Planning Your DIY Spa Day in Your Bullet Journal

Planning out your DIY spa day in advance is easy and effective in your bullet journal. All you need to do to properly pamper yourself is be prepared!

Plan Your Perfect Day

Everyone loves to have a nice evening to relax and pamper themselves, but sometimes it just isn’t worth the cost of going to a spa. That’s why there is a thriving community on Pinterest devoted to affordable, DIY spa techniques so regular ladies like myself can whip up some soothing and restorative concoctions in my kitchen for a perfect spa day. I find that despite this wild abundance of homemade spa recipes, I almost never set aside time to treat myself to a DIY spa day (or even spa hour). Why on earth don’t I do this more?

The Obstacles to Relaxation:

I think I’ve figured out the answer. Anytime the thought “Hey, a face scrub and a hot bath sounds nice” would cross my mind, I would instantly think of all the work I’d have to do to make that happen. The bathroom needs cleaning (cuz relaxing in a dirty bathroom just doesn’t sound like a good time), I need to find the appropriate face mask recipe, I’d have to make the recipe, I’d have to get all this other stuff done before I could relax, etc… And then I’d dump the idea and forget about it. I think this probably happens at least once a month, yet I only allow myself a spa day a few times a year. The stars have to align before I feel like the payout is worth the effort.

The other day, the thought crossed my mind yet again. I almost shooed it away like I always do, but then I had a follow-up thought. I use the bullet journal to solve so many of my problems, so how can it help me do this thing that I really enjoy? How can the bullet journal make this process more efficient? 

So I sat down and noodled on that one for a bit, and I came up with a plan. It’s a simple solution, really, but it makes such a big difference in letting me take the time to pamper myself. One of the biggest impediments to not taking a relaxing bath is knowing that I’d have to clean the bathroom first. Naturally, it makes sense to get on a cleaning schedule rather than cleaning as I need it. That takes away lots of the stress of preparation if the bathroom is already clean. You can check out my post on Creating a Cleaning Calendar to see how I do my cleaning on the regular.

Besides having a clean bathroom, I hate having to sift through a million pins to find that one that I saw that one time. I have pinned many DIY spa recipes in my day, but Pinterest has not got the best search function for items you’ve already pinned. So I took some time to pick out a few key favorites that I’ve pinned over the years and have always been meaning to try. You can find the origins of all these recipes down below:

The Peeling Pore Strips are from Allison at Petit Elifant

The Face Polish is from Kristyn and Ryan at This Natural Dream

The Exfoliant/Moisturizer recipe is from Brit at Brit Co

The Honey and Oil Hair Mask is from DIY Fasion

The Scalp Detox I found at The Indian Spot

The Coffee Body Scrub I got from Tiffany at The Coconut Mama

I wrote these down so I can reference them real quick when I’m feeling the need to have a nice chill evening, and there’s no fuss since it’s right in my Leuchtturm 1917. Easy peasy! Of course, the bullet journal helps me feel like I’ve earned a spa day by keeping me on track each day, working toward my goals, and helping me make healthier choices. Perhaps I should make a full-on spa day a reward for reaching a goal! I’ll have to add that to my Goals and Rewards page in my bullet journal for sure.

I used my new Tombow Dual Brush Pens to write out my Spa Day spread, and let me tell you – this was super fun to do. These pens are a blast to use! I feel like everything I write is 10x prettier than before. You’ll notice in my recent pictures on Instagram that I have been writing with them constantly these last few days. What can I say? I love new toys. And of course, I used my handy dandy Micron pens. They’re a staple in my writing, I can’t get a thing done without them rattling around in my pencil case.

Planning Your Spa Day:

You can make this as simple or as elaborate as you’d like in your bullet journal. Write down lots of recipes for different goals (like strictly relaxation or as a DIY dry skin treatment) or write out a spa ritual for yourself. For example:

1. Turn on music
2. Slip into my fluffy bathrobe and set out my slippers and towel
3. Light a few candles and some lavendar incense
4. Prepare my face mask while water is boiling
5. Steam my face over a pot of hot water
6. Apply face mask
7. Enjoy a hot bath while mask sets
8. Wash off mask, get out of bath
9. Paint nails

You get the idea. This is a great idea if you want to do multiple things in one sitting, like a hair mask and a face mask. Since one requires a longer amount of time to do its work, it would be advantageous to plan out a little timeline. You don’t want to find yourself feeling rushed or stressed about it, that defeats the whole purpose! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve painted my nails without thinking about the dry time, and that can be super frustrating.

Speaking of nail polish, I recently bought a neat little product as a reward for staying hydrated in every day of May and I just am super excited about it. I got this CND sticky base coat, which you apply before the polish for better protection against chipping and peeling. I used it and it kept my nails pristine for three days before I saw the first chip, which is amazing to me because I am really hard on my nails. I’m really excited to paint my nails again, where I used to swear I’d never do it again because it’s such a waste of time. I now feel like I can add a mani/pedi to my DIY spa day routine.

Complete Your Spa Day

There are a few things that are essential to my spa day that I didn’t write in my bullet journal but I still feel I need to share with you. For a bath, I enjoy using Dr. Teal’s Milk and Honey Epsom Salt to nourish my skin and relax. It’s basically a spa experience in a bag with no fuss or frills. It’s especially nice when I don’t feel I have time for the whole song and dance of a full DIY spa experience but I want to feel those chill vibes anyway.

And how could a spa day be complete without soothing music? Having no ads during a time of peace and relaxation is a must for me. Nothing will snap you out of your reverie faster than an obnoxious car salesman yelling about their who-gives-a-crap sale. Since I’ve started listing to Prime Music, I’ve been able to relax into my bubble bath without enduring rude interruptions. There are so many choices to choose from when selecting your music, and it’s so amazing to be able to listen commercial free! Pamper yourself by trying Prime Music free for 30 days (or even six months if you’re a student!) and see how you like it!

The key to having a relaxing DIY spa day to pamper yourself or have a girlfriend’s night in is to plan plan plan. Get your materials, get your music, and have everything right at your fingertips to treat yourself to the TLC that you deserve. Because you do deserve this, darlin’, and don’t you forget it!