With rotational play, I play a bunch of different households with different compositions and different interests. I end up using a lot of stuff in that, so I do use items from all of the packs that I have. I also hold out on getting a pack until I'm willing to use content from it or until I need a change in my game. I have to know how I'm specifically using a pack in my game to be ready for it (not to mention that there are outside factors such as when I'm willing to buy something or not). I waited on Cool Kitchen until I was ready to use that ice cream maker and some of those hairstyles/clothes. I waited on Kids' Stuff until I had a bunch of households with kids needing more to do. I got vampires when I wanted Max Villareal to permanently become a vampire in my game, which he is. He's an awesome vampire. There's still some stuff that I don't have. You get the idea.
I go through a lot of decor, clothes and activities. With all of those houses, I would get bored if I re-use some of the same stuff too much.I do use the venues repeatedly as locations for different sims, they add some continuity to the game for me. I might send two different households to the same venue but they'll have a different experience because all of my sims are developed personalities. (I determine their personalities - the traits are only broad indicators, whims are only suggestions that I pay attention to if I want to).
Anyway, there's some stuff that doesn't interest me much or that I haven't gotten around to but I do tend to try different experiences. I've finally gotten around to having a restaurant owner in my game. The annoyance with a rotation is that I've realized that I can't play as dining customers with other sims in that venue while he owns it. I think at some point, I may need to have him "sell" that property but retain a seat on the board so that my other sims can resume going to that venue. This means that I primarily use Dine Out as the customers because I like having various restaurants as places for my sims to go out.
I have found that editing or renovating lots makes them more interesting and more personalized for my sims. I have a nightclub in Newcrest called Club Slate (a Maxis lot that I added a while ago). I was never using it because it seemed like a boring venue. Rather than tearing it down because I was never using it, I went into build mode and moved a few things around. I added a GT closet so that it would be similar to/competitive with Discotheque Pan Europa for ... nightclub activities. Now, my sims are going there regularly and some drama has revolved around that venue (rebellious teens hanging out there until curfew, a new guy in town running into the local notorious femme fatale, etc). The point is that now I've figured out how to make it more interesting in my game. That's just an example.
I guess I'm just saying that you shouldn't feel bad if you don't want to use certain content. If you do? Go ahead and figure out a plan for how you want to. Don't worry about what other players including myself are doing except as suggestions if they spark an idea for you.
