Re-evaluate your everyday carry
In a world that encourages consumerism on an ever-expanding scale, cluttered and unnecessarily complex lives are the norm. Whether it’s your home, your car, your office, or even your pockets, most people have more clutter than they need.
You may function just fine with a cluttered life; however, the euphoria that comes along with trimming the unnecessary fat of your personal belongings is something you’ll never get enough of. A clear, uncluttered life leaves room for so much more - and removes a lot of stress you never knew you carried around with you.
This isn’t a new idea, though. Minimalism has been around for a long time, now. There are plenty of philosophies and schools of thought on how and why you should engage in a minimalist lifestyle, but we love Marie Kondo’s outlook:
If you don’t truly, deeply love an item, it has no business in your life.
Marie Kondo’s Japanese Art of Decluttering was meant to be applied to the confines of your home, but we’d like to adapt it to your everyday carry and give you an all-encompassing guide on how to go from a bulky and cluttered bifold, to the slim profile of a Ridge.
The Philosophy
If you don’t truly, deeply love an item… give it, or throw it away.
This is important - the goal isn’t to just arbitrarily toss things out of your life, but rather to keep only the few things that truly “spark joy” in your life. In your home, this becomes incredibly hard; decorations seem important, clothes have sentimental-value, and furniture seems too valuable to remove.
You’d be surprised how difficult it may be to do the same with your wallet.
If you have multiple credit cards, you may be tempted to keep them around “just in case I need to capitalize on that 1% cashback for office supplies.” If you have business cards, you may not want to put it in your office instead of your wallet, since you “might need the number one day…”
Receipts, checks, gift cards, pictures - ask yourself, “Do I absolutely need this? If not, do I absolutely love this?”
If the answer isn’t a quick, confident “yes,” you probably don’t need it.
Receipts
Switching to a Ridge forces you to do away with things you don’t need. One of those things are receipts.
You may be used to carrying receipts in your bifold with you. Why? Take them out while you're home, store them away in an organized box, and be done with them. You haven’t needed to take back that tie for two years now - you definitely won’t ever. Ditch the paper.
Pictures
This is a touchy one.
Most people don’t want to ditch their photos of loved ones to switch to a Ridge. We’re here to tell you that you don’t need to!
Take your absolutely necessary wallet photo(s), put a protective sleeve on them, and slide them into your Ridge just like you would any other card. Don’t get carried away, though. Remember, only keep the things you need and absolutely love. That wallet photo of your cousin’s graduation is nice, and should be kept for memories. But… you probably don’t need to carry it around with you everywhere you go.
Plastic
Again, it comes down to those important questions: ‘Do I absolutely need this? Do I absolutely love it?”
A debit card is needed. A credit card may be needed. Cash, needed. Insurance card, needed. That gift card your grandmother gave you for Christmas to Kohls… probably not needed. Sure, gift cards come in handy - but you’ll usually know ahead of time when you’re planning on using them. Don’t take up space with them.
Technology
The recurring theme here is that the majority of the items that have traditionally filled those bulky leather bifolds has been replaced by our smart phones. Our receipts are often on bank statements; thousands of our photos are on Facebook; contact information is stored in our contacts.
While our phones have allowed us to carry less, the traditional mens wallet hasn't changed at all—and we don't think that needs to be the case. Our goal is to make the products and designs that align with what actually needs to be carried—and we started with wallets.
The Results
Benefits abound. Not mentioning the vastly important ones (like dodging a bullet by preventing hip dysplasia and sciatica), you’re going to experience the best result of all… headspace.
We all have untold amounts of pressure - bills, work, life in general. Removing even the slightest amount of clutter can do wonders to help alleviate that load.
