Idea Organizing ... Before Pinterest

Before Pinterest, many of us had been collecting and organizing creative ideas for years ... in binders, photo albums and ... for me, on index cards!





My simple system was devoted mainly to home decor ideas gleaned online and in magazines (remember those?).  

My index cards were equivalent to Pinterest Pins ... it was easy to attach or jot down an idea (photo, sketch) on an index card, and add specific details ... paint color, materials used, etc. 





(If anyone knows the source of any of the decor ideas above, 
please let me know and I will link back.)

The index card topic dividers were the equivalent of Pinterest Boards. 




Pinterest has thankfully made this entire process so much easier, quicker and less cumbersome, but it's still fun to browse through these cards occasionally.  It brings back the excitement and joy of finding a neat new decor idea to try, or seeing an old idea in a totally different way and having it trigger another creative thought.

But who knows, perhaps I'll return to my index card system some day ... surely Pinterest won't be around forever, right?  My cards will!  

And, unlike Pinterest, my cards are stored in a cute little lidded box!  :)





Did you have a paper idea organizing method pre-Pinterest?  Do you still?  


Your comments are greatly appreciated and I look forward to your thoughts and ideas!  I try to respond to comments via email as soon as I can. If your email address isn't available, I will comment here. Thanks so much for visiting! 




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8 comments:

  1. Yes I did the same thing with recipes and I still have a huge folder of recipes I love! I enjoyed this post and brings back memories.

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  2. That is so lovely. I used to keep ring binders with plastic wallets stuffed with magazine pages and also scrap book (the old style with sugar paper pages and lots of cutting and sticking going on!)
    Pinterest has changed everything, but I do still have my scrapbooks from back in the day and have been know to flick through them now and again!

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  3. I used to clip recipes, gardening tips, and decoration ideas! Not as neatly organized as yours, though! What fun to go through and reminisce what caught your eye!

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    1. So true, Bless! Ages ago I had a box that contained Flylady system zones, and even our GON branches (homemaking systems). I think that was the appeal - the versatility! :)

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  4. Over 25 years ago in our other house, I had a small craft/sewing room in the basement, and the end wall was pasted with pages from magazines with ideas that appealed to me!
    Bushlady

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  5. The box is adorable... and as much as I love pintrest and the internet browsing, I love the touching and feeling of my binder full of magazine articles/ ideas jotted on notebook paper,scraps of fabric from days gone by.etc.
    THings do change, don't they?

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  6. I have a notebook full of torn pages and the funny thing is that some of them are 10 years old and I still love them. I still love a notebook or something like your box. :)

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