# How do you find something that is lost? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 27, 2009, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694 "2009-12-27T10:10:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![I\_Have\_Hippos\_In\_My\_Garden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4491bb/32.png) [@I\_Have\_Hippos\_In\_My\_Garden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Have_Hippos_In_My_Garden)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/21 "2009-12-28T12:54:13Z")
You have all given fantastic advice thank you! > [@](#): > > When I lose something, the most surefire method I know of for finding it is to buy a new one. I’m not sure if that works with things that you’ve put irreplaceable material into, though. > > And it might not be irrelevant, the question of why you hid it. Were you perhaps hiding it from someone? I actually did buy a new one when I was in America, from Barnes and Noble (what a fantastic shop, I wish we had that in the UK). Not to replace my old journal but for 2010. B&N sell the most fantastic notepads and journals and it is hard to find ones as good in the UK. Plus I wanted something that would remind me of my trip. Now I am home and can’t find my old one I just started using it straight away. It is close enough to 2010 anyway! I wasn’t really hiding it from anyone in particular. I trust my family. It was more that it felt safer being hidden away because it is something that is so so personal. > [@](#): > > Those pesky minutemen! LOL. Okay I will give that a try…! > [@](#): > > Did you look between the box spring and the mattress? I don’t really have that kind of bed. I have the mattress on top of thin wire springs and then nothing beneath that, and so I have space for boxes which are full of junk! And yes I have gone through the boxes and taken everything out and it isn’t in any of them! > [@](#): > > If YOU physically did the act of hiding it, should be no sweat. The information is in your subconscious somewhere. Try to relax, don’t think about trying to find the damn thing, just clear your thoughts and before long the location of the journal should come to you. If you know any self-hypnosis or meditation techniques, try those. Just relax. Since you are the one who put it where it is, your brain knows where it is! It’s just the pressure and frustration of looking for (and not finding) it, probably, that is keeping the information from just surfacing. Best of luck. I love that advice. I did hide it. I think. The problem is soon after I got back I had a week or so of amnesia from something and lost all my memories from the present back to 2005. I have got most of them back but obviously not this! My reiki healer suggested using crystals or something to find it, but I haven’t got a clue how to do that. And I’m not sure I believe that will work either. I think this is the most practical advice > [@](#): > > If you’re determined to find something, stop hopping from random inspiration to inspiration. You know, check under the mattress, then on the top shelf of your closet, then behind the pillows, etc. etc. > > Mentally divide your room into cubes approximately a yard on the side, then search each cube in order THOROUGHLY. For example, say your room is 10’ by 12’ by 8’ tall. You have 3 by 4 by 3 ‘cubes’ to search. Start with one wall, and do the bottom row of cubes along that wall. Then do the next row of cubes that sit upon the first. Then the topmost row of cubes. Clearly some cubes will take little searching. Most likely the top row cubes will be either totally empty or only have a few picture frames to look behind. BUT LOOK ANYWAY. > > Important: no assumptions! If the legs/seat of a desk chair are in the cube, don’t say “oh, the X can’t be there.” Nope. You must look and/or touch every bit of your cube. So look under the seat cushion, behind a back cushion, underneath the seat of the chair itself. (Hey! That’s right, I taped my passport there for safety.) Only when you’ve checked every ‘space’ within your cube do you move on to the next. Pick up every object, look under it, behind it, inside it. In fact, look AT it, a surprising number of times you won’t be able to find something because of false memories. You THOUGHT you were looking for a yellow hardcover book, when it turns out to be an orange paperback, that sort of thing. > > The real advantage of this system is that _if_ you don’t find the whatever, you can be sure it really isn’t there, and you can move on to other rooms instead of having that nagging fear that you simply failed to look at the back of the bottom shelf of that bookcase… > > BTW, that’s where I’d look first – the hiding in plain sight method, you know? I often set books I didn’t want found BEHIND the rows of books. Also pick up and open every book that has a dust cover. Putting an innocuous dust cover around what you want not seen is an excellent disguise. > > Good luck! Behind books is a good idea. Some ideas I have had which I need to check out when I have time is that it could have fallen out the back of a drawer or there is a slight possibility I took it to the tip when i was clearing my room before i went away. But, seriously, I wouldn’t have done that by accident would I!!! ---
**Author:** ![rekkah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rekkah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rekkah)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/22 "2009-12-28T13:12:57Z")
I don’t find things, my husband finds them for me. In all seriousness, I am a terrible searcher, I always look in the same places over and over and can’t think of anywhere new. He manages to look in so many more places than I do. Could you get someone else to come and help you search? They might come up with ideas that have passed you by. With you in the room, so you can feel secure that they haven’t peeked at the journal if and when they find it. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/23 "2009-12-28T13:30:41Z")
It is under some summerweight clothes, t-shirts perhaps, in a drawer. And rather than “despite the point” don’t you mean “beside the point”? ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_Romance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9a140/32.png) [@Bad\_Romance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_Romance)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/24 "2009-12-28T13:42:11Z")
> [@Serenata67](#): > > My mother, a superstitious Catholic would recite the following ejaculation (a short prayer, for those whose minds are in the gutter) to St. Anthony, patron saint of lost things. > > Tony, Tony, come around; > What was lost, now is found! > > Can’t say I have any studies to cite on its efficacy, but she did it every time… I’m Catholic, and my mother walks around asking for help from saint anthony/jude. Funny thing is, those times the objects will usually turn up in places we know we’ve looked before. Like the middle of benches or where it should be. But then again, I’ve seen my mum scream at the house,(you know, not actually talking to it, but just being frustrated) and the object has appeared out of thin air. ---
**Author:** ![EpicNonsense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@EpicNonsense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EpicNonsense)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/25 "2009-12-28T13:53:48Z")
I once couldn’t find the vacuum in the middle of the room. Sometimes when you look too hard for something it’ll go unnoticed. To me, the best hiding spot is the most obvious place a person wouldn’t care to look. People look in potential ‘hiding’ spots, but rarely see things right under their noses. The best method to finding something is just start in one room and search every single accessible inch of it and move onto the next room until finding it. Often times you’ll get a flashback of the time in which you had ideas running through our mind on where to hide the item. Another method is to ask yourself ‘If I had this item, what are the 10 best places I’d hide it?’… If that doesn’t work, go to 20, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/26 "2009-12-28T14:48:49Z")
My first rule of finding things: Turn on ALL the lights. Seriously, every single one. Second rule: Change your height – stand on a chair and look, then lie on the floor and look, etc. These rules help me because I often lose things in plain sight; if I change what plain sight looks like, sometimes I can see better. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Have\_Hippos\_In\_My\_Garden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4491bb/32.png) [@I\_Have\_Hippos\_In\_My\_Garden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Have_Hippos_In_My_Garden)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/27 "2009-12-28T19:56:34Z")
> [@](#): > > And rather than “despite the point” don’t you mean “beside the point”? Yes that is exactly what I meant thank you ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/28 "2009-12-28T20:11:45Z")
> [@EpicNonsense](#): > > Another method is to ask yourself ‘If I had this item, what are the 10 best places I’d hide it?’… If that doesn’t work, go to 20, and so on. This is what I do, except I say, “Now, if it were me, where would I hide it?” You know, theoretical-like 😃 So, if you were hiding it right now, where would you put it? ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/29 "2009-12-28T20:16:18Z")
For me, the best place to look is one of the places where it currently would make no sense for the item to be. So journal - would not belong in the bookcase - check it out. journal would not belong in the garage - better look there. I was looking for an ankle brace: I looked in the bathroom where the ace bandages were, sock drawers, junk drawers, couldn’t find it. He looked in the closet, behind an umbrella - and there it was. Exactly where it would make no sense to be. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/30 "2009-12-28T20:17:46Z")
I usually stand in the middle of the room and say, loudly: “I don’t see it anywhere!” Then my wife rolls her eyes and goes looking for it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/31 "2009-12-28T20:28:48Z")
Chefguy, you should let your other wife know you’re a bigamist. Hippos, try looking inside any three-ring binders you might have. That’s where I would have hidden a big journal like yours. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/32 "2009-12-28T20:34:29Z")
> [@brujaja](#): > > Where did I find it? **In the last place I saw it.** In plain sight. The package was flipped over backwards, so the characteristic colors and logo I was expecting to see weren’t showing. I was looking right at it, and never saw it. This phenomenon was discussed in a famous Edgar Allen Poe story (possibly _The Murders In The Rue Morgue_). When I lose stuff it’s usually because I put it on top of or under things. You could search with those parameters in mind. Or else, stop and say to yourself, “Where would I have put this if I was a moron?” That’s worked for me too. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Have\_Hippos\_In\_My\_Garden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4491bb/32.png) [@I\_Have\_Hippos\_In\_My\_Garden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Have_Hippos_In_My_Garden)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/33 "2009-12-28T21:34:44Z")
> [@](#): > > So, if you were hiding it right now, where would you put it? My usual hiding places are in the junk boxes under my bed, in one of my desk or bedside table drawers, with all my shoes in my wardrobe or down the side of my bed that is closest to the wall. It isn’t in any of those places! > [@](#): > > Hippos, try looking inside any three-ring binders you might have. That’s where I would have hidden a big journal like yours. That is a good idea but the journal is even too big for that! ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/34 "2009-12-28T22:02:01Z")
I have a 90% success rate by thinking of where I would put something in the first place. There are items stored in my house that have no logical place other than that is their official location. Because I original place stuff based on where I think it should go I therefore find lost random items based on where I would put them if I were me. Between the 2 of you, you should be able to find it. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/35 "2009-12-28T22:09:30Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > This phenomenon was discussed in a famous Edgar Allen Poe story (possibly _The Murders In The Rue Morgue_). _The Purloined Letter_. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/36 "2009-12-28T22:37:15Z")
> [@Bad\_Romance](#): > > I’m Catholic, and my mother walks around asking for help from saint anthony/jude. > Funny thing is, those times the objects will usually turn up in places we know we’ve looked before. Like the middle of benches or where it should be. > > But then again, I’ve seen my mum scream at the house,(you know, not actually talking to it, but just being frustrated) and the object has appeared out of thin air. The Pope wears purple. He could be in charge of the purple people. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/37 "2009-12-28T23:31:20Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > The Pope wears purple. He could be in charge of the purple people. He’s the Purple People Pontiff. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/38 "2009-12-28T23:33:03Z")
> **[Google](https://www.google.com)** > > Search the world's information, including webpages, images, videos and more. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what you're looking for. [sub]sorry, couldn’t resist[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![4everkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/76d3ee/32.png) [@4everkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4everkid)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/39 "2009-12-29T02:42:07Z")
> [@Oregon\_sunshine](#): > > If YOU physically did the act of hiding it, should be no sweat. The information is in your subconscious somewhere. Try to relax, don’t think about trying to find the damn thing, just clear your thoughts and before long the location of the journal should come to you. If you know any self-hypnosis or meditation techniques, try those. Just relax. Since you are the one who put it where it is, your brain knows where it is! It’s just the pressure and frustration of looking for (and not finding) it, probably, that is keeping the information from just surfacing. Best of luck. 🙂 This is exactly what I was going to say. I just relax, and stop stressing about it. When I am all calm, I just ask my subconscious, “where is it?” As long as YOU were the one who misplaced it, then your subconscious mind knows where it is. Sometimes I even get a visual image of where it is. This always works for me. So much so, I just depend on it now. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694/40 "2009-12-29T03:01:49Z")
I have no sage advice to give, but this is generally what I do: 1. Look in my room, sometimes everywhere, sometimes not, depending on the object. 2. Look in another room, same deal. 3. Go back to looking in my room, or possibly move to yet another room. 4. Repeat, ad nauseum. 5. Give up.\* 6. Cry. 7. Go somewhere else and watch TV.\* 8. Find it like two weeks later, while searching for a completely unrelated object. \*These steps are optional and depend entirely upon the urgency of the situation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-something-that-is-lost/522694.md?page=3)