6 Tricks to Use So You Never Lose Your Keys Again
July 26, 2015
You have to leave the house now or you'll be late for work again. As you rush around, you grab your wallet or your purse, but you don't see your keys nearby. Over the next 10 minutes, you conduct a frantic search. Finally, you find them on the counter in your bathro om, snatch them up and rush out the door.
If this situation sounds all too familiar, you know the panic of thinking you've lost your keys. But how can you stop that scenario fro m occurring weekly? Try the tricks below.
1. Create a designated spot for your keys.
You may think you already follow this tip. Perhaps you have a special drawer, counter or pocket for your keys. But think back to the last time your keys were lost. Chances are you misplaced them because you didn't put them in their special spot.
Make this rule work better by creating a "no exceptions" rule: you have to put your keys in their proper place every time, even if you are tired or in a hurry. After all, it probably takes you only a few extra seconds to put your keys in the chosen location.
2. Move your keys if you see them out of place.
This rule is a companion to the previous one. Even if you always put keys away in the right place, others who share or borrow your keys may not. So, if you notice keys in a place they shouldn't be, move them to the right spot immediately. Then you won't find yourself wondering later where you saw the keys.
3. Make your keychain big and loud.
If you often misplace your keys when you're away from home, add a few keychains to the key rings. The keychains make your keys easy to hear and see when they fall. Then if you drop them in a parking lot, you'll get an audible alarm that you need to pick them up.
4. Have a locksmith cut several spare keys.
You can reduce the amount of panic you experience when your keys get lost if you know you have spare keys readily available. Take your keys to a locksmith, and have him or her cut you at least two spares for every key you use daily. Then keep those spare key sets in safe but easy-to-access locations. Store the two spare sets in different places as well. For example, you might keep one set at home and one set at your office.
5. Where possible, create keyless entry systems.
If you lose your keys all the time, maybe it's time to consider an alternative way to get into your house. Ask a locksmith to install an access control keypad or a similar system. Then you can come and go from your residence without using keys at all.
6. Look around before you panic.
Apply this trick in the first moments after you realize you can't find your keys. Instead of becoming frantic, take a deep breath. Then conduct a methodical and thorough search.
Begin at the place where your keys should be. Search through every corner of that item or place. Remove others items if necessary t o ensure you haven't just overlooked your keys. If you still can't find them, widen your search. You can often find lost keys no more tha n 50 cm from where you expected them to be.
Unfortunately, there's no fool-proof method to ensure that your keys never get lost again. Still, if you apply these tricks carefully, yo u should find yourself conducting fewer searches for your misplaced keys.
Just in case your keys become truly lost, keep the number of a trustworthy locksmith company in your phone. That way, you can ca ll them right away in an emergency lock-out situation.
