13 Reasons You Should Be on Pinterest if You're A Mom

If you're not in "the know", Pinterest has been taking the internet by storm the past few years, being said to be right behind Facebook as the most popular website in 2014. This is what Wikipedia has to say about it:

Pinterest is a visual discovery tool that people use to collect ideas for their different projects and interests. People create and share collections (called “boards”) of visual bookmarks (called “Pins”) that they use to do things like plan trips and projects, organize events or save articles and recipes. There is also a like feature to save certain pins that may not fit with a board

I joined Pinterest before it was the bees knees, says the hipster mom. No but really, I was there in 2010 (maybe 2011? I don't remember) back in the olden days when you had to be invited by one of the elite few who had made it to the promised land, and as soon as I joined I was hooked. Since then, much to the annoyance of my friends and family, I've been Pinterest's number one fan. Honestly, I think EVERYONE needs a Pinterest, but I especially feel like mom's need to be on Pinterest. It has saved my life, and here I've listed all the reasons I love this website and why you should get your booties on there, mamas!

1. It’s Simple, and for some of us, taking the time to figure out a complicated website is just not in the cards between dinner and work and cleaning and momming and wifeing and AHHHH now I’m stressed. Not as stressed, however, as I am when joining a new site just to find that there is NO way I’m going to figure it out. Speaking of which, did I mention I just joined Twitter (hint, hint, I can’t figure it out y’all)? Anyway, I figured Pinterest out in NO time and was pinning away gleefully within minutes.
2. It’s Family Friendly (If you choose it to be). Does anyone have that facebook friend that you love but posts super inappropriate content? You don't want to delete them, but it's really not about choices when your kids may see that stuff. Well, I can’t help you with your FB issues, but I can assure you that on pinterest this isn’t a problem. For example, I’m married. Have been married. I don’t need to follow your Man Candy Boards, OR your Wedding Things board, but I LOVE your DIY and Food boards. I can just unfollow the boards I don’t care about, and continue to get your yummy recipes in my feed without showing my son Channing Tatum’s washboard abs in the process. Nifty, huh?
3. It's Relaxing.  I can honestly say that when I'm on pinterest, I don't think about that speeding ticket I got the other day things that have been stressing me out. I think about things I can do to be productive and maybe reduce the stress I have when I can't be glued to my phone/laptop, pinning my sorrows away. My best crafts have been a result of browsing my Pinterest feed while taking my "Ahh" breathing moment in the bathroom before I see tiny hands underneath the door.
4. The Recipes. Easily find recipes, and it breaks them up into categories such as gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, and paleo. I know a TON of moms who have dietary restrictions, and even though the main filters are those I previously listed, you can also use the search bar to your advantage, for instance if you search "Dairy Free Desserts" a lovely recipe for Dairy, Gluten, and refined Sugar free Banana-Coconut Cake will appear. It’s pretty helpful when trying to cook for a number of people with an even higher number of food-related limitations.
5. Activities for your Kids. This is important if you’re a parent who wants to have creative time with your little (or big) one, and there are plenty of activities for all ages, with an array of options (do you wanna get messy, or did you just mop your floors?) around every corner. Check out my Momming board, where I keep these things for a rainy day.
6. The Social Aspect. You can easily connect with other moms and find out what is working/not working. Looking up parenting advice has never been easier with legitimate links. I know I follow an array of mothers who have dedicated boards to parenting advice and blogs. I search pinterest more than google for new Moms to connect with!
7. The DIYS You can almost ALWAYS find a DIY (and multiple versions of it!) of anything you want to make. If you want to find an easier version of your craft/project, or if you're on the opposite end of the spectrum and want to do it thoroughly, you can surely find someone who has tweaked a tutorial to meet your needs.
8. The Beauty Tips. While you’re being a super mama, you can also be smoking hot with the easy home made (or store bought, I also find tons of reviews on pinterest!) beauty tips and products. My hair did not get this shiny from wishful thinking!
9. The Organization factor. I’m a sloppy person, let’s get that out of the way now. I’m naturally all over the place, so being organized takes pure, unadulterated effort. I don’t want to pin something so I can remember it, only to have it lost in the 4000 other pins on my account, so I’m super excited that the concept lets you group your pins into categories, or boards. I would hate to be looking for a new spin on lemonade (Gotta pay homage to the peach y'all!) and not be able to find it because my food board wasn’t there! You can also name your boards whatever you want, so it’s completely customizable based on what categories you want to have. I prefer to keep clothes and jewelry items separate from makeup items, but others put both of them together. Differences are beautiful, eh?
10. Secret Boards. I love these! I can plan for a blog post and organize my sources without spamming my friends, or secretly plan a surprise party for a friend or loved one. You can only have a limited number of these, but moderation is the key to success they say, so I’ll take it!
11. Group Boards. These are for when you want to be able to pin into a certain board, but also let others pin. I’m part of a group board for recipes, which is where I post the recipes from this blog (here, here, and here). It gives them more exposure, while also giving me more access to recipes that others like. Win-win!
12. The explore interests section. This is a new attribute to pinterest, and can I just say that I LOVE it. This is what it looks like for me:
    
     So it basically just thinks, “What has Erica been really interested in lately?” And make decisions based on that. For ME! For YOU! It’s a dream, trust me. (Side note: Not sure why maternity photos are there, but we can't have everything we like sometimes haha)
13. (and lastly....) It’s (P)inspiring! I have never been more motivated and creative. If you had asked me before pinterest if I made my own solution to mop my floors, I would have looked at you like you were crazy, yet here I am, floors a’sparklin. My husband just made Cookies that looked like little Eagles, thanks Pinterest. My famous teas? Pinterest (well, sort of. Y'all know I can't just follow a recipe with out changing and tweaking it). I'm about 6 times the woman I was before I started using this website to it's full potential, and I am grateful for it.

I've seen a lot of bashing of pinterest moms lately, and I'm here to play devil's advocate and let y'all know that it's OKAY to be a pinterest mom. It doesn't mean you have to be perfect, but honestly I see nothing wrong with something that promotes helping one another out with tutorials and advice. I hope this has given you some insight into the reasons I think most (if not all) moms should be on Pinterest, and if you need any more inspiration or have any questions, feel free to ask or follow me here. If you follow me, comment and link me to your profile and I'll be happy to give you a follow back!

Cheers and happy pinning, my friends!