The scratch under a plate can belong to years of ordinary use rather than neglect.

Wear and damage look alike and mean different things. Marks accumulate on anything used daily, and their presence is evidence of meals rather than of carelessness. Confusing the two leads to replacing things that work perfectly well, and to a quiet embarrassment about ordinary household surfaces. Objects that get used are supposed to show it.

Look at something in your home you have felt slightly apologetic about and ask whether it is broken or simply used. If it is the second, letting it stay lets your home look like a place where life actually happens.