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Being an adult means keeping track of a lot of items. Some of them are important to your finances. Others are needed to take care of your family. It’s not hard to see it can get a little overwhelming, especially for people who aren’t the most organized. But how do you remember where you put things for safekeeping if you hide them away to keep?
Think about things you may need to show someone or use as an identifier in case of emergency. A driver’s license is certainly one of those items, as well as insurance information. Do you keep an insurance card in your car or wallet?
Things important to your kids also need to be kept safe. Many children ask their parents to protect something for them when they are gone for the day, like a toy or a stuffed animal. Bringing these things on a family trip can be important to your family’s happiness. We’ll try to make a list that helps you remember where your most important items are.
#1 – Cards: Credit, Debit, Insurance, Driver’s License
Admit it: that’s a lot of cards to keep track of. People are so dependent on credit cards nowadays that they take out many of them. Placing them in different places is bound to backfire, especially if your wallet is disorganized.
Even for the most present-minded people, knowing where all of your valuables are can get a little confusing. You take cards out of your wallet or purse, you use them at a variety of places, and sometimes you get in a hurry. They don’t always get put back in the same place as before.
Repetition is always the best way to remember where you put an important item. Don’t put your cards in different places. Have a pocket in your bag that always has cards. Never add anything else to this section of your bag.
If you put a foreign object in this pocket, your brain will immediately detect it and encourage you to find a different place for the new item. It can be tempting to add more cards to the section of your bag, but this will only confuse you. Put items such as gift cards, baseball cards, or even your children’s Pokemon cards in a different place.
#2 – Car Keys and Fobs
Losing your car keys is something that sounds too embarrassing to ever actually happen. Unfortunately, it really is a problem in today’s world. Folks toss their keys in random places when they get home from a tiring day at work or school.
Sometimes they’ll fall under the mess, or your pet dog will drag them off, leaving you hopelessly wondering where they went. The important thing to remember here is the same thing as with the cards we talked about. You need to put your keys or your fob in the same place every time you get home.
Make sure they are out of reach of kids and animals so there is no chance of them leaving the location they were put in. An even easier way to make sure you always have access to your car keys is to use your smartphone as a keyless entry.
It may feel like you are aiding your cellphone addiction, but it’s really one of the most helpful innovations in smart technology as of late. You should always have your phone on you, which means there’s never going to be a risk of losing your car keys.
There is a chance of hackers getting into your phone and being able to steal your car, though, so talk to a tech expert about these risks if you are uncomfortable with this possibility.
#3 – Children’s Toys
Kids are constantly putting the responsibility on their parents to remember where they put certain toys, stuffed animals, and beloved trinkets. If your child has a large amount of these objects, it can be overwhelming to keep them secure. Kids bring random things with them on car rides and field trips.
If parents are unaware of the location of these toys, kids are prone to get extremely upset. Try to teach your child it is their responsibility to remember where they put something. Relying on parents every time is going to form bad habits later in life.
Make kids clean up after themselves. If you do it for them, they won’t know where they are supposed to put their stuff. It can be tempting when they give you puppy eyes and view you as a knight in shining armor, but forcing them to learn responsibility is vital. A little bit of tough love won’t hurt any child.
#4 – Bills and Fees
Payments are another tough one because the number of bills that come in the mail are plentiful and look similar. If you put each bill in a specific pile on your office desk, or you pay them right away, this will help out a lot.
Try to categorize your bills by what company they are coming from, and what area of expense they cover. Put utilities in one pile, entertainment in another, etc.
Thanks to modern technology, many companies allow you to pay your bills online or through an app. Some folks are concerned about giving credit card information out through these methods of payment, but security measures are becoming tougher.
If you are leaving a trail of paper around your place, you’re just waiting to miss a bill. Forgetting to pay can leave you without water or electricity until further notice. Organizing your bills or paying online will solve this instantly.
#5 – Presents for Christmas
Losing gifts might seem unusual to some people, but you’ll sure be upset if you don’t remember where you put the Christmas presents. Hiding a gift from a family member who lives in the same house is always a struggle.
You have to get creative in finding a hiding place, sometimes so creative you won’t remember where you put the item yourself.
Make some notes on your phone or in another private setting that will help you remember where you put a Christmas present. This will make it easier to make everyone’s holiday season cheery and bright, whether you do your holiday shopping online or in person.
You can see how it can be overwhelming to keep track of everything as an adult. Still, with solid organization skills and attention to detail, you can make sure you keep your losses to a minimum.
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Shawn Laib writes and researches for the auto insurance comparison site, AutoInsurance.org. He wants to make sure that everyone knows the best strategies for keeping their life well organized and stable.
