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How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

blog.alexwendland.com

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Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#131

Post by [deleted] »

ghaff wrote: post #24
tombert wrote: post #21

I just end up buying enough of the item to be within arms reach of nearly anywhere I'm likely to use it. I used to never be able to find a screwdriver when I needed it, so now I have seven screwdrivers: three regular ratcheting, three stubby ratcheting, and a ratcheting one that lives in my pocket. I keep a regular ratcheting on my desk, in my living room, and in my bedroom, which are the only places I would realisti…

Yeah. You can't do it with everything but, for example, I tend to have a stocked travel kit that I don't need to raid (for the most part) for everyday charging gear. My laptops live where they live and I'll bring their chargers with them; they basically don't move unless I'm traveling. My office has some tools and my garage has some tools. I may need to raid one or the other but not for routine stuff. I certainly don…

[deleted]

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#132

Post by Aeolun »

pipes wrote: post #87
bubblebeard wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I might just steal this idea from you. Having a partner who ”organize through chaos” (which I maintain is not an actual system) there are constantly treasure troves of knick-knacks everywhere, usually hiding important items. No matter how often I try to organize it’s always messy, I think this might be the answer. Thank you!

Ah yes, same here, my wife stacks stuff in any available free space, anywhere in the house.

It’s fine for stuff that has a fixed spot in the kitchen or bathroom, but documents, mail, jewelry or any kind of tech just disappears everywhere.

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#133

Post by aaron695 »

pacifika wrote: post #69
treetalker wrote: post #31

My approach is to have separate “take-off” points near the entrance/exit of each room. Example: If I’m in my home office and find that some things need to go to the living room and some to the kitchen, I simply queue them to take off instead of taking a trip every time I realize an item needs to go. Then when I take a coffee break, I’ll grab all the items; drop the living-room items off on the way to the kitchen, and…

It’s interesting because it contradicts the advice to only move an item once (avoiding clutter)

> contradicts the advice to only move an item once

This would have to be wrong.

This would ban laundry hampers, dirty clothes would go straight into the machine.

I think the rule would be if you pick up the item from the “take-off” point it goes away.

You have to be able queue things before the clean. OP isn't cleaning, they are constructing the queue. You would be allow to move from queue to queue I guess, but you'd have to make sure there can't be a topographical loop.

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#134

Post by xattt »

Aeolun wrote: post #130
leokennis wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a good idea, as is the idea in the article. The basic requisite however is a desire to not lose stuff. My wife always loses track of her EarPods. My oldest kid always loses his pocket knife. I could have 20 holding pens in the house and they'd still lose their stuff, since the idea that you have to exert even a minor amount of effort by putting stuff in its place to save yourself much more searching effort ,…

I lose my shit all the time (everything that doesn’t have a fixed location anyway), which is why everything that regularly comes with me is now in it’s own specialized bags. There’s a work bag, a ‘going out with kids’ bag, etc. I still remember the last time I lost my keys, which is like 26 years ago, when I was 10. But I still identify as that kid that always lost their keys xD

A few thoughts on keys:

I am consciously trying to whittle down my keychain to reduce the chance of temporary losing access to things. I have a keypad door lock so I’be been able to get rid of my front door key.

However, I found that decreasing the use of something can increase the chance of losing it, because you’re not “touching” it all the time and not aware of its location.

I have an Airtag, but wish that it could be integrated into the car keyfob to whittle down the size even more.

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#135

Post by twic »

gleenn wrote: post #96

I love physical algorithms and data structures in every day life. My little computer science brain is simple but if I can remember small tricks, particularly with the arrangement of everyday things, I find joy somehow. A couple of my favorites are like if I need to remember to do something in the groggy morning, I put either my wallet or keys wrapped around something weird. When I awaken and go to find those items, I…

I think I also do most of these. Clothes in FIFO queues, except I have three queues for T-shirts, for best, decent, and doing housework quality. Stick a post-it note on my glasses or shoes to remind me to do something. Or use a weird item to jog my memory if I don't have a post-it to hand. Leave medication out on the bathroom sink if I need to use it the next morning. Leave the bedroom wastepaperbasket on the bed if the bins need to go out later. And the takeoff points someone else suggested - things to go downstairs pile up at the top of the stairs, things to go to he kitchen pile up on the cupboard by the kitchen door, etc.

On clothes, I suggest a FIFO order, then occasionally garbage collect from the out end to identify clothes you haven't worn in a long time and keep skipping over when it's time to dress. Get rid of them or move them into cold storage.

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#136

Post by boesboes »

Great idea, i have a 'etagere's and bowls on each surface basically. Most of the time i know where stuff is, if not i know fairly certain in which 'pen' it is. It also really helps to be conscious of where you put something. What i mean is, if you put the thing in the box, look at it and how it 'looks' in the box. +300 to memory of that item ;)

I only started really loosing things since my girlfriend moved in as now she moves stuff around a lot. And we have a lot more stuff lying around

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#137

Post by wiredfool »

MathMonkeyMan wrote: post #124

I imagined this would be an article about getting into the habit of keeping items in your hand so that you don't place them down somewhere and forget. But it's an article about choosing one place where you put miscellaneous things that usually belong somewhere else.

One of the small wins in my life was actually using up a Bic Crystal pen, without losing or breaking it. Took maybe a decade, as I don't really write that much anymore, but it lasted through 3 or 4 moves and some commuting.

Re: How to avoid losing items? Holding pens

#140

Post by LordGrey »

khafra wrote: post #56
tombert wrote: post #21

I just end up buying enough of the item to be within arms reach of nearly anywhere I'm likely to use it. I used to never be able to find a screwdriver when I needed it, so now I have seven screwdrivers: three regular ratcheting, three stubby ratcheting, and a ratcheting one that lives in my pocket. I keep a regular ratcheting on my desk, in my living room, and in my bedroom, which are the only places I would realisti…

A decade ago, I bought a bucket of 25 nail clippers. My wife was initially skeptical, but over the next few years, grew to appreciate the low demands of the system: Need a nail clipper? Go to the bucket. See a nail clipper in a weird place? Put it in the bucket, if you feel like it and have the time. Otherwise, don't worry about it. There'll be one in the bucket when you need it.

My ex-wife was constantly losing nail clippers. My solution was to buy a box of 50 of them and put them everywhere.
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