It’s 2024 and I’m Still Obsessed with Pinterest

Flashback to 2012. I’m the mom of three very young children. Kid messes and a mountain of laundry are gradually taking over my life, and with each passing day, the monster of household organization seems to morph and evolve like Shin Godzilla. And that’s to say nothing of the looming late capitalist pressure to somehow earn money while managing all of that household labor. 

But I’ve found one thing that keeps me going, a fantasy world of pure escapism to retreat to where everything has its right place: a little website called Pinterest. Minute by stolen minute, I’ll end up spending countless hours here planning gorgeous parties I’ll never throw, picking out hairstyles I can’t afford to maintain, and imagining arts and crafts projects I have no intention of attempting. In a time of my life when most things felt completely beyond my control, Pinterest gave me a place to dream, imagine, neatly categorize, and occasionally even pick up a game-changing idea. And even though my account is now “Inception” layers deep with more than a decade of plans on top of plans, my love for Pinterest is still going strong after all these years. 

Just the hacks, ma’am

There are plenty of downsides to social media, and I know for a lot of folks, seeing other people look overly happy or put-together can leave them feeling low or like they don’t measure up. But I run on the assumption that everyone is a hot mess and they’re sparing us the gory details. I don’t need to see how the sausage is made — I just want a quietly life-changing tip on towel storage or how to fix a ponytail that doesn’t slip out when I’m scrubbing grout. 

And I know I can’t pull off the multi-thousand-dollar birthday party I’m pining over, but those images gave me the great idea to use vintage mismatched teacups for a Wonderland-themed celebration, teacups I was easily able to pick up at garage sales and thrift stores for under a buck each. 

The joy of inspired risktaking

Sometimes people will say to me, “I wish I could pull off an outfit/hairstyle/home decor choice like that.” Neurospicy as I am, I can’t honestly tell if it’s a compliment or not. But whether they are insulting me to my face or earnestly wish they had the gumption for risk-taking, I like to assure them that pulling things off is just a decision you make to set aside social conventions or other people’s judgment. And I’m not really as secure in those decisions as some folks might think. But seeing other people do it first and do it well usually makes me realize that whether or not my decor or style choice earns some snark from detractors, I’m the one who has to live with it, and hey, you only live once. 

Take our living room walls. For years, we had struggled to work out where to place all of our art, which usually meant some of it ended up in storage until the next time we decided to switch up the wall art. The first time I saw a gallery wall on Pinterest, I maybe thought it was a little crazy, but in a way that tickled my endorphins. The algorithm started kicking up more of them, and I pinned more and more. Maybe 100 or so gallery walls in, I was ready to pitch my idea to the spouse, and to my surprise, he liked it, too.

Now when we have guests over, they’ll often compliment our gallery walls. And they’re more than just random pictures — they’re a collection of meaningful artifacts from our 27-plus years of life together. But the thing I love most is that our kids love them, occasionally commenting on their gratitude that our home feels colorful and live-in. 

Thanks, Pinterest. 

A lot of times, it’s not the direct idea I take from Pinterest but the seed of one…the inspiration to look at objects, spaces, or outfit ideas from different angles and experiment with things that may or may not work. After checking out hundreds of photos of jewelry organization ideas from repurposed objects, I started to see the possibilities in everyday objects. I repurposed desktop organizers and a paper towel holder to corral my fragrances, tiaras, and bracelets. A couple of coat racks offered a nice way to keep all my handbags at the ready. 

Short on bedroom space and privacy, we reworked the kids’ bedrooms so the teens each have a private hangout underneath a bunk bed. And I even solved the problem of too many plushies by tying ribbons all over a bunk bed and sandwiching beanie babies and squishmallows in between them. 

Also, it’s just escapism

Truth time: Even if I got no real-world value out of Pinterest, I still love it. In a world where as much as I dream of living in this gorgeous mid-century home or imagine myself globe-trotting, that’s simply not what the wheel of fortune is doling out for me, and that’s all right. Although it probably sounds ridiculous, I don’t know how many times just zoning out while clicking through hairspo and plannerspo calmed me out of a spun-out headspace when the Generalized Anxiety Disorder was clamping down. 

Like most folks, I’ve got to grind for my overpriced eggs, bread, and housing, and that’s all right, too. But somewhere in my pinboard headcanon, nobody has to struggle, and we’re all busy becoming our artistic best selves, taking chances on home decor choices and throwing gorgeous, whimsical parties. 

Drop me your Pinterest in the comments and I’ll follow you, and have an inspired week in your little nebula.