Stop Losing Your Stuff With This Awesome Gadget

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If you’re like me, you can spend hours looking at those lifehack articles while the rest of the world is actually getting things done. I mean, who knew you could shave your sweaters to remove the pilling? Mind. Blown.

What would you say if I told you I know the ultimate lifehack to never lose anything?

“Tell me now” is what you would say because that means it’s one less thing for your brain to remember. Thanks to technology, you can get hammered this weekend, drop your wallet in the bushes, leave your bag in the fridge, and let the cat escape, then wake up the next morning and find them all without calling every cab driver or shelter within a 150 mile radius. Here’s how.

GPS Trackers

Pod Trackers / Via kickstarter.com

These are the crème de la crème of remote trackers. Can you believe there are devices out there to tell you on an app where your stuff is anywhere in the world? Well, believe it. Most of them are very small, too. It’s like real-life wizardry!

GPS trackers usually have a cellular chip inside so the range is far greater than that of a Bluetooth-only tracker. We’re talking countrywide or even worldwide range in some cases. It’s the main advantage to this type of tracker and the one that can make the difference in finding your stuff or not. These babies can track the missing articles your drunk ass left behind at the pre-game, in the cab, and anywhere else you wandered throughout the night.

There seem to be many on the market but we learned not all trackers are created equal. Make sure you do your homework first. There are trackers specifically made for pets, with and without global coverage, for drones, for boats and the list goes on. You name it and there’s a GPS for that. I got one for my cat which happens to also work for most other things and has global range. She now hates me because her late night rendezvous with our neighbors’ cat is no longer possible but I’m delighted knowing her Houdini ways are no more.

In my opinion, this is the best lost-stuff lifehack of all time. It can cost a bit more than the next two on the list, but probably not as much as your new Louis Vuitton handbag (or fluffy’s love). (I recommend Pod 3, $79 for one)

Bluetooth Trackers

Tile / Via thetileapp.com

These handy little guys are typically quite small, simple, and fit easily on your key ring or inside of your wallet. They’re inexpensive and have free apps which trigger a sound, allowing you to relive the previous night’s path of destruction as you slowly recover your belongings.

Generally speaking, they work as advertised but there is one major drawback. If you lost anything before you got back to your house, you’re out of luck. The range is limited to about 100 feet. (I recommend the Tile Slim, $30 for one)

Get Organized

keep-calm.com / Via keep-calm.com

Okay, I’ll go ahead and state the obvious. The more effort you put into staying organized, the less likely you are to misplace things. You can actually train yourself to put things back in their home every time. Even after those gin and tonics, you’re a creature of habit so you’re more likely to put your wallet and phone in a drawer if that is what you do every other day.

The drawbacks of this one are pretty obvious. It requires time, dedication and effort. Is it really a lifehack? I think so, but maybe the first two are better solutions for you if organization isn’t your thing.