Whether you clear out your closet once a year or once every 10 years, it can be tough to give up things that are close to your heart.

A T-shirt from your old baseball team or your child’s old stuffed animal, things that are attached to memories can sit unused in our homes for years.

But one researcher found that taking a picture of that item makes it a little easier to give up.

I spoke with Karen Winterich, an associate professor of Marketing at Penn State University, more about this research and why we hold onto so many things we don’t need.