Pinterest has become everyone's go-to place for saving inspirational, aspirational images. But, while it's wonderful to dream about wide open spaces and homes big enough to rollerskate in and crafts I love (but will probably never find the time to do), recently I've taken to using Pinterest a little more… shall we say… realistically.
While I still have my inspirational boards, I've also started complementary boards to collect things I can actually use and afford. Here's my method:
Decide on a budget: This is my first step when I'm using my Pinterest to save a little cash. Yup, an item may be beautiful but if I don't choose to pay over five hundred dollars for a swing arm bedside lamp, there's no point in pinning it to this board (though it may go on the dream bedroom board).
Let your gut be your guide: Though you may have decided you want a beige sofa, if you find yourself drawn to that red couch, pin it. After a few days of pinning, when you take a look at your board, you may find that you've pinned a dozen red couches. Maybe it's time to rethink your decor around that red couch you really want instead of the beige one you think you should be buying.
Consider using a secret board: If you have a number of followers who are likely to repin the items you're coveting, especially if they're things that are one of a kind or limited stock, you might want to make this particular board secret. True, there are only a limited number of secret boards but, if you're actually using this board to pin items you are about to purchase, this board will soon be deleted.
Use one board per item you are actually ready to buy: This board is less inspiration and more perspiration: ie, it's a board that you're putting to work to help you make a decision on something you're prepared to plunk down cold hard cash on. ideally, the lifespan of this board will only be a few months.
Overpin before looking at your board and making a decision: Give yourself at least a few days of pinning before you look at your board. That way you'll have enough choices to compare and contrast before picking the one that best matches your needs in terms of price and style (and discovering that you really want a red couch!)
Shy away from repinning: I learned this one the hard way. I'd repinned a rug from someone else's board and when I went to purchase it, I discovered it was out of stock (and had been out of stock for a few months!). If you do repin something, take a few moments to click through to the actual site and make sure it's something that is in stock and purchasable (not just an inspiration photo from someone's blog).
Give yourself a time frame: In that same vein, if you're using Pinterest to find actual items to purchase, give yourself a timeline within which to do it, since items do get sold out or become discontinued.
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One addition that I would make is that you should include a price in your description - it will actually show up as a little tag at the top of the photo on your main page. If you've pinned 20 similar looking couches from different places, it can be very useful to have that up-front price comparison.
I always click through to make sure the pin is "good". That the link works or like you said, to make sure the stuff is still for sale, if it's something for sale.
I did make a specific secret board for stuff I want. I felt so paranoid doing it but it is nice for stuff that you like but don't want anyone else to get! ;)
Luvocracy?
Pinning this post.
Getting to the original post is always a good idea, especially to eliminate pins that are dead-ends such as "uploaded by user" or "pinned with mobile app". Those give you no information at all.
Curating borads every season is also good; tastes and circumstances change.
if you're redoing a room you can also make a board where you only pin stuff you would like to buy for that particular room, that way before you go shopping you can get an overall idea of how all the items and colors play together.
what is a secret board??? how do you get one?? i wish mine were all secret
I love that advice about red sofas! Pinterest makes your unvoiced loves more obvious, and hard to ignore en masse.
Maybe you figured it out by now but if not...just go to the drop down under your name in the uppper left and click "boards" and scroll all the way down. They let you create up to three secret boards. Don't ya love it there?!!? :)
I use a secret board for things I'm actually planning to do for my wedding. The inspiration board was nice before we were engaged, but now that's it's a real wedding I don't want all my friends who are also planning weddings to have the same details as me! That being said, I could easily make a board of all the pinterest wedding stuff I will NOT be doing! My friend went to a wedding last month and she described it as "It was like pinterest threw-up this wedding." Pinterest is great to save your ideas-- but I also try to avoid repinning, so my wedding (and my work as an interior designer) doesn't look "repinned"!
Wow. this pinterest phenomenon is like a secret language altogether.
Hi- where is the yellow desk from in the picture? THXS
I think west elm, one of the old colors they no longer carry. You can still find the desk on their site in other options though.
I always click through before re-pinning something I want to buy, just to make sure it's actually available. Learned that one the hard way. I also have a secret board called Boring House Sh*t where I pin stuff like refrigerators and carpet and tile so I can keep it handy without getting unFollowed by everyone I know. I have 3000+ pins so I agree that it's good to comb through your boards and delete pins every so often.
thank you!!
Thanks for sharing these pinterest tips, A very informative post indeed.
@magenta: Secret boards are basically private boards. You can add people to them to collaborate, but they won't be public by default like the rest. Really handy, but unfortunately Pinterest limits each user to only three secret boards (I think to keep the focus on sharing and interaction). Check their FAQ for adding them, I believe it's in the board settings.
i love the idea of making boards for singular items you really, really want. i tend to pin and then forget about the item because i've pinned so many other things (that i'll never buy).
http://www.etsystalkers.com
I use Clipix. It's a lot easier to keep private boards.
good advice :)