How I quit losing my keys

Scott Manning
January 7, 2005 | Comments (6)

For years, I found myself searching for essential items needed in order to leave my house. My keys, wallet, wedding ring, and watch are very important pieces to any man's inventory when heading out into the world.

One of the most common things yelled across my house was, "Honey, have you seen my keys?" She would typically reply with, "Oh no. Where did you hide them now?"

"Hide" is the key word to this situation. Two people are involved when losing my keys. There's the version of me that puts them somewhere in the house and promises to remember where they are. These places include, but are not limited to, the kitchen counter, the bathroom counter, under the bed, and a random bookshelf in my office.

The second person involved in losing my keys is the future version of me that curses the day I ever owned keys.

A typical day of arriving at my house looks something like this: I walk in and pet the cats. I drop my bag on the couch. I head to the kitchen and get a drink. I remove my rings and place them on the counter. I sit down in the dining room and realize that I still have my wallet in my back pocket. I remove it and put it on the dining room table.

A few hours later, I find myself lying on the couch with my wife watching some TV. I turn over and my keys jab me in the leg. I take them out of my pocket and put them under the coffee table since I'm too lazy at the time to put them on the actual table.

The next day, I get to play "Where's all my crap". The game was fun at first, but years of playing became draining.

I'm proud to say that I have not lost my keys or wallet for the past year.

The secret is simple. As soon as I walk in the door, the very first thing I do is strip myself of all items that I don't need. It all gets placed nicely on the table next to the door. It's always the first thing I do when walking into the house and everything gets placed on the same table. After a few attempts, this routine became ritual.

Now the only way I lose my stuff is if my wife decides to rearrange things in the house. This is what my dad talked about when I was young when he'd yell, "She hides stuff from me!!!" But that topic is for another article.

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Comments (6):

1) Posted by: Brajeshwar
January 8, 2005 2:25 AM

Hmmm, then I think I am too good with this. I keep my things in exact places where they should go. Long back, I learnt that a person's computer hard disk and his file organization reflects his personal life too. How is your computer organization?

Wanna see my desktop?
http://brajeshwar.com/images/misc/thinkpadR40Desktop.jpg

2) Posted by: Adam
January 8, 2005 9:51 AM

keys and wallet fair enough, but you take your wedding ring and watch off when you get home?

I'm kind of the reverse, I never have a problem finding things but used to forget to actually take them with me. So I now have a particular pocket for each item (wallet back right trousers, keys front left etc) and have a routine of checking each pocket before I close the door on the way out. Its all about routines :)

Brajeshwar...the fact that your pic shows its 3.22 AM Saturday morning and your at your computer talking to 2 men half way around the world from you says more than enough about your personal life ;)

"If a cluttered desk[top] is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?"
Laurence J. Peter

3) Posted by: Scott
January 8, 2005 12:16 PM

brajeshwar says:

"Wanna see my desktop?
http://brajeshwar.com/images/misc/thinkpadR40Desktop.jpg"

Damn. I always have to clean my desktop up about once a week.

But I'm all about having no image for the background. Pictures just get old and distracting.

4) Posted by: jim
January 10, 2005 10:20 AM

I have one of those desk drawer organizer thingies at home where I drop my wallet, keys, cell etc when I get home. Then I do the Adam pocket-check ritual in the AM when I go to work. Works for me.

5) Posted by: Mark
February 15, 2005 10:15 AM

Not sure how I ended up here but I felt compelled to contribute anyways...
When leaving the house I always recite the line from that stupid "Nuns on the Run" movie in which the guy remembers how to draw the catholic cross thing over his face by saying "Spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch". I substitute "cell phone" for testicles, bus since I keep my phone in my front pocket, testicles is close enough.

As for putting stuff where it belongs when I get home, most of it ends up in a small wall cabinet by the back door. If I ever take my wedding ring off, my wife will put it away on her crystal ring holder and I won't find it for days!

-Cheers

6) Posted by: Mark
February 15, 2005 10:15 AM

-Cheers