For the Love of Pinterest?!?!

Ok! I must admit I have an addiction to Pinterest.  When I first learned about Pinterest, I thought it was a very creative concept.  I was one of the first of my friends to join.  The wait for my coveted invitation gave me a sense of belonging.  I have been invited... I have been accepted... I rock! Maybe it wasn't quite that dramatic, but you get the idea.  The creators knew what they were doing when they developed the site to be invitation only.
My first experiences with Pinterest were good.  I would get on find a few neat things, make them, and move on with my life.  As Pinterest grew, so did my love for it.  More and more people began to await their personal invitation to the online pin board.  The more people who joined this not-so-exclusive network, the more ideas that I found and the more projects I had. Soon my feed was filled with perfect parties, recipes, porches, showers, outfits, hair, and this list goes on (infinitely). As a do-it-yourself kind of gal, I pinned, pinned, and pinned some more.  I started out with three boards.This number has since grown to 35 in about a year and a half.  With over 1,100 pins, I have the best ideas for the perfect classroom, kitchen, and vacation.  What's not to love about a site offering this much potential?
Well I have done a lot of pondering about my life in the past few weeks.  I have decided that I don't like what Pinterest has done to me.  I have always been a bit of a perfectionist.  So when I am taunted daily by extreme perfection, I become overwhelmed and a bit envious.  Before Pinterest, I was for the most part satisfied with my home, but Pinterest came along and nothing was quite good enough anymore.  My life turned into a constant quest to make things grand... just like all my pins.
I began to compare myself as a wife, teacher, decorator, cook, housekeeper, organizer, and so on to all the lovely pins on my pinboard.  The standards I had for myself now made life seem impossible.  This was so hard for me to put into words, as Pinterest seemed full of practical, efficient ideas done by everyday people, but somehow I couldn't keep up with all my projects.
Yes, Pinterests boasts practical ideas, efficient ideas, and everyday people, but rarely are they all together. The more I reflected on my Pinterest addiction, the more I realized that everyone has different resources (time, money, space, and etc.).  Some of my pins are a bit out of my budget, but most of my pins require much more time than I have available.  How can I keep up with all this perfection without such resources?  I can't.
I give up.  Pinterest, I am no match for you and your awesomeness.  I am admitting defeat.  All you ladies with your perfect blogs and your perfect homes and your perfect hair... I retreat! The white flag is up.  My mind has returned to its practical state, and I now realize (not just realize, but also comprehend) that most of these "bloggers" (who provide all this nonsense)  are getting paid to do what they do.  Especially the ones that are always posting perfection. Then I noticed that some bloggers, like me, might only post perfection once in a while when they can muster up enough resources.   Pinterest provides an inaccurate representation of what a home, marriage, wedding, and etc.  look like.   A perfect home has nothing to do with hand towels and everything to do with love and kindness.  A perfect wedding has nothing to do with dresses and has everything to do with happiness.  A perfect life is a life lived...  I spend too much time on my butt perusing my "could be" life on Pinterest and Facebook (another topic for another day) and too little time striving for true perfection, perfection  beyond what I can see--the perfection that I feel.
A new school year is beginning.  I am going to start limiting my social media incoming and outgoing.   I am going to continue my quest for perfection but find a new map.

Pinterest's Laundry (perfect idea, no doubt)

My Laundry (it works perfect for me)