The 89th Installment
Having a Hand in Things While You Use Them

by Isshin Sasaki,
Assistant Professor, Master Program of Innovation for Design and Engineering

In recent years, it seems like the number of vacant houses in your neighborhood is increasing, right? Walking around my own neighborhood, I see a lot of houses that appear to be vacant, with weeds running rampant due to yards being left unkept, storm shutters left shut, mail slots taped over, and clothesline poles rusting after years of not being used. After the owner of a house, which was built for people to live in, passes away, that residence suddenly leaves people with a vastly different impression of the property than what they might have had of it before. Strange as it may seem, when residents pass away and properties are left unmaintained, both the property and the neighborhood it is located in tend to rapidly decline.

Generally speaking, houses consist of facilities and features that are made to carry out various functions that make the lives of its inhabitants easier. However, if there is nobody living there, these facilities and the environment of the residence property quickly cease to function properly, and quickly become clearly disused. This might include things like mailboxes and driveways being left unattended, windows that are shut all year-round, and weeds overgrowing along walkways. This kind of negligence will further push it towards a state of decay.

In recent years, services that maintain a property in place of its residents have been gaining popularity. They offer basic maintenance services such as opening windows to let in fresh air, taking mail from the mailbox, and trimming hedges; however, it is still nonetheless important for the residents of a house to have a hand in its maintenance and upkeep. This is true not only for buildings, but for any man-made goods. Sufficient management of any man-made object helps to ensure its continued functionality. However, this does not only help to improve its functionality, but is also essential for improving its value.

Actively using things on a daily basis can help to maintain their functionality and ensure their continued usage indefinitely. For example, opening and closing wooden window frames and doors or metal hinges throughout the house keeps them moving smoothly, while regularly using kitchen knives and carpentry tools keeps them sharp. By having a direct hand in the assembly and maintenance of a house or other product, users tend to find more worth in it than they would find in a premade item. It has also been shown that some users are more reluctant to part with goods and services in which they have been actively involved in the assembly and/or maintenance processes. It has also been pointed out that consumers place a higher value on products they have a hand in creating, which means that the true value of a product is not found in the price it is bought for, but rather lies in the process of putting it together. This is referred to as the IKEA effect[1], as it has become the basis of the chain’s business model. IKEA does not simply sell premade goods, but rather, they attempt to increase the intrinsic value of the items they sell by additionally providing consumers with the experience of being involved in the assembly process, albeit via simplified method.

We live in an age of an overabundance of goods, so it is vital that we rediscover the value in underutilized resources such as vacant homes and used goods, and actively utilize them going forward. I urge you to proactively take stock of the things in your possession and find new ways to get further use out of them. It may just lead you to question the true value in things.

[1] Michael I. Norton, Daniel Mochon, Dan Ariely, The IKEA effect: When labor leads to love, Journal of Consumer Psychology 22, pp. 453–460, 2012