I hate having to replace expensive items I lost!

[Brian Elfert]

I bought a Fluke 177 multimeter a few months ago. I last used it maybe six weeks ago and now I can't find it. It sucks that I have to spend another $300 on another new one since I lost it. The good news is that Amazon can deliver a new one tomorrow. (The reason I bought the Fluke 177 is because it is at least assembled in the USA.)

With my luck I'll find the old one a day or two after I get the new one.

[Jim Koepke]

My shop may look a mess, but there is a place for everything and one of my main functions is to keep things not being used in their proper place.

Most often something of mine gets temporarily lost when it seems like another place might be a better place to stow it.

jtk

[Brian Elfert]

Yes, I should have places for everything, but I don't. I need to do a major cleanup and organization that will probably take me all winter to do. I bought and assembled a nice set of shelves a month or two ago, but I haven't put a single thing on the shelves yet.

[Tom M King]

I've found the best way to find such a loss is to buy another one. While deciding where to store the new one, after you make a decision, and are going to put it there, that's where the other one will be. Save the box, and receipt for the "replacement".

[glenn bradley]

In the good naturedly spirit of one-up-man-ship I lost my cyclone blower/motor/switch assembly. Things have been shuffled around in order to make do while building the new shop and it got buried at the front of a trailer on the property.

460735

Just found it this morning after some serious digging because I am almost ready for the wiring in the DC shed. I wonn't share how many places I looked before I found it; it's just too embarrassing :D:D:D

[David Lageman]

I've found the best way to find such a loss is to buy another one.....


Could not have said it any better. Luckily for me it's caulking guns, so at least they're cheap!!!

[Bill Dufour]

Caulking guns, now I only buy the ones with a 180 degree bend in the rear of the push rod. That way they hang from a ladder or a nail for storage. Not so much with a 89 degree bend.
BILL D.

[Steve Jenkins]

I’ve found that if I look everywhere I think it may be three times I often find it the third time.

[Alex Zeller]

I have at least a dozen multimeters. Most are the Harbor Freight/ Radio Shack type (cheap). I found that I would loose them and find them months or years later. I also have two Fluke 89 meters, one I bought new and the other I got for too cheap to pass up at an auction. One is kept in the shop and one in the garage. On occasion I can't find one of them but the other is always where it should be. I find that the expensive tools I'm much better keeping track of and returning to where I store it. What bothers me is that at that same auction they had a like new fluke 190 scope meter that sold for $300 that I passed on.

[Doug Garson]

Guaranteed you will find the old one after you buy the new one, just hope it is within the 30 day return period for Amazon ;). Here's a tip, once you find the old one, put it back in the first place you looked, chances are next time you look for it that's where you will look first again.

[Jim Koepke]

Yes, I should have places for everything, but I don't. I need to do a major cleanup and organization that will probably take me all winter to do. I bought and assembled a nice set of shelves a month or two ago, but I haven't put a single thing on the shelves yet.

Instead of waiting until winter to do it all at once. It might go better if you do a little each time you are in your work area.

My plumbing tools are kept in one drawer. Electric specific items in another. My screwdrivers are mostly in two drawers. Hinged tools (pliers, scissors and such) are kept in another drawer. Boring bits are in three drawers and more boxes depending on their types and sizes.

It might be easy to start with the shelves. This will help to clear up the items that are laying about.

jtk

[Bruce Volden]

(The reason I bought the Fluke 177 is because it is at least assembled in the USA.)

Kudos to you, I too look hard for Made In USA!!

Bruce

[Brian Elfert]

I found the multimeter before buying another one! I was thinking that I may have had it in my car at some point in the past month or so. I had cleaned out my car a few weeks ago and put everything in a box. I checked the box and the multimeter was in the bottom.

Earlier this afternoon I decided it really didn't make sense to buy another $300 multimeter because I would eventually find my good one. I was just going to go buy a cheapie to get me by.

[Brian Elfert]

Instead of waiting until winter to do it all at once. It might go better if you do a little each time you are in your work area.


The list of outside projects I need to do is as long as my arm. I might spend some time cleaning when it rains, but there is limited time in Minnesota when the weather is nice outside.

[Jim Koepke]

I found the multimeter before buying another one!

Good for you. When something of mine is missing a little thought session on where was it last seen or used leads me to it.

jtk

[michael langman]

I didn't lose something, but I had something I forgot about and went out and bought anyway. I replaced the 3 belts on my little mtd riding mower, and they did not work right, because the mower is tempermental and only likes the OEM belts. But I had to spend 3 days trying to make the after market belts work, to no avail.

So I ordered a second set of belts being OEM, and replaced all of the bushings and cleaned up the pulleys to the variable speed drive. After spending 2 weeks trying to get the mower running, and finally succeeding, I was in the cellar and came upon a new set of OEM belts for the mtd mower that I had purchased many years ago and had never installed.

I guess it pays to be more organized. Hopefully 20 years from now I will remember I have the belts, and replace them if I am still ticking, that is.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I hate when I can't find something!

A few years ago, the wife was out of town and I was still working. I left a local hospital, drove to a really good hardware store and bought some small hardware items I needed for a current project in my shop. The next morning I went to the shop, began working on the project and finally reached the point where I needed the hardware I had bought the previous evening. 6 times I walked from the house to the shop (about 50' one way) and 6 times I got to the house to forget what I came to the house for. 6 times. When you enter our home from the carport, the backdoor opens into the dining area of our kitchen. Finally I set down at the dining room table with blue smoke rolling from my mouth along with the oil field learned, US Navy and US hospital reinforced profanity when I looked over and saw the items I couldn't remember and then remembered that's what I was searching for.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I hate when I can't find something!

A few years ago, the wife was out of town and I was still working. I left a local hospital, drove to a really good hardware store and bought some small hardware items I needed for a current project in my shop. The next morning I went to the shop, began working on the project and finally reached the point where I needed the hardware I had bought the previous evening. 6 times I walked from the house to the shop (about 50' one way) and 6 times I got to the house to forget what I came to the house for. 6 times. When you enter our home from the carport, the backdoor opens into the dining area of our kitchen. Finally I set down at the dining room table with blue smoke rolling from my mouth along with the oil field learned, US Navy and US hospital reinforced profanity when I looked over and saw the items I couldn't remember and then remembered that's what I was searching for.Ken, sounds like you need a "Senior Citizen GPS." Not only does it tell you where you are going, but what you are after when you get there. FYI, I spent the afternoon looking for some "misting heads" I bought over twenty years ago. Due to life and work changes, they were never used, so I know they are SOMEWHERE? in my shop. Quickest way I know to find them is order some more, which aren't very expensive ($2.25 each.)

[Brian Elfert]

I also have a huge issue with not being able to find something I know I have in inventory somewhere. Most of the time I end up at the store buying another of whatever I have in stock. I hate losing 45 minutes of time along with the gas to drive the 20 mile round trip. At times the gas costs more than the cost of the part(s)!

[Jim Koepke]

I hate losing 45 minutes of time along with the gas to drive the 20 mile round trip. At times the gas costs more than the cost of the part(s)!

My drive is a bit farther. That is one of my reasons for always buying extras of items that will likely be used like hinges, nuts and bolts.

Organizing it all starts with the next item you put away after using it.

jtk

[Brian Elfert]

My drive is a bit farther. That is one of my reasons for always buying extras of items that will likely be used like hinges, nuts and bolts.

Organizing it all starts with the next item you put away after using it.


You can't put something away if you don't have a regular home for it. That is part of needing to get organized. I keep doing major projects around my house and yard instead of taking the time to get organized.

I have a collection of nuts and bolts all neatly labeled in Durham boxes/drawers.

[michael langman]

Boy do I feel your pain Ken. I spent more time looking for something I had just laid down in the garage while working on the lawn tractor then I did fixing the lawn tractor. And the number of trips to the house, down into the cellar and back was too many times to count.
Found myself asking the Lord above for help finding something I misplaced, and then graciously thanking him when I found it 15 minutes later.

[michael langman]

Ken, sounds like you need a "Senior Citizen GPS." Not only does it tell you where you are going, but what you are after when you get there. FYI, I spent the afternoon looking for some "misting heads" I bought over twenty years ago. Due to life and work changes, they were never used, so I know they are SOMEWHERE? in my shop. Quickest way I know to find them is order some more, which aren't very expensive ($2.25 each.)


Which means the old misting heads will show up 3 days after installing the new ones!

[Rick Potter]

As I get older, I find myself in this situation more and more. Today, it was a box of Lamp parts that disappeared while I went out to get a new plug (and a burrito). Searched the shop three times, and finally resorted to heavenly help as suggested by Michael above.

A few minutes later it materialized. As usual, in the last place I looked. I had set it in my little office as I walked through to water my petree.

[Derek Meyer]

I lost an impact driver a couple of years ago. I thought I had taken it to work, left it under my desk and someone had gotten it. I waited for about 2 months and it never showed. So I ordered a replacement. One week later I found the first one under a pile of stuff in my garage. Now I have 2 impact drivers.

I worry about when I get older and go to the hardware store or home center, and can't remember what I went for, so I buy a whole bunch of stuff I thought I needed but already have, just can't find or remember.

Derek

[Clifford McGuire]

I would be happy if I could remember the 2-3 items I went to the store for, when I get in the store. I swear they put something near the door that causes me to forget why I'm there.

[Jim Koepke]

As I get older, I find myself in this situation more and more. Today, it was a box of Lamp parts that disappeared while I went out to get a new plug (and a burrito).


I ordered a replacement. One week later I found the first one under a pile of stuff in my garage.


I would be happy if I could remember the 2-3 items I went to the store for, when I get in the store. I swear they put something near the door that causes me to forget why I'm there.

Because of a propensity to misplace things one of my earliest learned abilities was learning to mentally retrace my steps. It has helped me find many things set down for a moment to take care of something else. The mind can be trained to do this. Even when something hasn't been misplaced. While relaxing, think about where you were and what you did during part of the day. Start taking notice of things. Often my misplaced item can be found by knowing what was around it. Even if something has been set on top of it.

Another learned habit is to put things away when done with them. My wife has driven me crazy borrowing a tool and then leaving wherever she was done using it. Then six weeks later she has no idea where she was using it. At least now she doesn't usually leave them outside somewhere. Even though my shop may look like a disorganized mess items are kept in particular places. Different kinds of fasteners even have there own places. If an electrical component is needed it is with similar electrical parts.

The only memory cure for me is to make a list. Then one has to remember to not only take the list, but remember to check it. (Candy, the wife, often makes a grocery list and leaves it on the kitchen counter.)

jtk

[Brian Elfert]

Because of a propensity to misplace things one of my earliest learned abilities was learning to mentally retrace my steps. It has helped me find many things set down for a moment to take care of something else. The mind can be trained to do this. Even when something hasn't been misplaced. While relaxing, think about where you were and what you did during part of the day. Start taking notice of things. Often my misplaced item can be found by knowing what was around it. Even if something has been set on top of it.


When I found my multimeter I was thinking about where I might have used it last. I vaguely recalled I might have had it in the car for some reason. I checked the car and not there, but I remembered I had cleaned out the car and put everything in a box. The multimeter was in the bottom of that box.

[Jim Koepke]

When I found my multimeter I was thinking about where I might have used it last. I vaguely recalled I might have had it in the car for some reason. I checked the car and not there, but I remembered I had cleaned out the car and put everything in a box. The multimeter was in the bottom of that box.

That is the power of using your mind.

jtk

[George Yetka]

I was going to add the magnet is strong on the fluke stuff maybe it is stuck in the last place you put it. Glad you found it. I bought a nice fluke set for HVAC about 5 years ago. I am not really on the service end but every once in a while im thrown into it. I probably wouldn't have went so pricey for the occasional readings if i wasn't reimbursed though

[Rich Engelhardt]

I found the best way to avoid this is to teach my wife how to do something, then buy her all nice new equipment.

Then when I can't find mine, I grab hers.

[Jim Koepke]

I found the best way to avoid this is to teach my wife how to do something, then buy her all nice new equipment.

Then when I can't find mine, I grab hers.

LOL!

jtk

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

that expensive widget, is not lost, just bewildered. I enjoy having the right quality tool for the job, just not the extra hour the job takes while I look for the wandering tool. (Just two days ago, I had a splinter and went to my wife's sewing box for a needle to help get the splinter out. Lo and behold, I found my stud finder. Why it was in my wife's sewing box is one of those unanswered mysteries of the universe. Like a few years ago, when I noticed my dial vernier caliper on my daughter's bedroom dresser.. When I asked, the answer was totally incoherent gibberish.)

[Ron Selzer]

currently looking for a refund check over $400. remember opening the mail in a different place then normally do while on my way out the door
Gone thru the trash and looked all of the normal places

[Thomas L Carpenter]

It's amazing how things become invisible when they aren't where they belong.

[Clint Baxter]

The looking for items and being unable to find them really comes to fruition when you have to move a "very congested" shop to a brand new residence/shop. And you have not yet been able to set up the "shop" because you're still doing the necessary upgrades and modifications to turn it into "your shop".

Most of the loose/smaller stuff from the old shop got placed in Rubbermaid containers for the move. Storage for transport and then being able to store them until I'm able to place them into a new "more permanent" location. When we did the move, I tried to put a label on the containers to have an idea of what was where, but with all the small items, it is pretty much impossible to identify everything, unless one spends forever doing so.

So nowadays, I remember that I had this or that widget, and had I been in the old shop, could have generally taken you right to it, or even been able to tell someone else where it was located. If I expect to find it now, that is entirely another story. I have 26 lineal feet of floor to ceiling shelves in the garage that are mostly filled top to bottom with Rubbermaid storage totes, and the item I'm looking for is somewhere in that mess. Of course that is only if it didn't make it into one of the other storage containers that maintain their temporary residence in the "shop in progress". Or maybe the item could be hanging out in one of the multiple trash cans pressed into service for storage as well.

If it's something that's needed on a timely basis, not too expensive, and it doesn't surface quickly when the search is conducted, I just bite the bullet and purchase another one. As it's been noted here, I needed some sealing material to place between a new wall and the concrete floor and a couple days of searching was unable to find the partial roll that I knew I had at the old place. Off to HD for a new roll, (least it wasn't very expensive), and used 14' of the 50' roll. Okay, have plenty for the next time I need a small portion. Next day I empty a box that SWMBO wanted to use and there is the missing roll, again a partial roll kept for small projects. Now the two of them are keeping each other company until I can find a new place that they can use to hideout in.