Before Pinterest: 6 Things We Did “Back Then”

1

Remembering Life BeforeLike millions of people, I love Pinterest. I can get lost for hours reading pin after pin from everything to how to add volume to my hair to asking my child the “right” questions about her school day to making banana bread. My Pinterest boards are filled with both practical and aspirational ideas. Pinterest keeps my recipes organized and was a huge help when remodeling my master bathroom. It also houses my dream closet where money is no object and I “own” every single piece of designer clothing ever made.

More and more I’ve been feeling like Pinterest creates a lot of pressure to “keep up.”

Lately as I skim Pinterest, I tend to feel inadequate that I didn’t build my kids a sensory table, didn’t have the time to create a chalkboard of facts about my daughter for her to pose with in her first day of school pic (she had to settle for holding up a handwritten piece of paper), or that I don’t have the budget for a handmade, color-coordinated candy table at their birthday parties. I need to remember that these pins are one person’s idea that she or he wants to share with others to inspire them. These pins are inspiration, not “must do,” and we can take from them what we’d like whether it’s all, part, or none of the idea. For me, this is especially important to remember around the holidays when time, budgets and creative brain power are tight. Not everyone’s Elf on the Shelf TPs an entire bathroom! To put things into perspective, I started to recall the “good old days” BP, or Before Pinterest, when many of our ideas and inspiration came from magazines, websites, word of mouth, and our own brains.

Let’s journey back in time to 2010, the year Pinterest launched as a closed beta site to a mere 5,000 users. Here’s what you may have been doing before Pinterest changed organization, aspiration, and over-achievement as we knew them…

Wedding Planning Before Pinterest A Martha Stewart Weddings planning binder (or binders) bursting with photos ripped from magazines and printed out from websites.

Wedding Planning BP (Before Pinterest)
Wedding Planning BP (Before Pinterest)

Meal Planning Before Pinterest… A recipe card file and a whole stack of cookbooks and food magazines.

Cookbooks are so BP!
Cookbooks are so BP!

Pregnancy Announcement Before Pinterest… A brief email to friends and family letting them know that you and your significant other were expecting followed by reassurance that everyone is doing great.  BONUS: BP gender reveal meant adding “we’re expecting a boy (or girl)” to your email.

Old school email pregnancy announcement.
Old school email pregnancy announcement.

Kids’ Crafts and Activities Before Pinterest… Crayons and paper- the creative possibilities are endless! Get a true sensory experience by throwing in an empty cardboard box!

coloring
Keeping the kids busy before Pinterest.

School Lunch Before Pinterest… Brown bagging it with PB & J (or it’s equivalent), a baggie of carrots and an Oreo. Creativity points for writing your child’s name on the bag in a colored marker and throwing in a handwritten “Have a great day!” note.

Lunch

Christmas Before Pinterest… Tree + ornaments. Stockings hung by the chimney with care.  Milk + cookies for the big guy.

Memories of Christmas past.
Memories of Christmas past.

I will never stop loving Pinterest and will continue to be an avid pinner. In fact while I was writing this blog post, I pinned 10 different things! Tomorrow I’ll be trying a braid tutorial, but also trying to keep my expectations for a Pinterest fantasy life in check. So pin away mamas! Use the great ideas that Pinterest has, but remember that what you do is enough and definitely pin-worthy!

I had a ton of laughs remembering life “BP”! What do you remember being different before Pinterest?

Previous articleChristmas 101: Back to the Basics
Next articleBabymoon In Vegas!
Beth Grady
After growing up in The Valley, Beth Grady took a hiatus from the desert to see what life was in like in Los Angeles and New York. She and her husband moved back to her hometown of Scottsdale where she’s now a proud girl mom to her five and eight-year-old daughters, and happy puppy mom to the world’s craziest 1-year-old “super mutt”. Beth spent time in the corporate marketing world doing some fun things for Us Weekly and Peter Piper Pizza, but has since said good-bye to celebrities and pepperoni to start her own marketing consulting business where she works with local small businesses. A fan of cold brew, kombucha, barre, pilates, and impromptu dance parties, Beth can navigate through her nearest Target with her eyes closed.

1 COMMENT

Comments are closed.