Pinterest: Helpful or Hurtful?

Are any of you fellow pinners?  You know, Pinterest lovers?

I am.

But, as in anything, it can take over your life and become a curse rather than a blessing.  This is kind of how I feel about Facebook…hence, the reason I rarely touch my homepage. 

In order to keep myself from being swallowed alive by Pinterest, I’ve established a few “rules,” if you will. 

1. No endless browsing sessions.  This means I either give myself a browsing time limit or only check my homepage.  The problem is that you can get sucked into gazing at pictures that eventually start to blend together—sometimes because you’re seeing the same thing pinned again and again! 

2.  Keep boards organized.  Pinterest is a great way to collect ideas in one organized space; however, boards easily grow cluttered if you’re not careful.  To avoid this, I take time every month or so to do a quick clean up of my boards.  If I don’t love it, it gets deleted.  If it’s not categorized correctly, I move it.  You get the idea.

3.  Create rather than covet.  This may be the number one problem with Pinterest.  While it gets my creative juices flowing in a hurry, it can also stir up feelings of discontent.  I’ve found that creating tends to pull me out of the green-eyed monster mode. 

4.  Be realistic.  While I love gathering ideas on Pinterest, I try to keep things in perspective.  For example, I love pinning kitchens.  But the kitchens I pin probably cost far more than what we’ll ever spend on a kitchen, so instead of wishing for that exact room, I pick it apart and look for specific things that I like about it.  Maybe I’ll never own those deliciously crisp white custom cabinets—instead, I may have to paint them myself.  Still, this gives me a place to collect ideas and consider what exactly it is that I love about the space.

5.  Look for common themes in your pins.  This relates to what I said above in #4, and although it sounds simplistic, it will really help you nail down your style.  Seek out the patterns in your pins. 

6.  Jot down what you like.  In keeping with #4 and #5, jot down what you like about each photo.  The more specific you are, the better.  While you may “LOVE” every photo you pin, it’s easier to remember what you love when you can look back at a short note rather than an ambiguous statement. 

7.  Be selective.  Sometimes a quick click back to the original link will actually reveal that it’s not worth pinning, saving you a cluttered board down the road.  I’m always amazed at how people repin lame-o ideas without ever checking to see if the actual source is any good.  In a nutshell, don’t pin mediocre ideas.

8. You are ultimately in charge of your time and emotions.  Don’t let the big www suck you dry.  Instead, harness it so you can be inspired rather than frustrated.  Boundaries, boundaries, boundaries!

What about you guys?  How do you keep from being completely bogged down by all the stuff out there?