Contributed by Paul Seaburn, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

We’ve all lost things – keys, eyeglasses, remotes, socks, cell phones, pens and paper to write lists of things we’ve lost.

You no longer have to lose your mind over losing things with these tips for finding them. Just don’t lose this list!

10. Quick scan

Check around where you are right now and where you just were. A quick scan can often find stuff you’ve left in plain sight.

9. Check regular places

Look where it’s supposed to be. Sometimes we remember using things but not putting them away in their proper place.

8. Pat yourself down

Pat down your pockets and your head. Glasses have a way of moving silently up your face, over your eyebrows and onto the top of your head, while keys can slide deeper into a pocket or over to another one.

7. Retrace your steps

Try to remember the last place you used the thing, then retrace your steps to that location. You may find it along the way in the place you set it down so you wouldn’t lose it!

6. Visualize the object

Imagine using the lost object, then go to the places you pictured and look around.

5. Clean

If the easy steps haven’t helped, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and move stuff around. Clean the room, clean out your purse or backpack, clean out the car. They all probably need it – otherwise, you wouldn’t be losing things.

4. Make a search plan

Develop a search plan. It doesn’t have to be complicated – you might make a list of the rooms in the house and check each off after you’ve finished looking.

3. Get help

Bring in reinforcements. Four eyes are better than two, especially when you’ve been looking in the same place for a while. Lost things have a way of hiding from the person looking for them, but have no defense against someone who’s not desperate to find it.

2. Make calls

If you still haven’t found what you’re looking for in the place you are, call the places you’ve been. Restaurants, theaters, shops and other establishments have lost-and-found boxes.

1. Take a breather

Relax, take a break and try looking again later. Just don’t calm your nerves with a drink or you may decide you didn’t need the thing in the first place!