The most loved recipe cards are the ones covered in stains. Things that get used a lot are the things that matter.

Wear is a record of use, and use is the clearest evidence of value there is. The clean copy on the shelf was never needed, while the damaged one got reached for so often that it collected a history. What you protect from use is usually what you value least in practice.

Look at what in your life shows wear and what has stayed pristine. Then stop saving things for a better occasion, the good jacket, the nice pen, the plates at the back. Something used daily gives back far more than something kept in condition.