Has this ever happened to you?

I definitely know the feel!  Did that several times with Brian show purchases until I built a database and tools also.

Ron

Yes, I've done it. Even had a couple of duplicate engines once upon a time. Haven't done it with wives yet, so that leaves entirely new opportunities open.

Gerry

All the time when I put things in a safe place......it's safe alright since no one can find it !!!

It happens all the time, lol. That is how I ended up with over 20 tape meaures

Bob

What NYC428 said - many times.

I’ve found myself with enough extra tools over the years I’ve been able to give each of my boys near complete sets of the basic stuff - pliers, screwdrivers, wrenches and so on. 🤷

Curt

I made a living with my tools for many years. I bought replacements as they wore out. Nowadays, misplacing something around the house is a different story.

Murphy's Law guarantees that as soon as you buy a new tool, the missing one will turn up.

As you get older, you learn the spots where you put things away. You also get smart enough to put things away in the spots that you use.

And, Yes, I still have a few lost things from many years ago. As I find them, I sell them because I didn't miss them.

Peter - At least your level won't 'spoil.'  By way of explanation, on occasion (probably when I'm daydreaming about the next train I want to get - lol) I've been known to put the jar of instant coffee in the Fridge and the milk picture in the Pantry cupboard (instead of vice-versa) after making myself a cup of coffee.  🤔

Having said that, after being teased about it by my wife I decided from now on I'm going to put Bailey's Irish Cream in my coffee instead of milk to avoid a recurrence.   😉

Happy 'training' Peter and I hope you're enjoying retirement!

Happens all the time, I just discovered I have three optical digital tachometers, I keep putting them away and then I need one and can't find it!   It doesn't help that since moving to my new place everything is reorganized and I don't have consistency in where things are "stored".

Oh yeah, I now have 3 tape measures. I even stopped a friend from making a purchase of a Lionel Gon because I told him he already had 2 at home.

A home relocation is a great way to disrupt a well-established "locator" system.

Such was the case for me when I could not locate a stash of parts in a specific plastic container; ordered their replacements from LIONEL at a cost of $200; and, later discovered the stash six months after the replacement parts had arrived.

My most recent favorite is a missing ratchet handle, 3/8" socket, and short extension.  I last used them to install a wall-mount for my bedroom TV, but found it necessary to buy replacements when I couldn't find them for another job.  Where could I have left a ratchet handle, short extension, and socket after installing the bracket in my bedroom???  It's been a year so I've stopped looking for it. 

@Putnam Division posted:

Has this ever happened to you? I bought this level to help put up the large layout........then, when the time came to put up the club layout, I couldn’t find it. I search and search and said to myself, “It will turn up.”. After a week or so, I went out and bought another........ Guess what? Now I have two!  

Peter, I have the same story except with carpenter's square.  I had a 12" x 18" square and needed it in the basement.  Nope, searched everywhere it "should" be but couldn't find it.  So, off to the hardware store.  Returning home with the replacement, I pulled into the garage and right there in front of me, hanging from the shelf unit in the garage, was the original square.  If I hadn't stopped the car I would have run into the stupid thing.

Obviously while I was gone, the square transported itself from its hiding place to the shelf support so it could mock me upon my return.  I fixed it's wagon, I left it hanging there and proceeded to use the new one from then on.  I win!

@CP BOB posted:

It happens all the time, lol. That is how I ended up with over 20 tape meaures

Bob

Exactly my first thought! At this point, I have one in almost every room in the house, as well as my cars. I can never find the danged things.
Another is the little nut driver adapters, for putting a socket on my drill or impact gun. I’ve bought half a dozen sets, no clue where they are.

All the time! I have 3 of those fancy stud finders in my tool box. Or is it 4?!

Good story Peter and so true. Mine was caulk guns. Could not find one after a day or so. Would make a trip out and buy another one. Now I have a stockpile of them. And it also happened with some of my tools.....Paul 2

Yep. Do it more often as I get older. I knew I had an extra battery strap for the boat. I couldn't find it so I ordered a new one. As soon as the new one arrived I found the old one. Now I have an extra one.  Now if I can only remember were I put it so it would't get lost???  LOL.

Jim D

No, Peter, you need two levels.  the red one is only good for N-S orientations and the yellow for E-W.  You are missing the grey (or is it blue) one for all the orientations in-between.

The funny thing about 'misplacing' tools and other things is that at the time you put the tool/thing down, you think to yourself, 'oh, I'll remember where I'm putting this - its obvious' or 'I'll come back later and put this in its "right place"'...  I entered the CRS (Can't Remember, uh, 'Stuff') phase of life a while ago.

My father, in his mid 80s, was still doing "projects" around the house.   Whenever he needed tools, he drove straight to Lowe's and bought them.  After his little project was done, he stuck his tools in whatever closet corner was closest.

When he died at age 92, I had to clear out that huge house where my parents had lived since 1959. 

I found four(4) four-foot levels.  All were made of metal and expensive.  I took took of them for myself and gave the other two to my brothers.

I also found a Dewalt reciprocating saw, and a huge Dewalt Circular saw, in their original plastic cases, stuck up in the eves of the Attic.  The looked NIB.  He probably used them once.

Mannyrock

My father used to say "Humans are creatures of habit" and so, as I get older (and having misplaced things from time to time), I 'try' to put things/tools away in their proper place as soon as the job is done.  Now if I could only get my wife to buy into this practice.  Then again, maybe she's not human.  Hmmm.

I own two sets of hole saws, three sets of 773 pilot trucks, a like number of 2046 pilot trucks, and several drawers full of the wrong size screws for anything. Fortunately, I've never duplicated anything expensive.

I can not understand this thread. Why are you all questioning this. I thought this was normal. I would be interested to hear that it doesn't happen. Then I know  for sure that WE are normal and that person is just weird!

To many times and the biggest issues seems to be I put things in a logical place to make it easier to find next time. Then I forget the logic I used when I put it away and then cant find it. I am having that problem now with ny trains. I go through A tub contains empty boxes, The stuff that was in the box was on display at the old house but now I cant find and not buying another on. To any doubles now because of that memory lapse. Guess that is what happens when we reach a certain age, I think!

I had this happen with an Ipad!

When I was flying corporate aircraft, I used an Ipad for my Jeppesen approach charts, flight planning and filing, weather research, and several other flight-related tasks. One day in April I was getting ready to head out to fly some folks to Key West, and the Ipad was not in my flight case! I looked everywhere to no avail. It was nowhere to be found. I ended up flying the flight without it, however the aircraft I was flying that day was equipped with a Garmin G1000 setup, so all the IFR charts I needed were in that nav system.

As soon as I got home, I bought another Ipad. Thankfully I kept my Ipad properly backed up, so within a few minutes of getting the new one, I had restored the most recent backup from the old one and I was back in business. I had no idea where the old Ipad had gone.

Fast forward from April to late November and Thanksgiving. We were hosting the whole family at our home for the holiday this year. When we had company, we used our dining room because it was large enough to seat twelve people at the table. Otherwise, we never used the room. The day before Thanksgiving, I went into the dining room to put the leaf in the big table. I walked around to the far side of the table and there, on the floor in the corner, leaning against a curio where my wife kept her cut glass trinkets, was my old Ipad!

Then it dawned on me. My brother had visited us back in April and he was curious about the Ipad. We had gone into the dining room for the demo because The Lovely and Gracious Linda was watching a movie in the den. Evidently I set the Ipad down on the floor when we finished, and I totally forgot about it!

They say that memory is the second thing to go as you get older. I can't remember what the first thing was... 

As consolation, you can never have too many tools.

Have you ever been looking for something and pulled open a drawer.. then walked around the house and come back and open the same drawer you know you already looked in ? Then again...and again. As if it will magically appear.

My favorite is when the person helping you look says "Where was the last place you put it?"

.

I use quite a few specialized tools in my work on pipe organs.  Many of these tools I have had to make myself, or modify from standard hardware tools.  Several years ago I lost a specially modified pair of needle nose pliers that I use for making action adjustments.  I searched high and low for a couple of weeks trying to locate them.  I emptied my tool box, scoured the shop, went through my truck and searched my garage, but had no luck in locating them.  I eventually bought a new pair of pliers and modified them to serve the intended purpose.  A couple of weeks ago I had a service call to repair a malfunctioning instrument.  When I opened the windchest to access the offending valve, lo and behold, there were my original pliers.  I immediately remembered placing them there during a service call several years ago.  Its a good thing I'm not a surgeon!

I have also found tools that have been misplaced by technicians many years ago.  Some tools are easily over 100 years old.  I get a chuckle when I think about that poor fellow wondering where he lost the tool for a lifetime.

Tom

I don't need to be absent-minded to lose my tools.  I was very good about making sure all of my tools were put away carefully after each job.  Sets of screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, sockets, ratchets, etc. were all complete for years.  The moment my son started using tools, was the moment my problem locating tools started.  Now nearly all of my sets are missing something, and I tend to find random tools in the most unexpected places.  I used to get upset, but now I just shake my head.  And yes, Now I have numerous tape measures, multiple sets of screwdrivers, etc.  Are any of them complete?  It changes daily.

Never. Total Organization around here. Just like I never keep odds and ends for longer than 6 months.

Model railroaders are always tidy, organized and frugal.

(Back to reality: in fact, I used to leave notes to myself in certain spots sometimes concerning what was filed or stored where. I lost the notes, too.)

I look at my forgetting where I put something as a blessing...of a sort. It allows me to get even more exercise as I go from room to room, up and down the three flights of stairs in my house looking for the misplaced item.  I like many of you don't always find the item and thus it's off to the hardware or some other store to purchase a replacement.

@gmorlitz posted:

Haven't done it with wives yet, so that leaves entirely new opportunities open.

Gerry

Given the ratio of women to men in your age group there,  you moved to the right state.  

@paul 2 posted:

Good story Peter and so true. Mine was caulk guns. Could not find one after a day or so. Would make a trip out and buy another one. Now I have a stockpile of them. And it also happened with some of my tools.....Paul 2

I have 2 of those, too!  

Peter

I would have said I bought two on purpose, one for making things level and one for making things plumb. 😎

Happens all the time. I put stuff away so I’ll know where it is for next time. Gee, next time comes around and I forgot where I put it. I have many duplicate tools.

Nope, never happens to me 😂 There are likely enough knitting needles and crochet hooks around this house to supply a yarn shop, and there’s a reason I have two full sets of jewelry tools. Wish I could find my original set, which is in a nice case...if I hadn’t put the case somewhere “safe,” so safe I can’t find it.

So far my masterpiece was getting all the Christmas shopping done by September. We exchanged gifts with both sides of the family back then, and each household had a fancy basket with interest-tailored items. I tagged everything and set it in a safe place. Guess who got to go shopping again in December? On the bright side, the next year was easy once I got up on the stepladder to clean the top shelf in the bathroom and found the storage container.

Sure way to find a lost tool:

Buy a new one, use it, go to put it in a logical place in the workshop. That place is where you will find the older tool.

I've found that this method works 95% of the time.

I'm to the point of buying a replacement tool before I lose the original one.  Saves a lot of time when I eventually misplace one.  I just crack open the new one and continue on. 

Tom

Have not met a tape measure that I could not misplace, then replace, then find, then misplace both, then refind, one two  or three, then misplace all, then replace the found one or two or etc, etc, etc......

Working on the road, if you can not find something you need to buy a replacement just to do the job for the day...

I have the same situation with other mulitiple tools.

I did read where the basis for the problem is door ways.  Yes, actual door ways.  When you go into another room for something there can be a sort of refresh where your mind resets w/o having reference to the goal set before you.

My situation was usually when I would step out to my truck to get a tool, open the truck door and have absolutely no idea what it was I needed.  So as to not scare the customer and come in empty handed, I would grab just about anything and bring it back into the house.

Did you ever leave the train room to get something in the garage or your vehicle and by the time you got there you had no idea what it is you needed ?

I consider it needed exercise...

I bought a cute little antique safe from a used furniture dealer.  He didn't know the combination, but the door was open(!) and I just took off the interior panel of the door, spun the wheels, and derived the combination. I was living in an apartment in a sketchy 'hood in Manhattan at the time, and used the safe for a few important things: passport, a grand in cash and a pistol. Not much else.

I wrote the combination "somewhere" secure, in the apartment. Many months later, I needed to access the stuff in the safe, but couldn't remember the combo, or where I had written it down.  Luckily, I had told it to a friend, who wrote it down at HIS house, and I had done the same for him. I got the safe open, took care of business, and vowed never to forget the combo again.

I opened the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, and took a pencil, figuring that I could hide the numbers in the cabinet, behind the hinges of the mirrored door. When I went to write the numbers in the cabinet, there they were!

I least I was consistent in my mental illness.