keys and plastic

Keys and plastic are both a pain in the ass.

Keys accumulate, and most of them are not really needed too often.

I've watched a number of people in parking lots and places like that and they whip out these huge rings of keys that make me wonder if they are not the warden of Alcatraz out shopping. It's crazy.

I just cleaned my key ring out and actually have three different rings.

The mata ring has an ignition, trunk, house and garage key on it. Period.

The Pickup ring is similar in simplicity.

Then there is the other ring that has all of those other keys that you have to have, but are seldom used. That ring is kept in the gun safe

When I decide to take the Miata, I snag the Miata ring, same for the pickup.

If need to get into the footlocker, display case, whatever, I simply open the gun safe, pull out the ring, use the appropriate key and return the ring to the safe. It's as simple as that.

I've been doing this for well over a year and I'm astonished how easy it has made my life not carrying a huge pile of metal with me everywhere I go.

Plastic is a little more indidious with the advent of the 'supermarket / discount store clubs' tjhat have popped up over the decade and I really haven't found a simple solution to it.

Look at how fast the plastic fills up.

I recently culled my wallet and found almost a solid inch of plastic, most of it seldom used.

First there's the VISA/Mastercard and a couple of other cards such as driver's licenses or professional type cards. Most of those are needed frequently, or at least HAVE to be carried. They are keepers.

The rest of them are a pain in the ass. There's the Starbucks gift card, the supermarket, discount club, the free gas cards, and the entire menagerie of plastic that life has issued us. Most of these are litte more than adding to the crap we carry.

Quick fix.

I bought a punch at Staples and a 2-foot dogtag chain at GI Joe's surplus. I punched a hole in these cards, strung them on the chain and hung the entire thing on the board I hang my keys on when not in use.

If I'm going shopping, I grab the entire thing and put it in my shirt pocket and when I get home, I return it to the key hook.

It sure beats carrying a 2 inch thick wallet around.