Pinterest: Virtual hoarding? Harmless fun?

Clutter & Hoarding / Pinterest is just virtual hoarding.

What do you think? Is it a hoarding obsession? Is it a way to live virtual lives which ultimately make us less happy/satisfied with out own lives (aka I have seen people who post photos of these amazing GIGANTIC dream houses/reading nooks/1000 SF kitchens etc who live on a teachers salary or military salary). The "thinspiration" theme is rampant, yet statistically we are obese as a nation.

Thoughts? I admit to enjoying pinterest and have gotten some great ideas from it ~ everything from how to hang our christmas cards this year to my actual christmas card shot with the kids. I guess I struggle with it myself ~ like, feeling like it could be a vehicle to making other Mom's feel bad (Oh, you aren't making 3000 step ridiculous super duper special cookies? Bad mom ;) ~ or that it is a vehicle to ultimately lead to less satisfaction with ones own life, or own reality, as we "pin" these bodies that we will probably never have, these homes we will almost certainly never own, etc etc.

I think it's like anything else - it depends on how much you are on it, how seriously you take it, things like that. I check out Pinterest sometimes, and I admit that my first reaction is more "Are there people who actually have the time and energy to make their own soap? Is that something I should be aspiring to?" But then I think that comes back to your own feelings about yourself. Like, if I know that I'm doing the best I can, then I shouldn't be bothered if other moms are making organic cleaning products and adorable desserts on the daily while I can barely keep up with the laundry. LOL

I do like the recipes. Not that I always have time to cook them, but it's nice to get ideas.

I'm sure there are people who take it too far and live some sort of fantasy life on their Pinterest pages. I'm not on it enough to get in that deep, I guess.

I agree with Alissa. I think for some people it is too much and I think it is about knowing your limits. I post things "to do" that I feel I'm actually capable of trying. I don't feel obligated to do it but that it is there if I'm looking for a craft to do with my kids or a new dessert to try or something. I do post things for the house and many times the picture is this gigantic room and I'm saving it for the paint color or something lol.

I love Pinterest. It has been like going to culinary school for me. When I was in high school my mother and father worked second shift and I went to school during the day and hung out with friends on the weekend. I was not with my mother enough for her to teach me to cook. Then straight from HS I went to college 750 miles away and got married 3 weeks after graduation. We could not afford to go out to eat, so it was a learn to cook or starve situation. No joke, I was not even sure how to boil water to make spaghetti. Pinterest has been so great for teaching me to cook, and other household things that I never had the opportunity to learn. I also am home alone all with my kids all day, and I think it is a productive way to better myself. (Better than watching soap operas) I have learned to cook (from the internet in general, not just Pinterest), learned to garden, and much more. It is also great for homeschooling. Tons of resources.

I was just recently at a Christmas party with someone who works outside the home who told me that she would not get on Pinterst because it made her feel inferior as a woman, because she did not have the time or skills to make all kinds of crafts. So I agree it is not for everyone and you just have to know yourself and your boundaries.

Love pinterest! Spend way to much time on there. I could see how it may make people feel inferior, but if you have a healthy self worth it is not going to change it.

I love the recipes I find on there and the ideas for things like crafts.

Love pinterest! Spend way to much time on there. I could see how it may make people feel inferior, but if you have a healthy self worth it is not going to change it.

I love the recipes I find on there and the ideas for things like crafts.

I like pinterest, I like being able to store ideas for later on without 5 million bookmarks on my computer. I like the ideas and poin them as I see them then go back when I need something. I love those multi million dollar homes and don't feel inferior with my run down old style home, I like to look at ideas and see if I could make them work somehow in my house on a smaller, cheaper scale.

I think it's just harmless fun. I see people who have boards about vacations, dream homes, etc., and it just seems to be about fun, harmless fantasizing.

I myself LOVE Pinterest. I have used so many recipes, discovered a lot of great food blogs, and learned a great deal about healthy baking from it.

Like anything, it's all about how you use it.

(in the spirit of things: floobish (floobish) on Pinterest)

If we are sharing... Daniel-Bonita Eimers

Not to sidetrack but since Laurie did it and I love to follow others my pinterest is mom2eaocpo