The Top 10 Most Lost Items - And How NOT To Lose Them!
According to this article by NY Daily News, the top ten most lost items are the following:
1. Car keys
2. House Keys
3. Winter accessories
4. Clothing
5. Credit or debit card
6. Wallet
7. Watch or jewelry
8. Cash
9. Umbrella
10. Driver's license
The easiest way to prevent losing any item is to have a designated place for your things and be mindful about putting them there. You’ll keep hearing me say this because this is the essence of being organized, having homes for things and being intentional about putting them there. Not always easy, but once you’ve got it down, it’s down. For example, you never lose your forks, do you? That’s because we all have a designated spot where we automatically place our silverware; we don’t have to try to remember to put our forks and spoons where they go because it’s so well ingrained that they go in the silverware drawer. Same for things like shampoo (shower) car registration (glove box) and so on. It’s really just a matter of doing the same thing for everything else, too.
Keys
First of all, the car and house keys should be on the same key ring so I’m combining these. The most traditional place for keys to go is on a key hook placed near the door you use most often to enter/exit. That just makes sense, right? Well it depends on the person. I love my key hook, but some people like to keep their keys in their purse, jacket or entryway table.
The newest thing that I personally am really into, though, is going keyless! I just installed this door lock that has you just punch in a code and it locks and unlocks the door.You can still use keys if you want but if you forgot them or misplaced them etc you can still get in your house, saving money on calling a locksmith! There are also locks that have you swipe a card or even your cell phone to enter but I like the little code so I don’t have to worry about having my phone or card to enter because then you still are needing a physical item to open the door which means it can get lost. You can’t lose a code! Forget, yes, lose, no, but that’s why you can use either the key OR the code.
Cars even have a new feature where you don’t need to have the keys in your hand to enter the car but as long as they are within the general vicinity of the vehicle, like your pocket, purse, or diaper bag, you can enter. Then to start the car you simply press the fancy push to start button. This, of course, is on the newest cars but it is SUCH a convenient feature and is one step closer to actually going keyless.
When all else fails you can always get the Tile key finder to keep on your key ring or almost anything for that matter! You can buy a package of them and designate one to your keys, one to your luggage, backpack or whatever you need help keeping track of. Your handy dandy cell phone then guides you to the item. Tile also makes a ringing sound so you can listen out for the lost item. Another super cool feature is that the tile has a button on it so if you happen to lose your phone but have your keys you can press the button and it finds your phone for you (even if your phone is on silent).
Winter Accessories
Scarves, gloves, hats, love to find ways to get away from us, don’t they? The good news is that some winter gloves come with little clips that keep them together which is helpful. They also have these things called mitten clips which can not only keep mittens or gloves together but they can attach them to your jacket sleeve so they stay with you even when they aren’t on you. It’s not necessarily the most fashionable statement you can make but if you’re that worried about losing them, like with kids, it’s a great idea.
In terms of storage,you can try folding the gloves together like socks,using a safety pin to pin them together when you’re not wearing them. If you have a set of hat, gloves and scarf that specifically go together, try keeping them in a gallon size ziplock bag so that the set stays together. Then, of course, keep all your winter accessories stored together like in a basket on the shelf in the coat closet, or even an over the door shoe hanger so you can easily see all of your options.
Clothing
The best way to not lose your clothes is to always win at strip poker. Haha just kidding! (Kind of!) But seriously, you have to be intentional about where you put your clothes. They should only be A) On your body B) In the laundry or C) In your closet/dresser. That’s it. They needn’t be on the floor, or in the car, or wherever else people put their clothes because that’s how you lose things, when you aren’t intentional about where you are putting them.
Debit/ Credit Card/ Cash/ License & Wallet
Most people keep all this stuff together, often in a wallet, and that works for the general population. Since I am a major fan of minimalism,(not having alot of ‘stuff’) I try to keep it even simpler than that. I personally don’t carry cash and keep my debit card & license in my cell phone! I don’t mean literally like with Apple Pay, though you could do that these days, but they have cell phone cases that literally have a wallet built into them! LIFE SAVER. We almost never forget our cellphones, (notice that cell phones are NOT on the top ten most lost list?!) so integrating your wallet with your cell phone is a major win-win in my book.
(I have the slide wallet one because I'm always taking photos of my kids and I found that the first photo of the wallet one gets in the way of taking photos so keep that in mind if you're a major photographer like me lol)
Umbrella
Umbrellas, sometimes you need ‘em, sometimes you don’t. This unfortunately makes it easy to lose since you may need it going into a building but not when you’re leaving, thus forgetting to bring it with you. In this case I suggest keeping a brightly colored elastic on the handle of the umbrella which you put on your wrist when you open the umbrella. This way the elastic serves as a reminder to bring the umbrella back with you. At home, you should keep an umbrella by the door in your coat closet or mudroom area so it’s easily accessible on your way out. I also like to keep at least one umbrella in the car in the back of the driver or passenger’s seat where there is often a pocket. This way here if it starts raining, you’re prepared !
Watch/Jewelry
The best way to not lose important, expensive items such as watches and jewelry, is, once again, to have a home for them and be intentional about putting them where they belong. Even with this, though, I will admit that earrings are just one of those things that can get snagged on things, the backs can fall off and not much you can do about that. There are some great jewelry and watch storage solutions, though, to help you keep track of your watches and jewelry. My husband uses a dock station that holds his watch, charges his phone, has a spot for his wallet, etc. I use a wall jewelry case that has photos on the front because I like my items to have multiple uses. Plus, I really like when things don’t have to take up floor or counter space so the wall was perfect for me.
I hope that some of this can help you keep from losing some of these top ten most lost items. If you have any life hacks or products that help you from losing these things please let us know in the comments below!
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