Ask Wirecutter, an advice column written by Annemarie Conte, explores the best approaches to buying, using, and maintaining stuff. Email your biggest product-related problems to askwirecutter@wirecutter.com.
Dear Wirecutter,
My husband is constantly losing his keys, phone, tools, notebooks, jacket, whatever. Do you have any great tips or products for helping us to keep track of everything?
E.C.
Dear E.C.,
Is there no greater married-couple cliché than one partner never knowing where anything is and the other one telling them the exact spot it sits (down to the millimeter), which is usually directly in front of the looker’s face?
Assuming this is general forgetfulness and not a sign of a more serious neurological issue or aging-related cognitive decline (if you suspect it is, please see a doctor for medical advice), there are definitely some tricks to keep track of all his stuff. Wirecutter’s experts have a few ideas that can help.
Give your stuff a home
The idiom goes, “a place for everything and everything in its place.” Or to quote Daniel Tiger’s mom (video), “You’ve got to remember to be cleaner-uppers all the time.”
Not only does everything need somewhere to go, it needs to be returned to that spot after you’re finished using it. Easier said than done, I know.
Of course your keys can be hung from an entryway key rack, but you can also add small carabiners or clips to objects that don’t normally have loops so they can be hung there as well. This cheapie AirPod case cover that senior staff writer Elissa Sanci uses to keep her AirPods by her front door does the trick.
Yamazaki Rin Magnetic Key Holder
This key rack was the only one we found with either magnetic or screw-in mounting. And it offers storage for keys, mail, or a slim wallet. Its compact size holds just the right amount.
Group your most-used items
Try repurposing a small, sturdy box to use as a storage bin for essentials. That’s what senior staff writer Tim Heffernan does.
“It lives on my desk and as soon as I get home, I drop my door keys, wallet, and phone in it. Car keys and bike gloves too when relevant,” says Tim. “I don’t even have to think about where these basic items will be when I need them.”
Get multiples
We used to have one pair of scissors in our house. Now we have eight, because when I need to cut something, odds are I’ll find one of the eight faster than I’ll find the lone pair that ended up camouflaged across a row of books on a bookshelf. Even better if you can buy items that are brightly colored and therefore easy to spot.
Same goes for tape measures. One in the kitchen, one in the basement workshop area, one in the garage, and one in my home office, so I never have to shout, “Where do we keep the tape measures again?”
We have phone chargers in every room of the house for the same reason.
Some of our staff members have even made multiple copies of their house keys that they stash in multiple (safe) places, but that advice comes with safety concerns.
Stanley PowerLock Tape Measure 25-Foot
The PowerLock tape measure is easy to use, durable, affordable, accurate, and capable of doing its job without additional features that aren’t necessary for around-the-house work.
Scrutinize your habits
With the best of intentions, I set up an empty basket on top of our shoe rack that is supposed to hold piles of mail. Instead, the junk mail and fliers end up on the dining room table, which means our basket system is not working.
Take a step back and think about why certain things are left where they are and if you can find a solution that makes more sense than your current one.
Poppin Fin File Sorter
Add a pop of color to your entryway with this fun but compact mail organizer. It holds as many kinds of mail as larger organizers we tested but is small enough to fit on a shelf or side table.
Track your objects
Bluetooth trackers can be used to find tools, keys, remotes, and water bottles (they’re water resistant). To quote from our guide:
If you’re often scrambling to locate your keys or bag as you’re heading out the door, a Bluetooth tracker can be a lifesaver. iPhone users should choose Apple’s AirTag, which employs a huge network of Apple devices to passively search for lost goods and enable precision finding features, making it more likely that you’ll recover what you’ve misplaced. If you use an Android phone, go with Tile trackers, including the Tile Mate (2022). With the second-largest crowd-finding network, Tile is the best option for those who don’t use Apple’s phones.
“I always tuck one in my suitcase so I can find my stuff if the airline loses it,” says senior editor Caitlin McGarry, who wrote about using Bluetooth trackers as luggage trackers. “And keeping an AirTag on my keychain has saved my life on more than one occasion.” She loves the AirTag luggage loop accessory as well as the AirTag Leather Key Ring, which can be hooked on to lots of things, not just keys.
You can also use Bluetooth trackers to locate your car. “I have to move my car for street cleaning often, and I’ve spent, like, a quarter of my life trying to remember where I parked it,” says editor Jon Chase. “I left an AirTag in the car and have never looked back. I can’t directly share the location with someone else, but if I open the Find My app I can see it on a map and then take a screenshot to send to my wife.” (If you don’t want to use a tracker for whatever reason, iPhone users can ask Siri to remember where they parked a car, and Google Maps and Apple Maps let you drop pins to remember where you parked.)
We’ve even seen (but haven’t tested) trackers that are small enough to fit onto a glasses stem—something to look into if your husband is someone who constantly misplaces his specs.
Apple AirTag
AirTags leverage Apple’s huge network of devices to track down a lost suitcase, and they’re impressively accurate in pinpointing an item’s precise location.
Tile Mate (2022)
The Tile Mate has a long range, is helpfully loud, and gives you a better chance of finding your lost stuff than other non-Apple trackers.
Ping your phone instead of stomping from room to room
Technology has improved to the point where a game of hide and seek doesn’t have to take hours. “I constantly misplace my iPhone, so I use Apple’s Find My iPhone alarm often. It’s almost always in the couch or being camouflaged by the couch,” says senior staff writer Rachel Cericola. “So when in doubt, check the couch.”
A variety of smart watches—Apple Watches, Android watches, and running watches—generally have features that will ring your phone to help you locate it. You can also set up your smart-home device or use a Tile Mate to do the same.
Eliminate or adjust the often-lost item
Keyless entry: two beautiful words for people who hate carrying keys or are constantly losing them. The Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro WiFi from our guide to the best smart locks allows you to enter your home with a code (and often your fingerprint).
Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro WiFi
This compact, versatile, and quiet smart lock’s top feature is a fast (though sometimes faulty) fingerprint reader, and its rubber number keys will please most anyone.
Buying Options
*At the time of publishing, the price was $200.
If your spouse constantly loses his notebook, maybe it’s too big? Could he benefit from something more pocket-sized, like the Muji Passport Memo, a pick in our notebook guide? Or switching to something like the Notes app on his phone or Google Keep might be a better option for him if it comes to keeping everything in one place.
Muji Passport Memo
With a bargain price, a durable cover, and smooth, sturdy pages, it’s almost a no-brainer for a pocket notebook.
Get him a purse
If he’s hand-carrying his essentials (and then setting them down wherever), maybe having them live in a handsome satchel will help him with grab-and-go.
Waterfield Vitesse Cycling Musette
The Vitesse Cycling Musette is a comfortable bag that makes up for its lack of features with a simple, straightforward design and a vintage aesthetic.
Some of these tips may work for him, and some of them may not. But the key, as always, is to evaluate your own thinking as well. Take a step back and a deep breath. Remember that marriage is a compromise.
This article was edited by Ben Frumin.
