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Can’t Stop Losing Your Car Keys? Check Out These 5 Tips
Lost car keys plague a quarter of all UK drivers*, and for some of us it happens with disturbing frequency.
It’s understandable if you lose your car keys often…they’re tiny and you carry them around with you every day. Certainly the most frustrating thing is when you discover they’re lost just as you’re about to rush out the door.
And when you can’t be late, it’s more than an annoyance: losing your car keys can really ruin your day.
Don’t get annoyed, though. Instead, read these 5 common-sense tips for dealing with lost car keys. With just a few behavior changes, you can avoid the frustration of turning your house upside down as you search frantically for them.
#1. Buy a designer bowl (really!).
This may sound odd, but a big, flashy centerpiece in the shape of a bowl can be the answer to your prayers when it comes to preventing lost car keys. Buy a beautiful, colorful bowl (red?) and place it in your home entryway.
Put nothing in the bowl except car keys, and get into the habit of always tossing them in there when you come home. It helps to put the bowl in the middle of your entryway, where you can’t miss it when you walk in the door.
#2. Get a Bluetooth tracker for your keys.
Technology can help you in a big way. Bluetooth trackers like Tile allow you to ring your lost keys. You simply follow the sound until your keys have been located.
Tile also allows you to track your keys via a phone app. You can even check a map for the last known location (with time stamp). You’ll need a smartphone for Tile, and one of the great benefits of Tile is there’s a community of other Tile users who can help you find your lost car keys.
Other brands can be found cheaper- make sure to check the range of the key finder. Some are 80 feet and others are less. Tile’s range is up to 100 feet but most effective at just 30 feet. Because of that limitation however, Bluetooth finders may not be the solution for everyone.
#3. Get yourself a ridiculously huge key chain.
Technology helps in a lot of scenarios, but sometimes the low-tech solution works best. Since cay keys are tiny, they can slip unnoticed into any crevice or crack, leaving you stranded where you are.
That problem is solved when you attach something large to your car keys. When it’s highly visible too, even better. A huge neon yellow pom pom would be perfect but if you’re not ready to look like you drove a clown car to work, try these ideas:
- a bright luggage tag
- a rock climber’s caribiner (large size)
- some fuzzy dice
- a hunk of wood, nicely sanded
- some brass knuckles (double duty!)
- got kids? have them make you something crafty for your key fob
#4. Give your keys a permanent home in your bag.
Whether you carry a purse, a briefcase or a backpack, there should be a dedicated pocket for your car keys. That way, you’ll never “lose” them by chucking them into a bottomless pit. Nothing is more frustrating than searching through a pile of tiny items in the bottom of your bag, hoping your keys are there.
If there’s no suitable pocket in your bag/purse/briefcase/backpack, you can either stitch one in or use a big clip. The big clip can be found at a hardware or craft store, and works like a dog leash: clip your keys to the inside of your bag so you always know where they are.
#5. When all else fails, call a specialist car locksmith.
If nothing seems to work and you continually lose your car keys, there’s always the backup plan of a specialist car locksmith. They can gain access to your car and replace lost car keys on the spot.
Of course the best option is to prevent losing your car keys, but it’s nice to know an auto locksmith like AutoLocks has your back.
However you choose to keep track of your car keys, remember one thing: treat them as valuable possessions, devise a strategy for preventing loss, and in always remember you have a friend in autolocks Ltd, who will replace your car keys no matter what.
*Source: “Care is Key to Saving Money Behind the Wheel” Lloyds Bank Survey. Retrieved 3/9/2016 from https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/globalassets/documents/media/press-releases/lloyds-bank/2013/1811_car_insurance.pdf
