I just spent $500 because I'm a loner.

[no_hypocrisy]

Last edited Mon Sep 16, 2019, 07:15 PM - Edit history (1)

I dropped my housekeys en route from my front door to the car and didn't discover it until I arrived at work. I looked in my car. I looked under my car. I looked around my car. I checked my purse 10 times. I retraced my route from the car to work. (I couldn't leave work as I'm a special ed teacher.) I fretted all day. I drove home and checked where I had parked my car, looking carefullyl into the grass along the sidewalk.

I had less than 2 hours to find a locksmith. I found one who heroically drilled his way into my house with a very stubborn deadbolt. Then upstairs for another door.

I didn't have a copy of the keys except for my landlord who lives 3 counties away.

My bad for not making copies and either giving them to my neighbor or a friend or in the glove compartment.

I'm just so grateful for being back in my home with new keys that I will make copies for my neighbor tomorrow. And I'm grateful that I won't lose my salary for working tomorrow -- and I was looking at having to stay at a motel until I could get a locksmith -- and losing a new job that starts tomorrow.

Things COULD HAVE been worse.

And risking looking really pathetic: I left my celphone at home, locked behind two doors. I felt incredibly incompetent but I kept thinking through my options.

[pwb]

2. A magnetic hide a house key under your car

Where ever you put it . The magnets are strong on the one I have. ??

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Our Neighborhood Watch people recommend against that.

We get notices about break-ins and thefts, and one that stands out is someone finding the magnetically hidden house key under the car. They always find them, and then they get in the house.

[pwb]

8. Hey Peggy .. Your right all neighborhoods are different .

I did say, or some place, too. Now I have to go out and check to see if mine is still there? My truck keys in it though. I should think more of crime than convenience , Thanks

[cilla4progress]

27. Doesn't work for me any more -

Undercarriage all plastic on my Subarus!

[TrunKated]

4. that's why ...

I carry two sets of keys with me at all times. And my sis and my gf also have copies.

[Midnight Writer]

6. One in my right pocket, one in my left pocket, one in my wallet, one stashed in my back yard.

[TrunKated]

7. right on..

[lostnfound]

5. Almost no one in my last neighborhood locked their doors

I lived in Mayberry...

[dewsgirl]

26. Me too, until one day teenagers broke into every car

on our street looking for money. I lost my first nice laptop that way. Lesson learned.

[sdfernando]

32. That was Mayberry of the past

Once Andy died it went to shit.

[More_Cowbell]

9. I'm looking at Key Me

I'm in the same position. I used to hide my spare apartment door key on my apartment patio (but would still have to get someone to let me into the complex, as I had only one key for that) but due to ongoing construction until March, I no longer have an outdoor space to store my duplicate apartment door key.

The other day while picking up an Amazon package at my local Safeway, I saw a Key Me kiosk. In addition to making copies right there, if you register yourself, you can go to any kiosk and log in and get a key created from your electronic record.

I don't know what the odds would be of a breach, though I assume that the record doesn't include an address.

My keys say "Do Not Duplicate," but I did some research and found out that in California, except in Los Angeles, that means nothing -- anyone will duplicate the keys. In fact, locksmith groups say that that language creates a false sense of security.

I'm sure I'll end up doing this, just for peace of mind, as I have no friends or relatives near to hold duplicates for me. They do car keys too, which I also plan to have done (my car is old and doesn't have a fancy key).

[chowder66]

18. I just used Key Me for the first time. Very convenient but it couldn't duplicate one key

because the key was original to my apartment building which was built in the 50's. I went to two hardware stores and they didn't have that key in stock so the second hardware store sent me to a locksmith where I got a copy of that made. The locksmith was cheaper.

[More_Cowbell]

24. Thanks, that's good to know - my building is from 1961 nt

[Ron Obvious]

11. We use a key lockbox

It's hidden in the back of the house and you have to key in a 4 digit code to get your front door key out.

This is the one we have have: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H1HR17O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[teenagebambam]

15. You can even have

a lock that is controlled by key code. My sister has one. I think you can also open it with a key if you choose, but it locks and unlocks by punching the code in.

[BigmanPigman]

12. My neighbors make fun of me for having

at least 4 sets of keys hidden in two secret spots and with two different people. I have never gotten locked out but they have and who do they come to for help...yup, yours truly. Then after I let them into the gate and they can get inside their apt do they ever get more copies of their keys made? NO! This has happened over 10 times with my neighbors over the years. I am glad you learned your lesson and have copies now. You can never be too careful, extra keys are like cheap insurance for not getting locked out. Well worth the tiny investment in time and money.

[tblue37]

25. All my good friends have keys to my apartment. nt

[George II]

13. I think we've all done things like that. For me, twice.

[eppur_se_muova]

14. Keep an extra copy of your house/mailbox keys at work.

If you have a secure desk or file cabinet, leave your *unlabeled* keys there.

[warmfeet]

16. It happens.

[bucolic_frolic]

17. Backup systems

important to think through. I try to review them from time to time, but sometimes I don't remember them. That's a problem too. For me anyway. Your post is a healthy reminder to us all.

[extvbroadcaster]

19. Kick the door in

I lived in an apartment once and locked myself out. The landlord was gone, and I had no idea when they would return. I looked at the door, and it was a cheap hollow core. And a cheap lock. So I gave the door a swift kick, and the whole thing went in. I got out my toolbox and fixed the door jamb and the landlord was never the wiser. Now I keep a hidden key to my house just in case.

[no_hypocrisy]

20. I would have broken my leg if I had done that for two reasons:

1. The door is very heavy wood, likely built in 1900, and

2. Two locks, one a dead bolt.

[extvbroadcaster]

21. It was a cheap apartment

This was an apartment that had the door in an inside hallway. Hollow core door, you could almost put your fist through it. Not much of a lock either. Pretty bad apartment, so "breaking in" was easy to do. A real solid door, and a deadbolt lock, would have been a whole other story!

[lunatica]

22. Look at it this way

You just paid a lot of karma in just one day.

The next time you have a day with a series of wonderful perfect coincidences in which everything worked out beautifully you can appreciate it as an accumulation of good karma.

[mitch96]

23. I locked my self out once....

My neighbor called a locksmith for me.. .About an hour later this kid from the lock company comes up. I'm thinking high tech lock picking tool. Drill out the dead bolt?? Nope.
He took two big screwdrivers and pried the door away from the jam and then used the other to move/slid the bold back.. 5 min and he was done.. $75....
Non rusting brass key hidden in the dirt somewhere on the property.... Lesson learned..
m

[cilla4progress]

29. Not really about being a loner, do you think?

I take your point, but please don't disparage your loner-ness over this!

More about logistics. 😊👍

[cutroot]

30. I use a GPS charm called a TILE. They are on amazon. I have seen similar devices at Five Below

[demosincebirth]

31. Good news is that you'll probably find your lost keys soon.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

33. Here's a novel idea.

Have the house key on the same key chain as the car key.

I can't begin to imagine not having the two of them together.

And there are lots of good suggestions about having a spare somewhere that you can easily access it.

I have one full spare set inside the house, just in case I manage to misplace my primary set. Another spare housekey somewhere in my garage, which is never locked. A determined thief would probably find it, but I honestly don't worry about that.

More than one person knows where to find that spare, if need be.

And to all of you who actually have a garage, park the car in it when you're not actually driving it. Tends to deter thieves from breaking into the car.

[dawg day]

34. I just had a keypad put in. It's not cheap, but boy, I love it.

I live in the north, and in the dead of winter, forgetting your keys or accidentally dropping them into a snowbank can be very dangerous if it means you stand outside for a half hour or try to walk through the snow to a distant neighbor's.

Keypads, I'm sure can be hacked, but probably most walk-by burglars don't have that expertise.

[Polybius]

35. Get a key-less entry

It's one of the best decisions that I've ever made.