By Kim Wiezycki
My kids' dentist office just went entirely paperless. Every file, signature, photo, and record is digitally stored on the computer system. It is a very tidy place. My husband and I pay most of our bills online. Our filing cabinet is almost bare. My stacks and stacks of folders and binders I used to store my magazine tear-outs of kitchen remodel ideas, summer food and drink recipes, and pictures of how to wear the most current accessories is now... in the garbage.
I discovered Pinterest.
Yes, there is a new social networking craze you may have heard of called...Pinterest. Have you heard the lingo? Maybe you recently complimented a friend on her funky braided hair-do with the cool handmade flower pin and she said, "It's Pinterest! I pinned it last week!" What???
Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board where you can 'pin' things you are interested in. Get it? Pin+Interest=Pinterest. My favorite thing is that it is clutter free! No more messy bulletin boards, folders, or binders taking up space on your desk or walls.
How do you get started Pinning?
1. Go to www.pinterest.com and request an invitation, or ask a friend who is a current Pinterest user to invite you. Upon your acceptance, you can join in the fun! Note: It is much faster to ask a friend to invite you than to request an invitation from Pinterest. She will just need to enter your email address.
2. Set up your screen name and password and grab a cup of tea, because you'll be in front of your computer for a ridiculous amount of time. I recommend waiting to join Pinterest when the kids or your husband won't need you.
3. Start "pinning"! When you click on the cute red Pinterest logo at the top of the home screen you will see pretty pictures of almost anything. When you see something you would like to remember for a future idea, simply click "repin" and the item will "pin" onto your virtual pin-board. When you are ready to try the idea, simply click on the picture and it will take you to the website link where you will find directions or a tutorial. You can also “like” items and comment on them, without having to repin them to your board. You can even set up titles for the things you repin. Among my categories are: My Style, Cleaning Ideas, I Want to Eat This, To Do This Summer, Gifts to Give, and Mantle Ideas. Like any other social media forum, you will learn best by clicking around and exploring the site to learn all the options you have.
4. The ideas to search for on Pinterest are endless. You can browse what automatically pops up on your screen or you can type something specific in the search box to find ideas. One Friday night, I had these cute tights I'd bought at Target and wanted a trendy way to wear them. I typed "tights" in the search box and found loads of pictures of outfits with tights. I would never have thought to pair mine with boots, but I saw a picture that showed me how to piece together what I already had in my closet--and I loved it! You will see nail polish colors and wacky patterns. Interesting vintage furniture and tutorials on how to refurbish them. Recipes. Proverbs. Exercises you can do at home. Fabrics. Clever Thank You Note ideas. Homeschooling storage. How to decorate a mason jar. Just click and store these ideas for your future use. That's it!
5. Finally, if you see an idea while browsing other web sites that you want to add to Pinterest, many sites now have a red "PIN" button that you can click and it will automatically pin that idea to your personal Pinterest page.
It is easy to edit your pages and to focus on certain categories and eliminate others. Some random "pins" you may find offensive, so just hide or remove that user. You can control who you are "friends" with and you will see each other's pins as they are posted. It's a great way to share ideas and store the ideas without all the paper and magazine clutter!
Have fun Pinning!
Kim has been married to Larry Wiezycki for 16 years and they have two boys, ages 9 and 11. When Kim isn't in church, she can be found teaching curly girls how to take care of their hair, spending way too much time on Facebook or reading real books, and running a 5k here and there.