Are you fed up with living in a house full of clutter despite your best efforts to ramp up your recycling, get rid of unwanted items, and cut back on unnecessary purchases? Do you long to know the decluttering tips clutter-free people swear by? Well, there may be one trick you haven’t tried yet.
According to a study carried out by Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, snapping a photo of things you appreciate but don’t really need could be the answer to how to declutter. “What people really don’t want to give up is the memories associated with the items,” explains co-author and associate professor of marketing Rebecca Reczek, as reported on EurekAlert! “We found that people are more willing to give up these possessions if we offer them a way to keep the memory and the identity associated with that memory.”Think about it: We all have a bunch of stuff we can’t bring ourselves to part with, but in all honesty we know we’ll never use them again—like favorite childhood toys, our preschooler’s artwork, or a sweater worn by a beloved relative who has passed.
Think about it: We all have a bunch of stuff we can’t bring ourselves to part with, but in all honesty we know we’ll never use them again—like favorite childhood toys, our preschooler’s artwork, or a sweater worn by a beloved relative who has passed.
Co-author Karen Winterich, associate professor of marketing at Pennsylvania State University, says the project started when she realized she was keeping an old pair of basketball shorts “just because they reminded me of beating a major rival basketball team in junior high.”