I found another story online about the psychology of clutter-collecting that is worth a mention. Clark Howard, America’s “save money” guru, wrote about a new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research that indicates that shoppers who touch a piece of merchandise are more likely to buy it because they feel a sense of ownership toward it.
Therefore, if you’re trying to rein in your spending habits, don’t touch the merchandise! In fact, don’t even window shop or browse online. The same study says that if retailers can get you to visualize yourself owning something, even if you can’t afford it, the more likely you are to buy it.
Read the whole article here. As an organizer, the bottomline is: It’s great to take a week or a few months and rid your house of clutter. Sort, purge, donate, the whole bit. But if you are serious about remaining clutter-free, you have to stop bringing more clutter into your home in the first place. Don’t engage in consumer behaviors that make you more likely to buy things you don’t need.