This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link and purchase an item, I will receive a small commission. For more info, please see my disclosure on my Connect page.

Last week I had a big surgery (well, 7 in fact) on my sinuses and I have been homebound ever since. Being stuck inside for a couple weeks actually sounded nice at first. I could lay in bed, watch T.V., read, and have an excuse to play on my phone. Nobody told me that the only thing HGTV plays all day is various versions of House Hunters! Why HGTV, why?

Yesterday I started to get extremely stir crazy.

Unfortunately, along with the surgery comes recovery and with that comes exhaustion, lots of blood, and killer sinus headaches. Doing projects and getting things done around here just isn’t going to happen for a little bit and I guess that has to be OK.

But, what do you do with yourself when you are restless and bored out of your mind? Yep, you play on Pinterest. This time instead of mindlessly scrolling through an endless sea of pins, I went to my own boards and I learned a few things in the process.

1. My Pinterest Boards are for Me:

As I sat looking at my boards I thought about why I have them. Is it to show off my crazy awesomeness and gain followers? Or, do I save these pieces of information for a different reason. Having people like my style and what I pin is definitely a nice self esteem boost, sure, but that’s not the reason I find myself drawn to Pinterest in the doctors office or late at night when I can’t sleep. I am saving these little bits of randomness because they motivate or inspire me.

My boards are just that, mine.

It’s where I collect the the things that get my creative juices flowing. Things that give ideas and bring focus… and the things that I just love because, well, I do.

I realized that if this bulletin board of sorts was just for me, then I am doing it all wrong!

I needed to make it work in a way that makes me happy.

2. Pinterest is a lot more Fun and Useful when it’s Organized:

If you are like me then when you started your PINTEREST journey you really didn’t have a clue what you were doing so you just made up some generic boards and started pinning ALL the things…

via Business2Community.com

…4,000 pins later and you can’t find anything.

Create as Many Boards as You Need and Arrange Them in a Way that Makes YOU Happy. It sounds odd, but take a minute to create some Pinterest order.

Use your boards in a way that allows you to keep that crazy mess in check. For example, instead of trying to pin all your recipes on one gigantic “Recipe” board, make it easier on yourself and create separate boards for appetizers, beverages, main dishes, salads, etc. Then, when you are needing a recipe for a great soup, you know where to start looking.

I know that people always say to put your best boards at the top to get more followers, but if it’s not about followers then I say do what works for you!

I decided to arrange my boards alphabetically and then I placed all my seasonal/holiday boards together in sort of a chronological order depending on when they occur in the year. {Just FYI: Boards are easy to re-arrange, you just click and drag to where you would like them to be. You can also change the cover photo, edit the name, and choose a genre that they fit like Travel or Food. If you need step by step instructions go HERE.}

If you want to put all your food boards together, all your decorating boards together, and then all your comic strip boards together and that makes you happy, then go for it girl!

If this collection is truly about you then there is no wrong or right way, no matter what the experts say.

3. Edit, Edit, Edit:

After I got my boards set up how I wanted, I started going through each individual board. This is where I’ve had the biggest aha. Not only were there a ton of duplicate pins floating around, but half of the pin titles made no sense at all. When I first started pinning and saw a rad headboard bench, I pinned it as “Rad!” well, that does nothing when I’m searching my stuff for the headboard bench that I know I pinned somewhere and now want to DIY. Take some time and comb through each board. Give your pins searchable names, get rid of the doubles and the stuff that no longer interests you, then find and, for the love of Pinners everywhere, delete the broken links.

*Climbs on soapbox*

Please for the love! Don’t pin something that is a dead end! If it doesn’t have a link, find it! Click HERE if you need a tutorial. It makes me rage when I get all excited about something and the pin takes me nowhere. I am so not kidding, people!

In the words of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf…

via House and Hone

{While we are on the “Stop It!’ subject, stop sending me game invites on Facebook.

Please and Thank you.

Good grief, now I’m really pushing it. Sorry, President Uchtdorf, it’s just so catchy!

To read his totally amazingly awesome, uplifting talk, please go HERE.

I’m a very bad person.}

As I was editing, I found a bunch of pins that didn’t really fit where they were. If that happens to you, move them around, create new boards, like I said before do what works for you. I found once I had edited and moved the pins from one of my boards, I was able to delete that board entirely. I also found that sometimes I needed to create new boards so that other “pins” were easier to find and made more sense.

Editing is probably going to take you a while so don’t expect to get it all done in one day. Go slow and be a good librarian.

After all, YOU are the curator of this collection of internet idea craziness.

Kind of cool.

4. Take a Look at the Bigger Picture:

When I started going through my boards I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of things I have accomplished the past few years. As I looked at old pins, I realized that many of them had inspired ideas and projects in my home. I was also suddenly keenly aware of my style, what I like, and what my passions are.

I was able to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of who I am.

How awesome is it that you can see a mirror of yourself on a pin board?

If you aren’t sure what your style is, or what is important to you, take a minute to look through your collections. If a third of what you pin is green, then maybe you should add some green to your home because obviously it inspires you.

If your constantly pinning workouts, maybe you are trying to tell yourself that it’s time to focus on your health. Lace up those shoes and get out there!

via

RugsUSA by way of Pinterest

{Sadly, this rug is no longer available}

I pinned the same yellow rug 6 different times, I think that’s a sign. Now when my hubby asks what I want for my birthday, I can send him the link! Except it has now been discontinued because I waited so long, but you get the idea.

Sometimes you already know what you want, you just have to step back and recognize it.

5. Get Inspired:

The coolest part about this little organizational project is how inspired I now feel.

I have been reminded of all these wonderful ideas, plans, and goals that I had made for myself over the past few years that somehow got lost in all the pinning. I think sometimes we get so caught up looking for the next big thing or hopping on the newest trend, that we lose focus on where we want to be and how we want our lives to feel.

Next time I find myself in a funk, I’m going to challenge myself to go through my boards and pick out one thing to focus on. Maybe it’ll be a project I’ve always wanted to try, maybe attempting that braid again that I gave up on, maybe trying a new recipe, reading that book I loved as a child to my daughter, or studying that scripture or talk that somehow the spirit knew I needed.

via

Indulgy

When it comes down to it, life isn’t about having 20,000 Pinterest followers. It’s not about how popular you are or how many people think you are amazing.

Create the life you want to live. Be inspired! There is inspiration in everything around us. Don’t do something because everyone else is.

It’s OK to use someone else’s idea as a starting place but you don’t have to be stuck there.

Find what you love and honor who you are.

Live authentically.

In the words of Genie…

…Be Yourself.

It’s kind of fun what you can learn by looking at a bulletin board, isn’t it?

**What is your favorite personal board on Pinterest?

Why do you love it and how does it inspire you?

Please share with me in the comments, I’d love to see!**