Most furniture that you get from IKEA needs to be assembled with your own two hands. Which can mean you feel a sense of accomplishment in addition to getting a new piece of furniture. Try focusing on buying or making stuff yourself to build more satisfaction with your life.
As life blog Riskology explains, the "IKEA Effect" occurs whenever we value something more because we made it ourselves. This can cut both ways—like the example the blog gives of someone trying to sell their home for far more than it's worth because they built it themselves—but it can also be used positively. By buying things you have to build yourself, or just making things from scratch, you can feel more satisfied and accomplished:
When it's in a box, it's just a pile of parts. But once you assemble it, it's your pile of parts! That furniture now represents more than just a chair, a box, or a 17-piece drawer organizer with specialty hinges. It represents your time, your attention, and your skill in creation.
This concept extends to more than just furniture. We can develop emotional attachment to anything that we work in including building computers, working on cars, or assembling store-bought furniture. Even if you can't buy something that requires assembly, customizing it can help make it feel like it's yours, which leads to less dissatisfaction. And the less dissatisfied you are with your stuff, the less likely you are to go buy more of it.
Ikea Effect: The Science Of Labor, Love, And Crappy Furniture | Riskology via Rockstar Finance
Photo by Robert Couse-Baker.
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