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My #1 (dead simple, can’t believe I never thought of it before) lesson from Pinterest.

You all know I jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon recently, and I have relished being able to organize the pretty pictures and creative ideas I come across online in such an efficient, beautiful and fun way.

I’ve read that some people don’t like Pinterest because it inspires envy:  it’s too hard to drool over the magazine-cover-worthy photos of other peoples’ homes without quickly becoming discontent with your own. (And if that’s an issue for you, then stay off Pinterest!  You’ll be just fine without it!)

But I’ve found Pinterest to be inspiring–in a very unexpected way.

Check out my Favorite Places & Spaces Board below, where I’ve pinned a ton of decorating ideas.  (Only the first three photos are shown, but you can click over to view the whole board.)  There’s something about these rooms that makes me go “Ahhhh.”   I love all the natural light, soft colors, big windows, and clean looks.  But there’s something else.  Can you spot the pattern?

These rooms are all clean. And uncluttered.

It took me a while to catch onto the pattern, but that realization has made a big difference in my own home!  I have been so motivated to keep our things picked up and the piles down, because I can see the difference it makes in the look and feel of our rooms.

My home may not be on the next cover of House Beautiful, but when I walk into my uncluttered living room I feel calm, and content.  I don’t feel overwhelmed, and I definitely don’t feel depressed or inadequate.  And it doesn’t have to be perfect to work (which is good, because it’s never perfect at my house!), it just has to be decently tidy.

Thank you, Pinterest, for showing me how simple it can be to make my own home look pin-worthy.

Photo credit: Design Sponge

30 comments

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  1. baltimoremom says:

    I just joined Pinterest too! Thanks for sharing your pins – I repinned a few images (I’m keeping my eye out for images of nice wood countertops and just started looking for new outfit ideas to move beyond my everyday t-shirt and capri pants look). There are so many beautiful images out there! The challenge is to figure out how to apply the inspiration to our daily lives, at least for me.

  2. I, too, just joined Pinterest. I had thought about how easy it could be to become very discontent with what I have, looking at what I don’t. But I like your perspective. It’s fun to dream about the “somedays”, but I CAN use the inspiration to make my house a home NOW. (And some of the cooking/decorating/fashion ideas? I can use all those right away!)

  3. Jamie says:

    I love this post! I am forever amazed by the number of pristine all-white rooms that show up on websites and can’t help but wonder how people manage to keep them that way in real life. Don’t they have kids or dogs or anything? Lol.

    I definitely agree that a clean room – of any design theme or budget – is a happier room. :0)

  4. Sara says:

    I’m not going to get my dream kitchen anytime soon, but I enjoy pinning things and finding the theme, too. For me, it’s lots of blue and turquoise, so I’ve been trying to incorporate those things into the house I have.

  5. Emily says:

    I’ve never heard of Pinterest b4, sounds interesting. I’m just letting my house go – between having a semi-sloppy husband and very sloppy 5yo, and slowly packing for an upcoming move (about 18 months away), nothing stays organized and pretty.

    I plan to have our next house simply decorated and uncluttered, though.

  6. Alana of CasaBella Studios says:

    Great post! It can be easy to become discontent when allowing ourselves to view hundreds of (seemingly) flawless pictures every day. However, each person has control over whether or not they will allow themselves to become discontent. We all have the ability to choose thankfulness over envy!

  7. Barb S. says:

    Oops! Just joined Pinterest. Maybe I should stay off for the same reason I don’t window shop or catalog shop. Hmm. Still, clutter. Ah, how to manage that when six of us life in a 2-bedroom “apartment.” (One floor or a 2-flat and partial basement.) [sigh] Homeschooling and all. Still, God is good. Don’t know if I’ll ever manage to get rid of some of these piles, though. Thanks for sharing.

  8. Whitney says:

    I debated Pintrest for a while because of the envy issue. However, I’ve discovered that by only pinning things that I can actually apply with the space I have now I’ve not encountered any “Oh, if onlys” or “I wishes.” As a creative person, I LOVE having a source to gather dyi projects!
    I can absolutely agree that the cleanliness of a space makes a HUGE difference in creating atmosphere. Regardless of my “decoration” I’m always content and at peace with it when it’s clean. It’s comfortable and warm, even with blank white walls. For me, clutter is a major stressor. Of course, each time I do a full home clean I always release a sigh and vow never to allow it to get messy again. Then, the next day comes. haha. In addition to cleanliness, I would extend the creation of atmosphere to include scents. I love how the scent of a candle can transform a room.
    Thanks for the post and reminder to keep Pintrest in check and my home clean! 🙂
    -Whitney @ revivinghomemaking.blogspot.com

  9. Just found you through Money Saving Mom and, first of all, I have to say that I love the title of your blog. 🙂

    But onto this topic of envy and Pinterest…I’ve had the same experience as you. Once I started looking through pins and wondering what those spaces had that mine lacked, I realized that it wasn’t what they HAD, but what they DIDN’T have: clutter. I have been minimalizing our house like a mad woman over the last couple of months and I cannot tell you how good it feels to walk into the livingroom and feel peaceful. I. LOVE. IT.

    Another bonus of Pinterest? Getting great ideas for the future and supplying myself with crafty project ideas that I can execute but not necessarily come up with on my own. I’ve made several crafts based on pin ideas and found some yummy recipes and overall, I just love Pinterest. What a great idea!

    Love what I’ve seen of your blog and will have to snoop around some more when I have a bit more time. Blessings!

  10. Cat says:

    I was already on an organizing kick, but Pinterest has definitely accelerated it and given me lots of inspiration. Evny isn’t really a problem any more. I used to think I was just housekeeping impaired. Then I got diagnosed with ADHD and started treatment. Now, my home will never look like a magazine, but I’m moving more towards a workable, nice home. Pinterest is just plain fun too. Last night it had my son melting crayons and me making terrariums. Ideas everywhere!

  11. Jasi says:

    Completely true! And while we may not all have professionally decorated, model homes- we all have really interesting corners or nooks in our homes and ingenious design (likely the invention of necessity). We should be proud of this, photograph and display our brilliance and not expect that any pinterest picture we see tells the whole story of a room or the family living there… might be a pile of socks eye-high behind the camera. No judgement there! =)

  12. Marcy says:

    I love the inspiration and seldom find envy an issue. I pin at will, giving an occasional thought to a comment I once read describing pinning as a type of hoarding. I just smile, ignore my magazine renewal notices, and remember those piles of mzgazines I’ve been meaning to go through to cull the good articles/recipes. Yup need to toss those now!

  13. Ginger says:

    Pinterest doesn’t inspire envy at me at all, though I hear it can in some. If anything, it’s made me realize that there is SO much beauty in the world, I can’t possibly “own” it all. I pin it, enjoy it, and then leave it at that.

    I have just the opposite problem. I constantly pin “cluttered” rooms (for lack of a better term) like this one: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/19562579600943611/ … But this would drive the husband crazy.

    I usually shoot for something in between.

    But my number one absolute rule: nothing on the floors (other than furniture, obviously). As soon as I set something down, whether it’s a box from Amazon, a piece of luggage under the bed, whathaveyou, it never seems to come back up.

    • Anne says:

      That’s a great rule. (Because I’m guilty of letting those Amazon boxes become part of the furniture, if you know what I mean….)

  14. shawnna says:

    My first thought when you asked of we could see the pattern was :

    They all have blue in them? Blue floor, blue chairs, blue counters lol

  15. Tia says:

    I agree, cluttered spaces make me feel claustrophobic and anxious. Once I realized this I understood why some people are so OCD about organization. I have not made it to OCD land yet but I started with a few simple things like making my bed everyday and washing my dishes immediately which help me feel the calm you reference when I enter the space.

  16. Trish says:

    The patterns I noticed (before I finished reading your post) were: books, nooks, white with contrasting or pops of color, clean lines/uncluttered, cozy and comfortable.
    p.s. you might need to get some orange stools, I saw them in a white kitchen a few times 🙂

  17. Debra says:

    i agree with you a 100%. That’s what Pinterest has done for me . It also taught me that what I thought was impossible is possible. You can think boy that’s hard but as you read on you see anyone can do it. I learned how to decorate, cook new things and things that I wanted to learn I have learned. I am Pinterest goal person. I made a board called my completed pins. In there I put all the pins I did and I was surprised that it totaled 99 pins completed. Haha.
    It helped me do my daughters wedding and it only cost me $200 and was the most beautiful country wedding ever. I loved the response from the guest when they sat on bails of hay. And her baby shower was so much fun it was like a big party. My girl will remember those days forever. I learned to crochet and have completed two blankets. It’s helped me to plan meals,shop better and save money. I feel like a better person when I spend time in Pinterest . The moments I love about Pinterest is those moments you say why didn’t I think about that. Haha. If Pinterest gives you opportunity for change and bettering one self. It’s up to you if you want it or not.

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