Finding missing items is not a matter of “looking harder.” There is an art and a science to it.
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When I posted my episode on how to find lost items back in November, people messaged me with all sorts of helpful techniques for finding missing items.
So many of you told me to pray to St. Anthony, the patron saint of lost objects – advice my grandmother has sworn by since I was a child. Others gave some very practical advice: look in your coat pockets, put a flashlight on the ground (if you’ve lost a small item, the beam can cast a long shadow), and – here’s a good one – make sure you know what it looks like. as!
Here’s a summary of our audience’s tips on how to search for items, plus some bonus tips from our experts. We hope this helps you quickly find what you are looking for. These answers have been edited for length and clarity.
To learn science-backed, expert-recommended techniques for finding missing items, listen to the podcast episode above or read the original story here.
What to do if you lost a wallet
Find your last credit card transaction, then go to where you last spent the money and look around. —Darryl Ellis, private detective and head of A-1 Detective Agency in Illinois
Watch things fall as you let them fall
I’ve trained myself to watch things fall when I drop them. If you watch a small screw fall and see where it lands and bounces, you will have no trouble finding it. If you just look at where the screw was supposed to go and grunt and swear, expect to have trouble finding it. —Gregory Vogt
Never put it in a “special place”
The worst thing you can do is put something of value in a “special place” that is “easy to remember” to “keep” it. Ha! Definitely not recommended. —Shan Crockett
Use a flashlight
I find a flashlight to be a useful search aid, day or night. The beam forces me to focus on a limited area. It helps me see, instead of just looking. Held close to the ground, it makes things shine.
A friend once lost contact outside, in a driveway, with snow on the ground. I waited until nightfall and quickly found the contact in a pile of snow at the side of the street. —Art Clac
Start cleaning
My mother taught me this advice: when you can’t find something, clean and you will find it. I often find the item when I pick something up to put it back where it belongs. —Anne Chevalier
Check favorite hangouts
Go to the places you frequent most and look there first. Do you have a favorite place to sit on the couch? Look through the cushions, under and behind the sofa. Are you hanging out on the terrace? Look between seats and chairs or at tables outside.
My youngest son is autistic and nonverbal. He wears glasses and sometimes approaches me without wearing them on his face. To look for them, I always go to his favorite places around my house. They can be in his bed, his sensory swing or in the closet. I always end up finding them. —Naeemah Ford Goldson, Executive Director and Founder, National Association of Black Professional Organizers
Make a mental note of something you might lose
I make a mental note when I put something – like my keys, my glasses or my phone – in a place I don’t usually put it. This amounts to underlining or highlighting something in a piece of writing to make it easier to remember. —Marc R. Inver
Come back to it
Take a break from searching for your missing item and relax or do something else. Without worrying or worrying, your brain will quietly surprise you with a stored memory that suddenly pops into your consciousness and leads you to the missing object. —Gregory Vogt
Look closely at the most obvious place
Look in the most likely place where it should be. Most of the time, it’s there. You simply forgot about it. —Kelly Connolly
Make sure you know what it looks like
On several occasions, my wife has sent me to look for something in the basement, and I can’t find it at first because she tells me the wrong color, container, or location. Make sure you know the correct features, otherwise you can easily overlook what you’re looking for. —John Heinen
The digital story was edited by Meghan Keane. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We would love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823 or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.
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