"Why do I lose things?"

Because you don't have a 'home' for them!

Don't blame the blondeness!

Luann is right - we lose things because they weren't put in their correct home in the first place. I lost the morning paper today. I knew that I brought it in, but couldn't find it anywhere on the first floor, including the screen porch. It wasn't until I gave up and sat down at the table to eat breadfast that my eyes lit on the paper sitting on the piano opposite my chair. The "proper" place to put it was beside my place at the table. Just a small thing like that makes me realize how important organization and routine are.

Yesterday I lost my monthly and weekly calendar sheets that I print out from outlook. I usually have it either on tht table, on my desk or in my purse. I looked and looked and finally printed out a new one. I wasn't too happy about that because it also had my grocery list on it.

Later found it under another sheet of paper that I was going to use it with on the telephone. It wasn't it any of its 3 homes...so I couldn't find it!

Time is one of my most valuable commodities. In the last 10 years, I've "lost" my keys once. And that's because I didn't put them right back into my purse right after I entered the house. I take the 2 seconds to put things away so I don't have to give up my valuable time looking for things.

My husband, on the other hand, "loses" either his keys or wallet at least 5 times per week. Do they ever show up in the same or logical place? Nope. He never puts his things away...but he's finally figured out that he'd better put mine and ours away.

Last week I "lost" my Nesco roaster... The other day I thought you don't suppose... and sho-nuff, looked in the cupboard where it was supposed to be and there t'was. Lately I haven't been putting things away. (Long story - don't ask.) So, occasionally, putting things away can be problematic. Then I axed myself, why didn't I look there anyway???

So now I'm trying to get back to putting things away.

I once lost my pen when I was in my uniform for work. I looked and looked in the pocket it was supposed to be in, where I always put it...where was it? In the other pocket...I wouldn't even look there because it was not where I kept it!

I have discovered a technique for finding stuff I lost. I pretend it's in my hand and that I need to put it away. The place where I put it is often where I find the real item. Before I started pretending I'd buy replacement items, and find the original when I put the replacement away.

Oh, brother!
I never lose my keys or my wallet, but I lose pens, pads, books, and pieces of paper. No, I don't lose them...I just suddenly don't know where they are, and have to search for them.
It's because as soon as I am done with something, or distracted by the phone or doorbell, I just open my hand and there it lies.
I think the solution has something to do with consciousness. If I learn how to do it, I'll let you know!

Now this will make you laugh...my husband, who works out of town part of the time in a city where we keep a small apartment, and who never loses anything, called me the other morning. "Call your mother," he said, "and tell her that she is not the only one losing it." (We tease my elderly and moderately forgetful mother...)
He was fixing his breakfast, and he peeled a banana, and lost it. The peel was in the trash, but no banana. He didn't think he had eaten it, because he didn't have that distinctive banana taste in his mouth. He looked in the fridge, the cupboards, and even in his briefcase. No banana.
And it never turned up. So he must have eaten it.
So now the household question when anyone loses anything is, "Where the heck is that banana??!!"

That's hilarious! You're right about concsiousness. As I've gotten older, I really have to remind myself as I just put something down "for a minute" to actually say to myself where I am putting something. (I haven't started speaking out loud, but maybe I should - it would probably help) I once lost my keys for a month. I had to get everything replaced. Then one day I was way up in the top of some kitchen cupboards (we had 10' +/- ceilings, and the cupboards went all the way up. I didn't use the top for much - certainly not for anything I used often) and there they were. I must have been cleaning or something?! Don't know how they got there.

I have found that speaking out loud reinforces it in my mind. So, when I have to put something where it doesn't belong, I say out loud, "I am putting the ____ on the ____." (Better to completely avoid putting something where it doesn't belong.) Sometimes, I have said out loud to myself things like, "I am locking the car." When I'm sleep deprived, it helps a lot. I won't wonder about it later.

*grin* Great stories.
Lost the Nesco roaster??? :-)

Y'all are not alone.
Ever wonder where your car keys are while you are driving?
(and I pay good money to Revlon for my Blondeness!)

-Lena

Thanks for a good laugh, Lena! While you were driving!

:-)