Problem
You have lost your keys and can't get in.
Your tenant or neighbour loses keys and calls you for help from miles away.
You have a spare key but think you may need to change the locks.
You have lost: the front door key, the back door key, the shed key, the jewellery box key, the side gate key, the car key, your suitcase key, your second home's key, the postbox key.
You have dozens of keys but can't work out which one is the one you need.
Answers
In the old days people kept the key under the mat or in a nearby flowerpot. Most people were honest. Most people lived nearby. Now all that has changed and you are told not to leave the doorways under the mat because any burglar will look there. They don't know you have left a key there. They don't need to. If they look there at every house in the street sooner or later they will find a convenient key.
Tips (Americans say hacks)
Keep duplicate keys nearby.
Keep the name of the local 24 hour locksmith in your diary.
Sign up for a service for returning keys.
Post Box
Know the number of your postbox. It is inside at the back for that reason, so you can order spare keys or replacements if one is lost or broken.
You have lost your keys and can't get in.
Your tenant or neighbour loses keys and calls you for help from miles away.
You have a spare key but think you may need to change the locks.
You have lost: the front door key, the back door key, the shed key, the jewellery box key, the side gate key, the car key, your suitcase key, your second home's key, the postbox key.
You have dozens of keys but can't work out which one is the one you need.
Answers
In the old days people kept the key under the mat or in a nearby flowerpot. Most people were honest. Most people lived nearby. Now all that has changed and you are told not to leave the doorways under the mat because any burglar will look there. They don't know you have left a key there. They don't need to. If they look there at every house in the street sooner or later they will find a convenient key.
Tips (Americans say hacks)
Keep duplicate keys nearby.
Keep the name of the local 24 hour locksmith in your diary.
Sign up for a service for returning keys.
Post Box
Know the number of your postbox. It is inside at the back for that reason, so you can order spare keys or replacements if one is lost or broken.
If you have a spare key at another address, or a photo, you can find out the number and then order one to be delivered next day - before the bills pile up in inaccessible envelopes!
Stories - Deceased Mum's Lost Doorkey
My mother lost key: She came home from holiday and had lost the doorkey. My father had used his.
Stories - Deceased Mum's Lost Doorkey
My mother lost key: She came home from holiday and had lost the doorkey. My father had used his.
Where was hers? Had she dropped it in the street? Did they need to change the locks.
A week later, after she died, her keys were still missing. We were considering changing all the locks in case she had dropped them in the street nearby. That meant also giving three more keys at least, one for each of the flats in the block which had four flats. If they had two sets of keys, not just our two or three sets, but two or three sets for all their flats would have to be replaced. costing them or use money and time. Meanwhile, we had other urgent things to do. My father wanted her clothes moved out of the bedroom.
I went through all my mother's handbags, checking for money and vital items, prior to taking them away from my widowed father, to keep the bags for myself or give them to a charity shop. Every one of the first eight bags was empty.
I went through all my mother's handbags, checking for money and vital items, prior to taking them away from my widowed father, to keep the bags for myself or give them to a charity shop. Every one of the first eight bags was empty.
My father said, "Don't bother opening any more."
But I insisted on checking every one. The last one was the straw bag my mother had taken on holiday . Inside, guess what, you've guessed, inside were the missing door keys!
The moral of the story is: That's one place to look. The bag you took on holiday. The suitcase. The beach bag. The rucksack. The jacket. The outside pockets or inside pocket of the wheel-on suitcase.
The moral of the story is: That's one place to look. The bag you took on holiday. The suitcase. The beach bag. The rucksack. The jacket. The outside pockets or inside pocket of the wheel-on suitcase.
Other places to look for keys:
CAR
Under the car seat. Under the boot of the car. (Americans say trunk of the car.)
CLOTHES
Pocket of what you wore earlier in the day, when driving, or leaving the car. For example:
Jacket, winter coat, trousers (Americans say pants),
SHOPPING
In the tote bag, carrier bag, pile of shopping, under the newspaper. In your rucksack - at the bottom.
FURNITURE
Rolled under the sofa when you sat on the floor.
MOVED BY ANOTHER
Back in the key box. Attached to the car keys. Sent to lost property. Placed in a drawer for safekeeping.
The other problem with keys is the key you find and you don't know which lock it fits. For example, you have a dozen window and door keys to give to a tenant. You need them listed on the inventory.
They want the back door keys. But which set fits the back door?
The back door has three locks, at the top, the middle, and the base.
The windows all have similar style keys, but one pair fit the kitchen window, one pair is for the living room, another for the bedroom one, another for bedroom two, and another for the bathroom window.
One solution is to photograph the keys alongside the door, or the label showing the dwelling or unit number, and the door itself, or the window.
Angela Lansbury, author of How To Get Out Of The Mess You're In.
For recycling clothes, see
dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com
