Few creases on shoes, collar slightly ruffled up, car seats with no traces of poly-wrap it came in — is a sign of not only owning the thing but also accepting it for what it is.
Pedestalizing something — no matter how dear — isn't always love. Often it's fear. The fear that unless it remains pristine, it will no longer be worthy of your attachment. It shows an inability to cope with the reality of existence.
Overheard a conversation in the metro, where a person informed another — "Brother, your butt crack is visible" — to which the other replied, "It shows because it exists."
That.. that is the reality of existence.
Shoes and shirts can be cleaned, cars can be washed, wear and tear is part of the process. Respect enough to not thrash it — but it doesn't mean you don't swing your bat for that six because it might get a few cracks. One good memory can outlast a thousand bats.
If not taken care of, this protective mentality just seeps from unthreatening non-material things to your social life — Maslow's third rung. And before you know it, you are forever stuck on level three, and your butt crack zipped up.