You know all those keys that you have been moving from one house to another? You know what I am talking about don’t you, all those keys that are lying at the bottom of the your junk drawer. They are probably next to all the cords that your not sure machine they belong to.
Take a few minutes and go through you house and match up all these miscellaneous keys to every single lock and door knob you can find. Take along an envelopes to label so that you put the new matches in the envelope. For example: on the envelope “side door” and put all the keys that fit into the side door in that envelope. If you still have keys that don’t match at least you can rule out your home.
With the keys you have left over, make a mental check list of other places they might belong to. Did a friend or relative give you a key to hold onto? Have they moved to a new home and the key is for thier old home? Are there any keys to an old office you used to work at? Those are keys you could throw away. Do they belong to a safety deposit box or a bike lock? Through the process of elimination, take the keys that are left put them in a separate envelope by the labeled keys. If you absolutely have no idea what they belong to it might be time to let them go and throw them away.
In the future get rid of keys as soon as you know they are no longer needed. If you have a lock changed take the key off your key rings immediately so they don’t get lost in the shuffle again. If you are moving make sure you leave all of your keys behind you will not need them anymore.
By Michelle Lehman with Organizing Solutions “Clear the Clutter”