This post probably belongs in the compulsive behavior thread, but anyway…
The only thing I do compulsively is keep track of my keys. After the first time I lost them and it made my life miserable, I compulsively must know at all times where my keys are. Especially if I’m a) getting into a car, b) closing a locked door behind me, or c) dressing or undressing away from home (hotel, gym, g/f’s house).
Closing a locked door is the worst. I absolutely can’t close a locked door behind me, any door, unless I have my keys in my hand.
Hanging on a thumbtack I shoved into the wall next to my door. I’m very anal about my keys:
Leave for work: get keys, open door, shut door, lock door
Home from work: unlock door, open door, shut door, hang keys
I’m just as bad with the car, I NEVER close a locked car door, I always lock the door with the key. I even take my keys with me when filling up with gas, just so I don’t accidentily lock the keys in it.
My dad gave my some good advice “If you lock the door with the key, you can’t lock your keys in the car.”
For a long time, whenever mine were “lost” I’d find them in my apartment door. Now that’s the first place I look when I can’t find them, so now they’re usually in the bottom of my briefcase, or someplace completely logical like the microwave, or the medicine cabinet, or so forth. My newchain helps though-my friend gave me a Powerpuff girls keychain(it’s Buttercup, because she’s the mean one) and I look for that.
Last night I left them in my front door. My mom came home, and I happened to be sitting on the couch when she walked in the front door. “Missing something?”, and I looked over, and there they were, right in the deadbolt…if they’re not there, they’re in the cow box Gaea gave me for Christmas.
I’ve locked them in my car twice, once at work, and once in one of those do-it-yourself carwashes.
My work keys are almost always in the center console of my car. At least that way I know where to find them…last night, I locked them in the safe by accident, which isn’t really cool seeing as we have an electric safe, and we have to have a key and the password assigned to the key to access it. I had to call Jen to come open the safe with her set…oops.
You see, I have about four sets. And my whole family has a thing about putting the keys on the key rack by the door. So even if I forget to hang my current set up when I walk in, there are about three others still on the rack, and eventually I ro somoen else will find and hang set #1 up. (This habit is so bad that people lose keys in our house. Family members find keys, they go on the rack, recognized or no.)
I had a roommate in college who misplaced his keys constantly. To help solve this problem, he got a keychain that beeped when you clapped. That worked for about a week until he lost his keys somewhere between class and the apartment (about 1/2 mile walk). He then spent the next 2 hours walking back and forth between the classroom and our front door while clapping loudly. Everyone that passed probably thought he was an escaped mental patient. He never did find his keys.
The keys migrate in the house. Normally, they are near the front door, but occasionally they will wander into the kitchen, onto the computer desk and even into the bathroom. I’m sure that HyperKitty is their personal tour guide.
I have locked them in the car, in the house, and in (former)Roommate’s car (realizing this after he had left for work).
Like LNO, I am always checking my pants pocket (the front one) for the keys. I will not lock or shut anydoor without having the keys in visual range (springy cord looped around my wrist so I don’t accidently drop them in the room as I shut the door), usually meaning I have the keys in hand and my hand in front of my face.
“Yup, my hand, yup, my keys, safe to commence closing door.”
<CLICK>
“Mission accomplished. Carry on.”
About 5 or 6 years ago, our mini-van was stolen. It was found and repaired, and they installed a kill-switch. Several months later, it was again attempted to be stolen, but the kill-switch saved it. They did, however, break the steering column cover and ignition. So for a while, we were driving it by turning the key to on, and using a screwdriver to start (and stop) the ignition. I must have locked the keys in the van about 5 times. The last thing to do was turn off the motor with the screwdriver, not turn off the motor with the key. This extra step was very hard for me to adjust to! We eventually got it fixed, thank God. I haven’t done it since. My keys are always in my hand before the door closes.
This thread jinxed me. I couldn’t find my keys this morning. They weren’t on the hook. They weren’t on the counter… They were in my purse. And my van was locked. I never lock my van at home.
