need support
- Nice things people have said about you
- Favorite bible verses
- Things that make you laugh
Sports Lists
- Sports you enjoy watching
- Favorite sports teams
- Favorite athletes
- Your favorite sports to play
- All of the sports you’ve played in your life
- Professional sports games you’ve been to
Theater Lists
- Plays you’ve seen
- Plays you want to see
- Musicals you’ve seen
- Musicals you want to see
- Plays and musicals you’ve acted in
- Plays you’ve read
Travel Lists
- Day trips you want to take
- Weekend and long weekend trips you want to take
- Domestic places you want to visit
- International places you want to visit
- What to pack for a trip
- Cities you’ve been to
- States you’ve been to
- Countries you’ve been to
- Your top favorite places you’ve been to
- Hikes to go on
- Hikes you’ve gone on
- Beaches you’ve been to
- Beaches you want to go to
TV Show Lists
- TV shows to watch
- TV shows you’ve watched the complete series of
- TV shows you started but didn’t finish
- Favorite TV shows
- Favorite TV show characters
- TV show characters you wish you could be friends with
- Ideas for reality shows you would want to watch
With so many different lists you can write, it seems like you can never run out of ideas for making lists. Whether you’re planning out the day’s tasks, setting goals, writing in a journal, or brainstorming ideas, making a list is a practical way to bring clarity and structure to your thoughts. It’s also a useful way to plan a dream vacation or keep track of gift ideas. There’s something satisfying about putting ideas to paper and seeing them take shape in an organized and actionable way.
Making lists can also be an enjoyable activity and a way to keep track of things that are important to you, almost like keeping a journal. You can track what you’ve read, what you’ve watched, what you’ve listened to, and the places you’ve visited. It can be fun to look back on these lists and remember all of the things that you’ve accomplished.
Another benefit of making lists is that they can help to clear mental clutter and reduce stress. Once you have something written down, you don’t have to worry about trying to remember everything. No matter why you like using lists and what you use them for, I think we can all agree that lists are a useful tool that help us to stay organized, focused, and on top of everything that matters most to us.

Save This List of List Ideas for Later
Pin this graphic on Pinterest, or bookmark this page, so you can continue to refer back to these list ideas. And don’t forget to follow Stars & Anchor on Pinterest and on Instagram for coastal lifestyle and beach inspiration.

Which of these lists are you most excited to write? Do you have any other list ideas? Share your thoughts in the comments.