Never Lose Your Keys Again!

Get organized with these tiny electronic devices and keep track of valuable possessions - including your sanity as an adult with ADD.

by Michael Sandler

A few months back, I wrote about smart alarm clocks that help you get up and out on time each morning. I now realize that that column failed to address one minor problem: You can't leave the house if you can't locate your keys, wallet, cell phone, PDA, and so on.

Every ADDer has had this experience:

On the one day that it's essential to be on time, you head out the door - early, for once - only to realize you're missing some critical item. A desperate search ensues, and by the time you find what you're looking for, you're hopelessly late.

Good news, fellow ADDers: There is now a simple (and inexpensive) fix for this vexing problem: tiny battery-powered, radio-controlled homing devices you attach to the items you want to keep track of. Press a button on the locator device, and an alarm sounds on the device you're looking for.

Recently, I tested several of these devices. Here are my favorites:

Radio Shack's Find One, Find All Locators ($29.99 at www.radioshack.com) comes with two locator devices, one designed like a key fob, the other not much bigger than a credit card. These devices each have six numbered, color-coded buttons. Put one device on your keys, one in your wallet. When you press a button, the corresponding device rings like a cell phone (as long as it's within a 30-foot radius).

I gave the device a workout and found that it was great at finding things in my house, even when said items were hiding under piles of dirty laundry.

Sharper Image's Now You Can Find It! Ultra 8 Wireless RF Electronic Locator ($69.95 at www.sharperimage.com) consists of eight colored fobs and a remote. Hook the fobs to the things you can't leave home without (heck, you can even hook up your TV remote, dog, cat, or small child).

Don't worry about losing the remote: In addition to being large (about two by five inches), it fits in a magnetic mounting bracket, which you can place on your fridge or file cabinet. If you forget to put the remote back in the bracket, it will beep until you do.

Maybe your problem is losing things outside your house. (Just the other day, I left my cell phone at a local store.) If that's the case, Remote Play's TagAlert 200 ($49.95 at www.remoteplay.com) may be the ticket.

You attach the "monitor" fob to your keys, purse, or belt (it has a hook and clip) and the "alert" tags to two other valuables (such as your wallet and cell phone). If the alert tag and monitor fob become separated by more than 30 feet (high-sensitivity mode) or 100 feet (low-sensitivity mode), an alarm sounds. Now when I'm about to leave behind my keys, wallet, or phone, I'm alerted before it is too late.

This article comes from the February/March 2006 issue of ADDitude.

To read this issue of ADDitude in full, purchase the back issue and SUBSCRIBE NOW to ensure you don't miss a single issue.

Pocket Helpers

If it's losing your way that's the problem, Brookstone's Microbeam Flashlight ($20 at www.brookstone.com) should help you stay on the right path, even in the dead of night. The tiny LED light is so powerful it can be seen from a mile away, and the bulb will last for years.

Keeping track of things goes a long way toward preserving your sanity - and boosting your productivity. But there's more that you can do - many problems you can solve - with pocket-sized electronic devices. For $19.99, Radio Shack will sell you a key chain with a built-in clock, timer, and voice recorder. Need to be somewhere soon? Set the timer and record a message for yourself: "Leave for lunch date." When the alarm sounds, heed the recorded message and be on your way.

If you're a professional on the go, or a latte-lover looking for a coffee shop with a wireless Internet connection, the $29 Mobile Edge WiFi Signal Locator (available at www.mobileedge.com) can be a real time-saver.

The four-bar LED indicates signal strength, and fends off false readings caused by microwaves and portable phones. You can attach it to your key chain or laptop case and head straight for the nearest hot spot. One drawback: It doesn't tell you where the Internet access is free.

Let's say your problem isn't one of hooking up to the Web, but of keeping track of valuable computer data. I was always e-mailing files between the various computers I used, just to make sure I had the data I needed wherever I happened to be. A huge hassle, to say the least, and, as often as not, I forgot to attach the files before sending the e-mail.

Well, there's now a wide array of "flash drive" memory storage devices that do double duty as key chains. No larger than a fingernail clipper, these devices can carry a gigabyte of memory or more. Odds are, you won't need nearly that much data.

Basic 64-megabyte (MB) units can be had for as little as $10, with 128-MB units starting below $20. The $24.99 Dane-Elec 256MB zMate Pen USB 2.0 is available at www.target.com in a variety of colors. (The 128-MB version costs $19.99.) This device attaches to a lanyard and wouldn't look bad worn around your neck. (I know, who would have thought of a disk drive attached to one's neck as looking cool?)

With my trusty new devices, I'm no longer leaving things behind, forgetting files, or showing up late to appointments. (Well, not as late, anyway.) I'm calmer, too. My only fear is that the batteries will run down - or that I will lose my eyeglasses or something else which I neglected to hook up to a locator tag.

Maybe it's time to consider contact lenses?

This article comes from the February/March 2006 issue of ADDitude.

To read this issue of ADDitude in full, purchase the back issue and SUBSCRIBE NOW to ensure you don't miss a single issue.