There are only so many places in our homes where things can hide. Still, it’s interesting to see some of the locations where things turn up isn’t it? Once when I was putting away groceries, I put a can of soup in the fridge and my can of soda in the pantry. I couldn’t imagine what I had done with my soda. Later, I quizzically pulled the soup from the fridge, thinking, “How did that get in there?” When I went to the pantry for more items to make dinner, I found my soda.
Sometimes, we don’t find stuff that quickly. We may even forget about things until we begin a major cleaning or re-organizing project and come across a long lost item. My kids have been pleasantly surprised by forgotten items they’ve found when cleaning out from under their beds.
One of the best ways to find lost items is to retrace your steps. Stop and think about what you were doing before the item went missing. I’ve been trying to teach my children this. It doesn’t always work, but it often does.
The best option is of course to avoid losing things in the first place, right? Yeah, but that’s not realistic. As hard as we try to follow the adage, “a place for everything and everything in its place,” we’re still going to lose stuff sometimes. It is still a good idea to try to create specific places for things, especially important items. Keys are a good example.
We have a key rack where my husband and I generally hang our keys when we come in. I say generally, because there are times I come in with my hands full and my keys hit the first solid surface I come across. This happened recently, and then I couldn’t find my keys for the life of me. I took my husband’s and when I returned, he smiled and dangled my keys in front of me. They were right on the coffee table the whole time.
Do you have any fun lost and found stories to share? I’m hoping I’ll have a fun one to tell soon, when I find the missing diamond from my wedding ring. Yep, I lost it this morning. It wasn’t a case of putting something in the wrong place this time, but I still can’t find it, so wish me luck!
Top Five Tips for Keeping Clutter in Check