Dictionary of American idioms

KEEP A THING SEVEN YEARS AND YOU'LL (ALWAYS) FIND A USE FOR IT.

Keep a thing seven years and you'll (always) find a use for it.: translation

Keep a thing seven years and you'll (always) find a use for it.
Prov.If you keep a seemingly useless thing for seven years, you will supposedly have some occasion to use it during that time. •

Jill: My mother sent me a four-foot-tall ceramic vase for my birthday. What can I possibly use it for? Jane: Keep it seven years and you'll find some use for it.