Losing our stuff, losing our tempers

Lost something? House keys are the third most lost items.

Lost something? House keys are the third most lost items.

Published Mar 23, 2012

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We spend ten minutes every day rummaging for lost items, from books and phones to car keys and even the cars themselves, a survey has found.

Men are far worse than women – with a third of wives claiming that their husbands regularly misplace household items, according to the research.

The study of 3,000 adults, carried out for esure home insurance, also found that four out of ten often argue with their partner about lost items.

Train and bus tickets, bank cards, coats and diaries also slip out of sight regularly – and, incredibly, one in ten people claim they lose their car in car parks or town centres.

The research found we also lose up to nine items every day - or 198,743 in a lifetime.

Nikki Sellers, head of home insurance at esure, said: “Most Brits blame their bad luck or a hectic lifestyle for constantly misplacing items or even losing them completely.

“Homeowners should be extra cautious when it comes to looking after their house keys - as this could prove to be costly if they were to fall into the hands of opportunistic thieves.

“We encourage everyone to keep documents and valuables in a safe place and carry less around with them - that way you’re less likely to lose something.”

The daily loss calculated over a year means an incredible 3,285 items are misplaced every 12 months - or just under 200,000 bits and bobs over the course of 60.5 adult years.

And a total of 3,680 hours or 153 days is spent searching for stuff, over our lifetimes.

Half of those polled claimed they were constantly searching for things they’ve lost or misplaced, with the majority admitting it usually turns up somewhere obvious.

It also emerged three quarters of all misplaced possessions occur in the home, with others losing things in the workplace and car every day.

Many knew that untidiness and poor memory led to them losing track of items, with more than half wishing they were more organised.

An unfortunate fourteen people said they spend over an hour every day looking for things they’ve misplaced.

TOP MOST LOST ITEMS:

1. Mobile / smartphone

2. House keys

3. Car Keys

4. Paperwork

5. Sunglasses / spectacles

6. Purse / wallet

7. Lip balm

8. Hair brush

9. Gloves

10. Clothing

11. Umbrella

12. Book

13. Bank card

14. Train / bus ticket

15. Coat

16. Diary / personal organiser

17. Sun hat

18. Laptop

19. Car

20. Tablet / e-reader. - Daily Mail

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