Do you waste time every day looking for your keys? That used to be me!
According to IKEA – the top five items men look for in their homes are clean socks, remote control, wedding album, car keys and driver’s license. For women, the top five items we search for every morning are shoes, a child’s toy, wallet, lipstick and the remote control On the average, we spend 6 minutes looking for our keys in the morning!
6 MInutes Lost – This factoid alone might explains why you are not really going crazy, but maybe closer to average than you would like to admit and I have an easy solution that will save you minutes every single day!
This remarkable solution is as easy as hanging a hook by your door.
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Once you have a hook, or even a plain old nail installed, deposit your keys as soon as you enter the house & grab them right before you leave. With this new method, it is as easy as picking them up off the hook & dashing out the door. No more hunting for your keys and running late.
Before I was a professional organizer and didn’t know any better, I frequently lost my keys, in fact almost every day. My novice solution, since I parked my car into an attached garage, was to leave the keys inside my car. I did this routine for a few years, and it did work well, but obviously was not the safest or best strategy!
Are you lost too? – According to New Scientist magazine, “People tend to mislay an average of nine items a week and waste 15 minutes a day searching for them.” Not only do we waste valuable time searching for lost things, we’re also causing unnecessary stress and frustration when we can’t find what we need. How many times have you had a bad day because you couldn’t find what you needed in the morning?
Wasted Time – So how do we prevent losing our things, getting frustrated at ourselves when we can’t find them, and wasting those 15 minutes? The secret is to create a home for every item you own. Decide where this home will be as soon as the item enters your house (or office, or car) and make sure it always gets put there when you’re not using it.
Organizing Habits – As with anything, in order to create this key “organization” habit you have to practice putting them in the same place over and over again. Research shows that if you add a dramatically new strategy in to your life, don’t try to take out other bad habits “cold turkey” style. Keep focused and learn one new habit at a time.
Don’t worry if you can’t remember to do this every time. It takes a little while to develop new habits but practice does make perfect and why waste valuable time with something as simple as searching for missing keys? I want you to be able to get out of the door quickly and on your way ‘on time’ to your next appointment
Tip for Women – Here is my bonus tip for women: If you carry a large purse, make sure to upsize your or use a carabiner. Whatever option you choose, keep your keys on a super large ring so they can easily be located within your purse.
Key Rings – Speaking of large key rings – if you chose to use a jumbo ring, only keep the minimum amount of keys you need on your daily key ring. Don’t lug around a bevy of heavy keys that you use only a few times. Instead, keep the extra keys on separate key rings. And yes, you can hang those rings also on your ‘out the door’ key holder.
Loose Keys – While you are in key organizing mode, this is a great time to consolidate and identify all of the loose keys on your home. Gather them all together and identify what they go to and who they are, so to speak. Sort your keys onto different key rings based on location or activity. For instance, if you only use the locker key when you go to the gym, why not keep it tucked inside your gym bag pocket? Or perhaps you have a set of keys for your husband’s office (that would be me!). My solution that definitely works is to keep those keys on the middle compartment of my car so when I arrive to his office after hours, I have them handy, easy to find AND I don’t have to remember to bring them until I pull up in front of the office.
Key Plaque by the Door – The photo above is my actual front door key plaque. It was given to me by a dear friend and one of my all-time favorite gifts. I have been using it successfully for years and LOVE it! Since I mentioned specific keys for specific situations, I wanted to show you this picture to demonstrate. The lanyard clipped keys on the right peg are used only when I ride my bike. This is why this ring only includes my bike lock keys, front door key and a hair tie, just in case.
Toss, toss, toss! – After sorting and combining your key collection in a way that makes sense to you, throw out the random keys and get them out of your life. This will help you avoid confusion later and will add space to your junk drawer and your life!
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Would like to feel more organized? If so, Kathi is here to help you.
Kathi’s expert advice has been featured in national media outlets including Oprah Magazine, Martha Stewart Living and Better Homes and Gardens, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more.
As the author of 2 books, Kathi has also developed several online courses to help clients get better organized and energized in all areas of their home, life, and business.
