The Pinterest-Perfect Household

This is going to be another post about Pinterest. But not just about Pinterest; about the things and feelings it implies, inspires, and invokes. (Wow, I'm not a writer but I'd say the use of three "i-" words in a row was kind of awesome. I digress.)

I do love Pinterest, but I spend entirely too much time repinning other peoples' pins. Most of the time I don't double-check where a person got something that I'm repinning, so I probably have a TON of pins that ultimately aren't that useful. That said, I also find it quite useful as a catch-all for things I find all on my own - like articles about food and wellness, craft ideas and things, and all the other interesting things I want to save to come back to from my Feedly reader.

I love it for the inspiration that comes out of it. I like to think of myself as pretty crafty, but I don't always have the imagination and vision that I wish I had...so I use my pin boards for ideas, designs, patterns, printables, etc.

There's always a fashion pin board. I wish I could say that I could go back, click on the site, and add to my closet...but I can't, and I don't, and even if I could, I probably wouldn't. It's one of those fun boards that is just that - fun to look at and add to, but not all that useful. A lot of the photos are from blogs anyway (I think), not to the site for purchase of said outfit or accessory or item, so ultimately...it's just there.

I have gone back through my Reading and Watching board, because I tend to keep blog posts that I want to go back to and read again, videos that I want to reference or watch again later, books that I want to read (this board is definitely NOT all-inclusive, just some that I don't have written down elsewhere), books that I recommend (again, not all-inclusive), movies I like or want to see, etc.

I do pin my own findings quite a bit, because I hope that as I accumulate more pins and my boards and pins start showing up in peoples' searches or browsing screens, I can help people by sharing that piece of information with them. Whether it's health and wellness, a funny, a craft idea, or whatever, I hope it helps someone who's looking for just that something.

Okay, so onto one of the things about Pinterest that is frustrating. I'm totally guilty of doing this, too, I know it. There are a million trillion gazillion pins of ABSOLUTELY PERFECT parties, weddings, furniture, cupcakes, living rooms, wrap-around porches, gardens, closets, YOU NAME IT.

Here's the thing - ya, it's great to dream and gather some inspiration for planning, brainstorm...but it's not great to get caught up in what we think is the IDEAL event, house, whatever. Having a goal or idea in mind for finished product - awesome. Being completely unsatisfied and depressed because we aren't as perfect as these Pinterest mamas and wives and people because we don't have the time to build a sweet sandbox-swingset combo with flags and whistles and retractable rooftops and all of this - NOT AWESOME. Or being sad that our wedding day didn't turn out the same as all of these Pinterest weddings; or not having the time or resources to throw our sister or best friend the cutest, most detailed, intricately-planned dreamy-perfect baby shower...

I'm about to wrap up here, but before I do, this blog post over at So Wonderful So Marvelous is what inspired this post this morning...

So, yes, I pin a lot. More than I should. I may have a problem.

But what resources do I have with which to make these dreamy unrealistic ideals come true IN MY OWN LIFE? I have me. I have my husband. I have my dog, who doesn't like to sit still for the perfect photo op. I have my crafty abilities, and someday, I will have a little bit of disposable income with which to fund my projects and events. But do I or will I have an unlimited bank account? Do I or will I have a personal assistant or two or three to be my party planners and seamstresses and bakers? Will I ever hire a party planning company for my two-year-old's birthday party? GOD I HOPE NOT!

Like So Wonderful So Marvelous said, if you are THAT WOMAN, more power to you. Congratulations, you won the dream life. Or maybe you were born into it, that's fine too. I know a small handful of those women. But most of us are on our own. We've got priorities that we need to keep straight without the help of a personal assistant or party planner or tailor.

All of this, and I don't even have my own kids yet! Imagine trying to do all of these perfect and Pinterest-worthy things WITH KIDS. AND A JOB. Shut the front door. For the vast majority of us, NOT GONNA HAPPEN.

I do enjoy Pinterest, obviously, if you follow me - I spend entirely too much time on there right now. I should only allow myself like 20 minutes a day on there, but ya know, I don't have that personal assistant looking over my shoulder to hold me accountable to that. The important thing to remember is that hey, while these pics and ideas of super parties and decor and houses/McMansions might inspire us to do something different or add a little touch of something elegant, do these ideas invoke resentment towards others with more resources, do we feel less than adequate because we aren't the super cake maker or bow tie-er, does Pinterest make me feel ungrateful for what I DO have?

I admit - sometimes I do feel some of those things. But then I snuggle my precious Doxie who's been curled up in my lab this whole time, and I come back down to Earth and can still appreciate reality.

That's all for now, hope I didn't bore you too much! Thanks for reading! And DO check out So Wonderful So Marvelous, I quite enjoyed her post.