The Rule of 1.5: How Much Stuff is Too Much Stuff?

One of the first real fusses that Husband and I had was over adequate minimalism, although that isn't what we called it at the time. We were engaged and starting to think and talk about life after the wedding - when we would combine our households. When our two dressers worth of clothes would have to become one. That is what God meant when he said, "and the two will become one," right? (See Genesis 2:24.) You see, I married a runner. If you aren't a runner or didn't marry one, what that means is that every obstacle course race and every road race he gets another t-shirt. All this running helped Husband get through a dark time in his life. Clothes can be so much more than just fabric. They hold memories, which gives them emotional weight. Then, this runner of a man married a woman who loves missions trips, specifically MFuge. And still has every Fuge shirt she got since she was in the 6th grade, plus the shirts from the summer she worked MFuge. 

Weird third-person rant aside, we needed to know how much was a reasonable amount to keep. Not only that, but we also needed to know a reasonable amount of dishes to register for our wedding registry. Our current struggle is how many reusable water bottles is a reasonable amount to have. 

As a math teacher by trade, I really like formulas. So, like the nerd I am, I've created a formula to help you figure out how many reusable items (clothes, dishes, etc) you need! It's called the Rule of 1.5. Count up how many days between washes, multiply that number by 1.5 and there ya go! That's approximately how much of something you need. For example, underwear. Let's say you wash once a week. Seven pairs of underwear times 1.5 is 10.5. You need 10 or 11 pairs of underwear to have an adequate amount. This Rule of 1.5 gives you some flexibility because, let’s be real, we don't always wash once a week like clockwork. Or, sometimes, you pee a little bit when you sneeze. Or cough. Or laugh. Right, mamas? 

Before you can successfully and accurately use the Rule of 1.5, you need to know your patterns. Once you've assessed your patterns, you can use the Rule of 1.5 as a starting point for deciding how much of what to keep. Of course, there are different considerations to take into account if you're deciding how many kitchen essentials you need or how many clothes you really need, but the Rule of 1.5 can help you get off to a good start, and hopefully help you avoid a few fights with your spouse along the way. 

Oh - what happened to those running shirts and MFuge shirts? Well, they were too well-loved to donate to Repeat Boutique, the thrift store that benefits Options Now. Instead, we gave them to our youth group. They’re making t-shirt jump ropes to pack into Operation Christmas Child boxes. We both love the idea of these well-loved shirts continuing to be used to bring people joy, and maybe even be a tool to share the gospel.