holding keys and water bottle outside

Can’t Remember Where You Put Your Keys? 10 Tips to Retrace Your Steps

If you’ve ever had to endure the panic and frantic search for lost keys, then you know just how frustrating it can be trying to locate the small metal objects that grant you access to your vehicle or home.

Maybe you’re going through it right now and trying not to panic, or you find yourself in this situation more times than you’d care to admit.

Whatever the reason you’re here, we have 10 tips that will help you retrace your steps and locate your keys with less chest tightening and more focus.

 

  1. Pause, Breathe and Relax – Being tense and worries are only going to muddle your thought process more. Once you need to find your lost keys, you need to breathe and relax so you can think clearly and see what’s right in front of you.
  2. Start Where the Clutter Is – If there are places in your home, purse or at your desk that are piled with clutter, you should start there. These areas can easily become a vacuum for loose objects and hide them with ease. Don’t just make more mess and overturn everything – start to clean and organize the space. You’ll be surprised at what you might find.
  3. Check Small Spaces – Keys are pretty small objects especially if not attached to a chain with other items. That means they can easily slip into small cracks and crevices. Get low and check behind spaces or dig your hands deep down into the couch cushions. Leave no space untouched.
  4. Call Around for Lost & Found- If you just left somewhere it makes sense to call and ask if anyone has turned the set of keys into the lost and found. Oftentimes in a rush to check out and leave you may leave them behind and they’ve been sitting safely in the same spot the whole time.
  5. Use Your Memory- Close your eyes, relax and draw from your visual memory to remember the steps you took throughout the day. Try to actually visualize the keys, it might stir up key clues to finding the last place you had them.
  6. Do a Walk-around- Literally, retrace your steps. Do exactly everything you did prior for the day again, in the same way, while keeping an eye for a stray key somewhere along the path.
  7. Recruit friends to help- Looking for keys is a grueling process. Getting a fresh set of eyes out there on your search could be helpful.
  8. Write it Down – If calling up memories of the day doesn’t work, you might do better literally writing it down. Grab a pen and paper and start to write out all your steps for the day in hopes something important will come to mind.
  9. Double Check – Once you’re coming to the end of your attempt to locate your keys, go over everything above one more time. A second check might surprise you and reveal something you didn’t see before.
  10. Call a Locksmith – If you have no desire to worry about your lost keys and you need immediate access or if you’d rather put your worries in the hands of a professional equipped to help you gain access to your home or car again, call a locksmith!

 

All American Locksmiths provides trusted, prompt lockout services, new locks, and more throughout Connecticut & Westchester County. Contact us today!

 

woman locked out of car sitting on floor

What to Do When You Get Locked Out of Your Car

It happens to everyone at least once. Maybe you’ve left the car to grab the mail. Maybe you were distracted when you parked, thinking about work, what to make for supper and whether that cloud means a thunderstorm is coming. (In some rare cases, the lockout could be the fault of a child or a pet.) Whatever the reason, you’ve found yourself locked outside your vehicle, and you realize you’re not going anywhere anytime soon. What do you do?

If there’s a child or pet involved, call 911 immediately.

If necessary, in high temperatures or unsafe situations, you may need to break a window even before help arrives. Choose a window away from any human or animal occupant of the vehicle. If you have some tape available, apply some to the window, which may help keep some the glass from scattering.

Check all the doors, including the hatchback, if it has one.

It may seem obvious, but locksmiths and firefighters who are often called to help report that in many cases, one door was actually unlocked. (Plus, it saves you the embarrassment later.)

If you’re really handy and there’s a hardware store nearby…

This is likely to be out of most people’s technical skill portfolio, but there are ways for “clever-with-tools” people to open a locked vehicle. Popular Mechanics provides some instruction here. Important tip: never use a “slim jim.” They won’t work on most modern cars, and you could damage the vehicle.

Call a professional.

Most of us aren’t MacGyver, and unless we’ve locked ourselves out of our vehicles in the parking lot of a Home Depot, we don’t have access to the right tools. Hopefully, we do have access to a phone, either our own or one we’ve borrowed (if you’ve been unlucky enough to lock your phone in the car.)

In Connecticut, All American Locksmiths provides fast, mobile locksmith service, ensuring that you don’t have to wait too long to get back into your car, and can be on your way quickly. We provide mobile, 24/7 car lockout services, car key replacement services, chip car key and keyless remote programming, transponder chip keys and keyless remote replacements in western, southern, and central Connecticut.

 

Contact us today!

man leaning on door

Find a Locksmith Before You Have Key Problems

Getting locked out of your home or car, or finding that your home has been burglarized, can lead to panic. Frantically searching online for a locksmith and calling the first company you find could cause you to wind up with unqualified workers, poor service, and exorbitant prices.

It’s a good idea to research local locksmiths in advance so you will know which company to call in your moment of need. Look at different companies’ websites, research their credentials, and get answers to your questions before you find yourself in an emergency.

How to Choose the Right Locksmith

You should always choose a locksmith company that operates locally. If you call a national company, you might reach a call center thousands of miles away and talk to someone who is completely unfamiliar with your area. The company might not even have any locksmiths near your home.

Look at each company’s website to see what types of services they offer. You might have a routine issue, but you will more likely find yourself locked out or face some other type of emergency. Make sure you have the name and phone number of a locksmith company that provides 24/7 service.

You could lock yourself out of your home and need someone to unlock the door. If you have a high-security lock, some locksmiths might not be up to the task. Your door lock might be damaged and need to be replaced, or your key might break or get stuck in the lock. If your home has been burglarized, you might want to have all the locks changed as soon as possible.

If you get locked out of your car and you have a newer vehicle with keyless entry, not all locksmiths would be able to help you. If your car uses a chip key, it might need to be reprogrammed or replaced.

If you operate a business, you might want to install locks that use cards to track employees’ movements. If someone quits or gets fired, you will want to quickly terminate that person’s access to the facility. You will need a locksmith with training and experience in this specialized area.

Avoid Scams

Some people advertise themselves as locksmiths online, but they are really scam artists preying on people who are vulnerable. They hope that a person facing an emergency will choose the first locksmith who answers the phone. Scammers may quote low prices and then dramatically raise their rates after someone arrives or provide shoddy work.

Find a Locksmith Before You Need One

In all likelihood, you will need the services of a locksmith at some point. A qualified locksmith will have the training and skills to handle a variety of situations and will charge reasonable rates. By conducting research in advance, you can know which company to call and avoid wasting time or becoming the victim of a scam.

All American Locksmiths offers residential, commercial, automotive, and emergency locksmith services throughout Connecticut and Westchester, New York. We make our way through Armonk, Stamford, Greenwich, Fairfield, Bridgeport, Milford, New Haven, and Hartford all day, and guess what? We love it! Not only do we get to help the good people of Connecticut get out of some serious lock jams (no pun intended), but we also get to visit some of our favorite places along the way. Call us out to Stamford, and you just might find us at the Mianus River Gorge Preserve afterwards; locked out of your house in New Haven? Great! There’s nothing like the view of the New Haven Green. Lost your keys in Hartford you say? Well that’s a great chance for us to marvel at the Mark Twain House & Museum. Get the point? No Connecticut town is a bother to us. If you’ve got lock problems, we’ll be there to help 24/7.

Contact us today!