Nothing is Free

My daughter was recently given a large amount of toys and she was thrilled, but me not so much. I was extremely overwhelmed. And to make it worse, I was allergic to them! The lady they were from even came by with her car full of more stuff! But even after cleaning them they still bothered me. So I had to frustratingly -- I mean lovingly-- wipe them down with vinegar and lemon oil water. Which really upset my allergies but it helped. That and getting rid of the items that had fabric.

I was very frustrated that my daughter and my husband brought all of this stuff into our home. My safe space. But I was impressed that my daughter was able to let go of the things that were making me sick.

Unfortunately, we soon realized that she had too many toys to take care of now. Which led to frustration for us all. It's crazy to think how much stress and work was caused by something that was free. But after accepting ownership, you are now responsible for its care. Cleaning it, fixing it, and putting it away.

The chaos has finally settled, but we certainly learned some things along the way. My daughter is learning that you can in fact have too many toys. I know, such a shock! I learned that even though I am able to find someone's contact lens on a classroom floor. (Yes, I actually did this years ago.) Or more recently, been able to find the only swords hidden in the corners of two fully stuffed antique shops. The price I pay for being able to find just about anything is that my brain tries to take everything in at one time. So spaces over crowded with stuff overwhelms me quickly. Especially if I have to live there.

So the next time someone offers you something for free, it would prove wise to ask yourself what does it really cost. Because things are rarely free.