My apartment filled up with stuff I didn’t use, and I couldn’t figure out why until I heard about the one-dollar rule. It’s not about money, really. It’s about honesty.

The rule

Before you buy something, ask yourself: will I actually use this enough that it costs me about a dollar per use? A twenty-dollar pair of shoes you wear twice is ten bucks a wear. A hundred-dollar coat you wear every day for a winter is pennies. The rule isn’t about being cheap. It’s about admitting how often you’ll really use something before it becomes clutter.

How to apply it

• Estimate real usage, not hopeful usage. Be honest. If you’ll use it three times, call it three.
• Kitchen gadgets are the worst offenders. That spiralizer will not get used enough to justify the drawer space.
• For cheap junk, flip it around: is a dollar-per-use even possible for something this cheap and this rarely used? Usually no.
• Apply it to things you already own. If something you bought never cleared a dollar a use, that’s your clue to donate it.

It’s not perfect math, but it’s a good gut check. I’ve talked myself out of a lot of junk with one question, and my drawers finally close.