The cure for clutter might be just a snapshot away
One snapshot could help us declutter our homes and make us donate more, a Penn University study indicates.
A study coming form Penn State indicated that snapping a photo of sentimental objects could help us let go, decluttering our homes and make us even give more donations.
“We all have at least one, but, in many cases, multiple items that we hold onto — even though we no longer use them — because the items still have sentimental value,” said Karen Winterich, the Frank and Mary Smeal Research Fellow and associate professor of marketing, Penn State. “These items have some type of meaning that says, ‘this is who I am’ and/or ‘this is who I was,’ so we just don’t want to let this stuff go.”
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During the study, people were encouraged to take a picture of a sentimental item before they donated it. And those that did, donated between 15 and 35 per cent than those that did not receive that instruction.
The researchers said that people still may be tied to these items because possessions, memories and identity are psychologically tied together.
“What people really don’t want to give up is the memories associated with the item,” said Rebecca Reczek, a co-author of the study and associate professor of marketing at Ohio State University. “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.”
So a simple snapshot could help charities that rely on donations but it could also help donors which could save money on storage and get rid of objects that keep on pilling up. It also help sustain the second-hand market, extremely important for the vulnerable.
“From the consumer standpoint, it could be just about reducing clutter,” said Winterich. “But, from the marketplace perspective, we are focusing on donating the goods because the second-hand marketplace relies on this.”
The scientists also conducted follow-up studies and one of them suggested that the impact of the photo does not stay the same when it comes to selling the second-hand object.
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