Why You Should Use Pinterest As Your Internet Filing Cabinet
Do you ever feel overwhelmed with ideas or other tips and tricks hurled your way 24/7?
The drumline for business owners these days is serve, serve, serve. And then serve some more.
Another way to put it is to add value.
I like the way that sounds and it feels quite fitting.
Add value.
But what happens when everyone is adding value to your life?
The local girl on Instagram who is sharing her favorite smoothie recipe in Instagram stories. Or your friend who just told you that jeans are half off at her favorite retailer. Run don’t walk she suggested!
Or your favorite organizer who mentioned her go-to closet organizing tips. ;)
This is all very good in theory and very helpful as there are more tips and good ideas floating around in the ethers than ever before.
But the follow through is where the overwhelm creep begins.
HOW does one begin to capture, file, and retrieve these good ideas when the time comes?
Leave it to the lady who is obsessed with functionality and efficiency to bring this up. ;)
Before I tell you about the how, let’s look at history for a minute.
Back in the day, you would get your useful tips and ideas from three places:
television shows (like cooking or decorating shoes)
magazines that you paid for (monthly delivery)
books from the bookstore (that you bought with a specific need in mind like cookbooks)
Those things were tangible and possibly a little easier to corral. Unless you had piles of magazines all over the house, awaiting you to flip through them and rip out your saved ideas. Ring a bell?
In the current day & age, we have ideas coming from social media, and blog posts, and newsletters, and podcasts. For example, I love saving recipes on Instagram but when I can’t remember where I saw said recipe, or where I saved it, or how to retrieve it when I’m planning the meals for the week, well then I just feel overwhelmed.
I feel a little let down that I haven’t successfully stored away the good idea for future retrieval.
Think about newsletters. How many do you get a week? One? Four? Ten?
And how many are clogging up your inbox because they are the proverbial piles of magazines just waiting for you to do something with them to save those good ideas?
The good ideas are only valuable if you can save, store, and retrieve in a moments notice when the need arises.
Otherwise it is just junk.
And digital junk is quickly becoming the generational equivalent to hoarding.
Are you hoarding good ideas on the internet?
Solution: Use Pinterest as your digital filing cabinet.
First things first, avoid multiple filing cabinets (I’m looking at you Instagram “save” feature).
You need one designated place, and only one, to store these good ideas.
Most content on social media is also in email inboxes. And that content in email inboxes is also online in the form of a product, a blog post, or a link to the podcast.
Keep in mind how Pinterest is designed. It files away based on websites, links, and images.
Find the corresponding link to your good idea and pin it.
If you can’t find it, then take a screenshot and upload it directly to your PInterest. This is not my preferred method as there are multiple steps which usually means the follow through rate declines quickly!
Within Pinterest, set it up like you would a binder of good ideas or a filing cabinet.
Create boards with overarching categories like
Recipe Ideas or
Fashion Inspiration or
Home Improvement
Within those boards set up multiple sections such as breakfast, muffins, italian, mexican, fall fashion, spring fashion, etc etc.
This should take you roughly an hour to set up , then budget another hour to go through your inbox and clear out those emails. The easiest solution is to to delete them all and start fresh. Letting go is not the default for most so I understand if that gives you some anxiety. ;) Just start small and keep chipping away at those good idea emails until your inbox is clear.
Final tips
Keep boards “secret” if you don’t want others poking around. Use this to organize gift ideas, or planning birthday parties, or just to save information that is private.
Use one dedicated email for newsletters from bloggers you enjoy.
Unsubscribe from retailers; did you know that retailers email three times a day on average?
Ditch an old way-too-cluttered email if you have to and start over a with a fresh, and empty ready to go email address just for your good ideas!
These are products I LOVE. Some of these products are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I get a commission if you click through and make a purchase. For more information, check out my disclaimer. Thank you for your support!