How do I stop losing things around the house?

Losing things is a systems problem rather than a memory problem. An item with a fixed home is either there or in your hand; an item without one could be anywhere, and no amount of trying to remember fixes that.

What you'll need

• A bowl or hook by the door (optional)
• Trackers for a few items (optional)

Step by step

1. Identify the four or five things you actually lose.Keys, wallet, phone, glasses, remote. It is a short list for most people, and solving those solves most of the problem.
2. Give each one a single fixed home.One place, not two. A hook, a bowl, a specific pocket. The rule is that it lives there whenever it is not in your hand.
3. Put the home where you naturally arrive.By the front door for keys, beside the bed for glasses. A designated place you have to walk to will not be used consistently.
4. Create a drop zone by the door.A bowl, a shelf, hooks. Everything that goes out with you lives there, which also means you can see at a glance if something is missing.
5. Use trackers for the few items worth it.Bluetooth trackers on keys, wallet and bags. They are inexpensive and they also let you ring the item from your phone.
6. Put things back immediately rather than later.The two seconds of putting something in its home is what the whole system rests on. 'I will put it away in a minute' is where things get lost.
7. Do a five-minute reset each evening.Return anything that has migrated. It prevents the slow accumulation that makes the system stop working.
8. Have a second set where it makes sense.A spare pair of reading glasses downstairs, a spare charger in a bag. Cheaper than the time spent looking for the original.

Tips

• When you do lose something, retrace what you were doing rather than searching randomly. Memory works better on sequence than on location.
• Bright coloured cases or key rings make small items far easier to spot. Black keys on a dark surface are genuinely hard to see.
• Photograph the inside of a bag or drawer before travelling. It is surprisingly useful for working out what is missing.

Common mistakes

• Having two or three places something might be — It removes the certainty that makes the system work. One fixed home means it is either there or in your hand.
• Putting the designated place somewhere inconvenient — A home you have to detour to will not be used when you are carrying shopping. It must be where you naturally arrive.
• Relying on remembering where you put it — Working memory fails under distraction, which is exactly when things get put down. A fixed place removes the need to remember at all.

Questions people ask