Decluttering your living space? Overcome the endowment effect before you start 🧹

Do you have things piling up in your apartment? Maybe you've even posted a few things online to see if you can sell them.

You start thinking about how much you should sell your side table for.

There’s no way you'd give it away for 20 bucks when you spent over $100 originally. As you wonder, you scroll through the app and see someone else asking $1000 for their couch — now that’s unreasonable!

This is a classic example of the endowment effect. It happens when people put a higher value on things they own, compared to someone else's things.

Whether it’s because of sentimental value or loss aversion, this can prevent you from getting rid of things you haven’t used in years.

Learn how to overcome the endowment effect, so you can finally declutter your living space and create a calmer and tidier home.

When you get past the endowment effect, here are some of the benefits that it can offer you:

Less Mess

It's much easier to clean a decluttered space. No more wasting hours tidying up or looking for things!

More Savings

Having a declutter mentality can also help you make fewer impulse purchases and save more money.

Fewer Distractions

Having a less cluttered space can help reduce stress and improve focus.

More Confidence

Decluttering can help build self-confidence and self-esteem so that you’re defined by who you are, not what you own.

Ready to help you unlock these benefits? Check out these tips!

Letting go is hard to do. If you struggle with getting rid of things, ask yourself the following questions:

• Would I buy this item today? If so, how much would you pay for it?

• What's stopping me from getting rid of it? Do you feel guilty for getting rid of something someone else gave you? Or are you worried that you might need it in the future?

• When was the last time you used this item? How often do you use it?

For example, Mike is debating whether to keep his waffle maker. He asks himself, "When was the last time I used this?" He realizes he only used it once after getting it as a Secret Santa gift 3 years ago.

We get more attached to things we see every day. It’s challenging — or maybe even stressful — to think of our lives without them. 

For things you’re not sure about getting rid of, try packing them in a box, storing them somewhere, and setting an “expiration date” (e.g., 3 months, 6 months, 1 year).

Looking back at them after some time can help you think about their value more objectively. By the "expiration date", if you didn’t need to use it or think about it, that probably means you don’t need it. So, go ahead and donate or sell it!

Physical objects can remind us of important moments in our lives.

If letting go of things is difficult because of the nostalgia factor, take a picture of items before donating to keep those memories alive. Or if you have a big collection of things and if you can’t bring yourself to get rid of everything right now, choose just one to hold onto. 

Instead of thinking of what you’re losing, remind yourself of what you can gain by decluttering, like extra living space or maybe a little extra pocket money from selling items.

Consider this example. Joey has had his futon since he first moved out 10 years ago. He has some great memories from those days, but he hasn't used it in years.

His brother tries to convince him to sell it for a reasonable price online, pointing out that it would free up space for a workout area in his apartment and help him avoid stubbing his toe every time he walks past it.

To overcome the endowment effect and avoid setting unreasonable prices, research the market value of second-hand items. You can go to a local consignment store to ask or look up similar items on sites like Facebook Marketplace or Poshmark.

This will help you get an idea of how much that particular item is actually going for. You can even ask a friend or family member to do this so that you won’t automatically look for the highest price.

Decluttering can be challenging, but worth it in the end. When you learn how to overcome the endowment effect, you're one step closer to creating your ideal living space!