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Finding a use for gifts you don't use

(Stuart Miles/FreeRangeStock.com)

Question: Someone gives you a present. You open it, give the gifter a sincere smile, and say, "Thank you," but you know that gift is something you'll never use. Not once. What do you do with it later?

Me? I keep them. I just can't shake the feeling of guilt that goes along with regifting or selling them. As a result, my family and I have lots of items we either haven't used in years or have never used at all: An electric knife, electric griddle, a big mixer, something called Yonanas. The list goes on and on.

But the bottom line is, Yonanas and electric knives don't fit my family's lifestyle. They never have, and I doubt they ever will. So I think I might need to get over feeling like it would be ungrateful to get rid of them and post them in places like Craigslist or some of those online sales sites on Facebook for sale. That way, at least we can have the cash to pay toward part of our debt. Wouldn't that be a way to make them useful?

And you know, if I were to find out that my sister sold those Friends DVDs I gave her a decade or so ago, I wouldn't be angry or think she was ungrateful. So why do I let myself think people will think of me that way?

Do you hang on to items you don't need just because someone gave it to you? Let us know in the comments below.
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