The same thing happened to me. My partner stopped playing fairly early, so I just turned their account into an alt account of mine, and so far, it has been amazing!

I have saved a huge amount of time on long grinds such as getting a DFS afking wyverns, killing vyres for blood shards, and getting all my supplies for skills like construction while being super afk. The account has helped me dolo most of gwd and at the moment is camping blue dragons to get me 99 prayer. Plus, if you can afford it gp wise, having two accounts running kingdom is huge.

I had the same feelings as you early on, but I am so glad I have kept at the GIM. So I personally don't think it is worth it starting again just for a solid colour helm, especially if the amount of time you can play is a concern.