A hammer with a worn handle tells you someone used it for years. Be the kind of person whose tools wear out.

Marks on a handle are evidence of a life spent doing things. A hammer gone smooth and dark belonged to somebody who was building and fixing rather than collecting, and the same test works on people: worn boots, a battered instrument case, a book somebody actually read. Pristine usually means disuse rather than care.

Put something you own to proper use this week instead of protecting it. Play the instrument, use the good knife, take the bike out in bad weather. Equipment kept perfect is equipment that never did the job it was made for.