Tips for Keeping Track of Your Things

Hey everyone. So I am Akhila and I’m and part of the class of 2020.

So my first life lesson and tip for college that I learned very quickly. Don’t lose your things. It sounds stupid and obvious but I learned very quickly that it is very easy to lose track of your stuff.

So for most of my life, my parents would usually help me keep track of my stuff. If I could not find something at home, my mom would help me look for it. If I forgot a homework assignment at home, I would immediately text my parents and ask if they can bring it to school. Basically it was a lot easier to keep track of my things at home because my parents were always there.

But now in college, it is not so easy. I already lost my keys twice, lost my RUID once and got locked out of my room 3 times. Once when I went to the shower and I closed and locked the door behind me. And twice when I left for class and I forgot to make sure that my keys and RUID were in my bag.

Since I had a huge problem, I kept asking everyone around me how they kept track of their stuff. So here are a 5 tips to help you keep track of your stuff.


  1. Have a lanyard: There are some cheap ones on amazon and are even available in the Barnes and Noble store. A lanyard is an easy way to always have your keys because it is always around your neck. You never have to actually take it off which is super helpful. You can easily take it to the bathroom and hang it up and quickly put it back on afterword.
  2. Keep your stuff in one place: If you are the type of person (like me) who just throws things down once you get to your dorm, then at least throw it down in the same place. It can be on your bed or on your desk. At the very least it is all in the same spot. So then when you are about to leave, you get check if your keys, RUID, phone and money are in the one spot.
  3. Keep your stuff organized. This helps when you want to take an overall sweep of your room to make sure you have everything before you leave the door. This also mentally helps
  4. Plan to leave early: This will allow you to have even more time to think about what you need to take when you leave the door. So basically you will have a moment to think about whether you or not you have your keys without worry about whether you will be late to class.  
  5. Always know where it is: When you are on the bus or in a friend’s dorm, always make sure that you know where you set your belongings down. These are unfamiliar places so the chances of forgetting where you stuff is is even greater.

Losing your stuff in college is a very annoying process to deal with. If you lose your keys, then you have to pay for a replacement key and your roommate might have to get a replacement key as well. If you lose your RUID, then you can’t enter your dorm building and you can’t eat at the dining hall. If you lose your phone and laptop, I don’t even want to imagine what will happen.