ChristmasGuilt writes:
Hi Declutter Nut,
Every year I end up with a bunch of gifts that I don’t really want for Christmas. Even though I tell people not to get me anything, I still always end up with a bunch of random unwanted stuff. Clothes that aren’t my color or style, coffee mugs, knickknacks, this year someone got me a snow cone machine. What am I ever supposed to do with a snow cone machine?
These things just take up my already limited space in my home and they will never get used. I feel bad because friends and family spent money on these and I don’t want to see ungrateful, but I don’t want any of it. So I ask, is it OK to get rid of Christmas gifts that I don’t want?
Dear ChristmasGuilt,
I get this question all the time. The short answer is YES! Just because someone gifted you something, doesn’t mean that you are required to keep it. Once it is yours, you are free to do with it as you wish.
Some people will just keep buying you things whether you want them or not. That is their prerogative but just because you are gifted something, doesn’t mean you have to keep it.
I’ve absolutely gotten rid of things that were gifted to me because like you, I have limited space in my home. I don’t feel the need to keep things just because someone spent money on it. Especially if it’s something that I don’t like.
I think of it this way: There is a cost to everything that you allow into your house. Whether it’s the cost of buying the item, the cost of the space in your house for the item, the cost of time it takes to clean the item, or the cost of your mental or emotional bandwidth to have the item in the house.
If the costs outweigh the benefits of having it, then feel free to get rid of it. I’m a big fan of BuyNothing groups online where I can literally set the item out on the porch and someone will usually come back within a couple of days to take it off my hands. This has been a great solution to ensure that something that came into my house will go to someone who wants it rather than it just taking up space and my energy.
Depending on what the item is and how long I’m willing to hold onto it, I will sometimes regift an item. Especially if it’s unopened. But that is the exception, not the rule. Generally if it’s going to be too much effort to sell or I can’t give it away on BuyNothing, I’ll send it to the donation bin.
Long story short: If you’ve been given unwanted gifts, get rid of them. The clutter isn’t worth the mental toll it’s going to take on you!