Problems
These have all happened to me, a member of my family, or a colleague.
1 You go to the airport and forget your luggage key.
2 You have a suitcase key and lock but they don't meet the US regulations.
3 You have a combination key but forget the number to unlock it.
4 You lose your door key.
5 You lose the office key.
6 You lose the club door keys. You put them somewhere safe out of sight, now you cannot remember where.
7 You return from a friend's house and lose your door keys.
8 You lose your car keys.
9 You drop your flat keys down a drain.
10 You have a dozen keys and a whole group of people are held up whilst you try to work out which is the suitcase key.
11 You lose the postbox key.
Answers
1 List luggage key and lock on your packing list. Most suitcases come with a key. It is simpler to leave every key and lock with the luggage. If they are not already colour coded to match the suitcase, you can colour code with ribbons, nail varnish or paint or a shoe repair and key cutting shop will stock and sell your sets of colour caps to put on the keys and you can buy colour coded key tags to match to attach to either key or padlock.
2 Airports sell a variety of keys. Allow time to stop to buy. Keys with matching locks are often cheaper in supermarkets.
f you don’t mind my asking, what were you doing on the sofa?
3 Tell the code to a member of your family. Or pick a house number or phone number from somebody known to all the family or a famous address or year of an event. For security, something which will not be known outside the family but will be known to you.
4 Have a spare. Leave the original or spare at home with somebody living or working nearby. make sure your flight arrives when they are around to give you the key if needed.
5 An office key or key common to all residents of a block of flats can mean you have to replace a lock and provide keys to everybody plus the spares. Keep the key in a box with a hook for it.
6 Same as 5. Get the staff of the office and the cleaners to check everywhere including behind drawers, move all furniture, check waste bins before emptying them (in case keys fell off desk into an open top bin). Check under cushions, behind cushions and under chairs and sofas. Move newspapers. If you were going to hide the keys for safety, where would you put them?
7 Phone your friends. Ask them to look under chairs, desks, tables, sofas.
8 Check under car seats and behind the seat cushions.
9 Move the car and look under it. Ready into drain with magnetic device or hook. Look with torch. Find somebody strong with protective gloves against scratches and dirt to lift the drain cover. In a big building such as a condo, the caretaker will have keys for lifting drain covers and either a device for reaching down or protective gloves.
Stories
In my condo in Singapore the chap had often done this, just lifted the cover and reached down. Problem solved in one minute. I heaved my flat keys wrapped in a towel when I went swimming. I lifted my towel and the keys rolled out and downhill into the nearest drain cover.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.
These have all happened to me, a member of my family, or a colleague.
1 You go to the airport and forget your luggage key.
2 You have a suitcase key and lock but they don't meet the US regulations.
3 You have a combination key but forget the number to unlock it.
4 You lose your door key.
5 You lose the office key.
6 You lose the club door keys. You put them somewhere safe out of sight, now you cannot remember where.
7 You return from a friend's house and lose your door keys.
8 You lose your car keys.
9 You drop your flat keys down a drain.
10 You have a dozen keys and a whole group of people are held up whilst you try to work out which is the suitcase key.
11 You lose the postbox key.
Answers
1 List luggage key and lock on your packing list. Most suitcases come with a key. It is simpler to leave every key and lock with the luggage. If they are not already colour coded to match the suitcase, you can colour code with ribbons, nail varnish or paint or a shoe repair and key cutting shop will stock and sell your sets of colour caps to put on the keys and you can buy colour coded key tags to match to attach to either key or padlock.
2 Airports sell a variety of keys. Allow time to stop to buy. Keys with matching locks are often cheaper in supermarkets.
f you don’t mind my asking, what were you doing on the sofa?
3 Tell the code to a member of your family. Or pick a house number or phone number from somebody known to all the family or a famous address or year of an event. For security, something which will not be known outside the family but will be known to you.
4 Have a spare. Leave the original or spare at home with somebody living or working nearby. make sure your flight arrives when they are around to give you the key if needed.
5 An office key or key common to all residents of a block of flats can mean you have to replace a lock and provide keys to everybody plus the spares. Keep the key in a box with a hook for it.
6 Same as 5. Get the staff of the office and the cleaners to check everywhere including behind drawers, move all furniture, check waste bins before emptying them (in case keys fell off desk into an open top bin). Check under cushions, behind cushions and under chairs and sofas. Move newspapers. If you were going to hide the keys for safety, where would you put them?
7 Phone your friends. Ask them to look under chairs, desks, tables, sofas.
8 Check under car seats and behind the seat cushions.
9 Move the car and look under it. Ready into drain with magnetic device or hook. Look with torch. Find somebody strong with protective gloves against scratches and dirt to lift the drain cover. In a big building such as a condo, the caretaker will have keys for lifting drain covers and either a device for reaching down or protective gloves.
Stories
In my condo in Singapore the chap had often done this, just lifted the cover and reached down. Problem solved in one minute. I heaved my flat keys wrapped in a towel when I went swimming. I lifted my towel and the keys rolled out and downhill into the nearest drain cover.
Stories
We had the same problem in London. Our teenage son lost his keys under the sofa at friend's house. (I think the boys were doing yoga or marital arts on the floor. As one does.)
We went to change the locks. Removing the old lock was too difficult. So we added a new lock.
Later the key was found. Then it was lost again. Again we did not remove the old lock but added another. That is why we carry 25 keys - and our front door has 25 locks. Only joking.)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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