The one question you need to reduce clutter

Making purposeful purchases and avoiding impulse buys are important components of budgeting and attaining financial independence.

No matter how hard my wife and I try to avoid purchasing unnecessary items, over time, these things accumulate, and we have to reevaluate what we own. Thankfully, the frequency of these cleanouts has continually decreased the more we buy with a purpose.

When these cleanouts happen, we must determine whether or not we should cut ties with an item.

This is easier said than done. But, by using some psychology, we are making the chore of getting rid of clutter easier than ever before.

The Endowment Effect

It wasn’t until I was reading about the endowment effect that I realized that we have been going through the cleanout process all wrong.

The endowment effect is a behavioral bias. Humans tend to put more value on an item once we own it than before we owned it.

For example, a t-shirt in the store is $10, but once it’s in your closet, it has an added value because it is your shirt. So when the time comes to clean out the closet, you are not deciding whether to get rid of a $10 shirt but to get rid of your shirt. Now worth more than if it wasn’t your shirt.

An excellent way to combat the endowment effect is through framing. Framing is the way a question is asked or how a situation is presented. The issue with the t-shirt dilemma is that you are thinking of the shirt as your shirt. To eliminate this problem, you have to cut the emotional ties to the object.

Getting Emotional

I know many of you may be thinking…“Emotional ties?! It’s a shirt!”

I get it, but studies by economists and psychologists have shown that no matter how small or seemingly insignificant the item is, the endowment effect still exists.

This finding also leads to prospect theory and the reason why people are slow to sell their stocks when they are losing. It’s not an ordinary stock that they are valuing, it’s their stock, and because of this, they are unable to think objectively about the stock’s value.

Framing the Clutter Question

Instead of eliminating clutter by asking “Do I want to keep this?” the question should be “Would I buy this right now?” Or another way, “Would I buy this if I didn’t own it?”

This question accomplishes two things:

1. By picturing yourself buying the item, you are assuming that you do not own it. While this is a slight change, this framing makes you objectively value the object without the added “it’s mine” premium.
2. Humans like to avoid change because change brings uncertainty. Asking, “Do I want to keep this?” reminds you that the item is already yours. Not changing anything is easier, so keeping the shirt in your closet has the least mental stress. However, by asking “Would I buy this?” you assume that you don’t own it and the status quo would be to continue not owning it.

I challenge you to go through your closet and with each item ask “Would I buy this right now?”

If the answer is no, then get rid of it.

If you haven’t worn it in a year, get rid of it.

If you haven’t worn it, but might wear it in the future, get rid of it.

If it still has a tag, get rid of it. 

Getting rid of “Stuff.”

Somehow we accumulate “stuff.” There is no other way to describe it. Overtime between gifts, short-lived hobbies, and impulse buys our closets begin to fill with stuff.

I recommend regular cleanouts to everyone. There is no better feeling than rolling up to the thrift shop and dropping off garbage bags of old clothes or things you don’t use. These little things take up space both physically and mentally. Once it’s gone, you don’t have to worry about it.

That old lamp is someone else’s problem, and you don’t have to worry about finding a spot for it in your house.

Regret: I might use it

It’s understandable that parting with things can be difficult. There is always the fear of needing it right after it’s gone, especially since you already own it (there’s the endowment effect again). A fear that I have come to realize is improbable.

There has never been a time that I have dropped off items at the thrift shop or sold an item on craigslist and then needed it the next week or frankly ever again.

If you are even considering parting with an item, you should get rid of it. If there were a need for it, then you wouldn’t even be viewing it as a thrift shop contender.

Keep in mind that you can always repurchase it on the off chance that you ever need it.

Free your mind

Make it easy on yourself to simplify your life. Cut ties with the unnecessary and free your mind to think about what matters.