not again

It's not easy being green

     We had some outdoor garland that stopped working.  It was old and when I put it up last year, the lights did not work.
     I tried changing the fuse, checking the bulbs, and all the usual stuff but nothing worked.
     Now, the smart thing to do is throw it out.
     But I see the garland as something useful and decide to pull off the lights.
     So today, after having the garland gain dust for the past 11 months, I sit down to pull off the lights and 45 minutes later I think I made a mistake.
     Each of the lights is held on by a little u shaped clip.  So I had to pull each clip off one at a time.
     I used a vice grips, but it was painstakingly slow work.
     And I wondered:
     How do they get the clips on?
     What harm would it be to just toss it out?
     I know the fire department has collected dead lights for the past two years or more, so I felt good about pulling them off.  And I have a group that can use the garland for decoration, so it is being reused.
     But at what point should I just say to Hell with it and toss out an item?
     I think in my other life I lived through the Depression.  No other explanation.
     My fingers are sore.  Going to bed.