The researchers, Mathew S. Isaac and Poornima Vinoo, kicked off their paper by explaining that people who struggle to part with their possessions tend to jump through hoops to avoid doing it and may only manage to do so by employing “various behavioral strategies” to ease the psychological strain. One such strategy that has proven useful for some, the researchers note, is relegating unnecessary but hard-to-part-with items to “out of sight” status, in the hopes that they will then drop out of mind and can be later disposed of, minus the hand-wringing. “According to ethnographic research, one such strategy is to move products into purgatories, or temporary liminal spaces,” they write.
Why the purgatory method helps you get rid of your junk
Isaac and Vinoo reviewed three existing studies that indicated moving items into “purgatories” helps people brace for the inevitability of disposal. However, their research uncovered a new reason it works, and it has nothing to do with a reduction of attachment. “Specifically, purgatories are shown to trigger mental simulation of the product disposal process, thereby helping product owners brace for the looming loss of their product,” they write.
When you're decluttering, make a separate pile of things you think you could get rid of, even if you aren’t quite ready to pull the trigger yet, in addition to the clear-cut piles of things to toss, sell, donate, and keep. You don’t have to commit to throwing them all away, but this will get you thinking about the possibility. Outdated clothes you don’t wear anymore, single-use kitchen tools you haven’t picked up in ages, and toys your kids have aged out of—basically, all the stuff you hold onto for sentimental or "just in case" reasons—can go into purgatory.
Other ways to part with things you're not sure about
I know better than anyone how easy it is to manufacture excuses for not getting rid of clutter. I am the reigning queen of holding on to something "just in case" I need it in the future. The thing is, though, you can make that excuse for everything you own. A purgatory box is a great way to bridge the gap between knowing something is probably trash and actually throwing it out, which is why I have a purgatory shelf for old clothes. But there are other methods designed to make it easier on you to toss things out on sight and those get even faster results than having to wait around to dispose of a box for a month.
If, after answering the questions about a certain item, you're still unsure whether you can give it up, toss it into the purgatory box. Combining methods is totally fine as long as you commit to the goal of ultimately getting rid of what isn't serving you and is, in fact, just mucking up your space.
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