Every year, from October through December 31, I see the holiday onslaught coming – the mad rush of Halloween and Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, New Year’s . . . it’s the most Pinteresty time of the year! Or, is it? Because the beauty, the true value story of Pinterest is that it’s an organizational tool to make ANYTHING and everything better, right? Need ideas for a toddler craft for President’s Day? Tablescape for a vernal-equinox-themed bachelorette party? Seasonal cocktail incorporating blueberries and ginger? Pinterest has got you covered. Maybe then you get inspired to take up a new Tabata workout to burn off your salted caramel dark chocolate pecan bark. Or you want to organize the top 10 books you should be reading in 2015, or 30 Household Hacks That Will Change Your Life.
The possibilities are limited only by your imagination and what you can click on through the Internet (well and presumably some decency regulations, as I haven’t seen anything too beyond the pale in Pinterest-land). And there’s the rub – both the charm and the curse of Pinterest – here’s a cozy little corner of the Internet where you can curate ideas for all the things you’d like to do / be / eat / read / wear. For me, the operative words here are “all” and “like.” Sure, I’ve found some now steady rotation recipes on Pinterest, and have used it to organize recipes I’ve found elsewhere online. I was inspired by other Pinners to create a Frozen-themed 6th birthday party for E (since as we all know, “Elsa is the most popularest”). I do feel somewhat more organized since I started pinning. Sort of. I think.
But I also feel a little more . . . inadequate. Like there’s so much more I could be doing. Books that I’ll never get around to reading. Home improvement projects that are not structurally possible in our current house. I realize this is more about me than the application. I am a bit of a driven, Type-A personality (I’m also 100% certain that Pinterest knows this about its target demographic) and I always seem to want to do more than it’s physically or logistically possible for me to do. I have to keep in mind what I noted as my personal use for Pinterest – to organize all the things I’d like to do. I definitely won’t get to everything, but I don’t need to think of keeping a never-ending list of things to try as being an indictment of who I am – or am not – right now. It’s really no more than its name denotes – a virtual bulletin board that can be opened up or shut down whenever it’s time to check off something that actually does get done, and say, “what’s next?” And then of course, when you just need to laugh and feel better, there are always Pinterest fails.
How about you? How do you use Pinterest (or not)? Is it helpful or just another nag in your life?
