Rachael Rachael, a mom of two daughters, is a freelance editor and writer who enjoys gardening and dreams of keeping chickens in her suburban St. Louis backyard. In her spare time, she helps to edit her husband’s science fiction books. Read more of Rachael's work at www.rachaelsjohnston.com or contact her by emailing rachael@mumblingmommy.com.
If you are like me, you plan everything on Pinterest … birthday parties, meals, gifts, crafts, future home remodeling, and decorating. Yet I know several people who have not given Pinterest a try. Knowing how to navigate the site can be helpful to either get started or clean up your board.

What is Pinterest? It’s a way to organize anything online that you want to remember or use later. It’s also a social network, so you can see what others are pinning by adding or “following” your friends. Your account is made up of boards (think of it like a cork board) and on that board are pins (like tack pins holding things on the board).

You create boards based on what you want the topic to be, like meals, desserts, or nursery decorating ideas. You can also create private boards that only you will see (like if you are pregnant and want to start planning a nursery but do not want others to see it). You can also create new boards as you go if you find pins that do not fit a board you already have.

Some general boards to get started with could be: exercise, recipes, organization, cleaning, kids, crafts, home remodeling or future home, photography, quotes, gifts, or party ideas. Once you start following friends you can pin what they already have, or you can search Pinterest itself for ideas. For example, if I am planning a Minnie Mouse birthday party I type in “Minnie Mouse birthday ideas” and tons of pins people already have pop up. If you see something you want to pin (which just means it saves it for you for so you can find it whenever you like), move your curser over the top and click on the red Pin It button. You can also click the arrow to send it to someone or yourself, or edit the pin.

Our site is full of tasty recipes.

Once you start following friends, when you log on you will see the most recent things other people are pinning. I put the app on my phone and have pinned thousands of items I love and want to remember for the future. I have found cleaning tricks I never knew about, awesome recipes I use over and over, craft ideas for the kids, and I have planned several birthday parties.

Most people just pin things that are out there already on Pinterest. However, if you find something on the web, you can pin it to one of your boards. Highlight the web page bar and copy it, then in Pinterest click on the board you want and on the left side there will be an empty Add Pin box. Click it and then paste in your site. Some websites feature a small Pin It button so you can quickly pin an item to your board. You can also add your own pin by taking a picture of whatever it is you want to pin. Go through the same new pin box and hit “add photo.”

You’d be surprised what people pin. Some people pin silly things they like, some people use it to plan their new house colors and decorations, some people create a workout plan, use it for work, and more. It’s not just for women. I know several men who pin cool things they like, too. Remember it’s about linking to others and sharing information (but you don’t have to if you want to be private). It’s all about you and what you like. It’s easy to use and fun. Be prepared, though. It’s quite addictive. I find I spend more hours pinning than I do on Facebook.

 
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Category: Arts & Crafts

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