Let's use a small knick-knack as an example. Here's a statuette my mother-in-law gave me when I gave birth to my first daughter.
This gift actually cost me nothing in terms of money, but it still has costs associated with it. First, I have to find space for it. With limited space in our house, I don't have many places to display knick-knacks, and every display space is more precious.
Also, because this statuette is on display, it collects dust and cobwebs, which must be removed to keep my home from looking like a haunted house.
In the 8 years since I received this gift, we have moved 8 times. This means I have had to spend time carefully packing the statuette so that it wouldn't get broken in storage or transit, and it has taken up space in boxes or bins. Also, I have had to find a new place for it in each of our homes, or I have had to leave it in storage, which still takes up space.
And, if my children ever knock it down and break it. I will need to spend time fixing the statuette, or pay to replace it, or simply go without.
So, while the gift of this simple statuette didn't lighten my wallet, it has cost me time and space over the past 8 years. This may seem like a small thing... but how many gifts have I received over the years? How many things do I need to take care of like this? I have chosen to keep this statuette because it is special to me. It reminds me of my motherhood and how special and precious my little ones are.
Other such gifts have long since left our home. Once we were given a doll with a beautifully hand-crocheted dress. If I remember correctly, it was a wedding present. However, it was from a woman I had never met, it took up space we didn't have in our first apartment, and thanks to the incredibly ruffled yarn skirt, it collected dust faster than any other knick-knack we had. The cost of maintaining and caring for the doll eventually outweighed the enjoyment we got from it, and we passed the doll on.
This concept doesn't just apply to display items or knick-knacks. Before you bring anything into your home, or when you are purging items, consider the true cost of each item. Think of the time spent on maintenance, the space required, any ongoing monetary expenses (such as dry-cleaning). Then think of the benefits you receive from the item (does it make you smile, or bring you joy? does it help you accomplish a necessary task?), and decide if the item is truly worth the costs. Especially when we are limited on time, space, and finances (who isn't?), hanging onto items that cost more than they are worth, simply adds stress to our lives. And if you do have unlimited time, space, and finances... please share some with the rest of us.
This is so true. My husband calls toys gifted to us that eat through batteries, or need repairing often, "the gift that keeps on taking." Sometimes I've discovered even the small appliances that are supposed to make our lives easier then take because they need a shelf, they need batteries, then you have to replace them when they break because now you are used to having them. I keenly remember looking at toys shelves to store the toys we had been gifted for our first two children and I felt the toy box would cost more than the cost of the toys themselves.
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