If our possessions do indeed come to be a part of us, how do we bring ourselves to part with these precious items? Researchers find that people often take steps to distance themselves from a favored object before they get rid of it. Strategies they identified include taking pictures and videos of the objects; moving them into an out-of-the way location such as a garage or an attic;

or washing, ironing, and wrapping the item. Interview people you know who have disposed of a product that was important to them—for example, a well-used car or a favorite sweatshirt that finally had too many holes to keep. What steps did they take to “divest” themselves of this attachment (such as removing personal items from a car before selling it, and so on)?206 AppendixLO1