Retain the Retainer

Summary: System for retaining the retainer
Cost: Free

I was helping my son try to hang onto his ($300-400) Dental Retainer.
It would get lost at home.
It would get lost in the backpack if he took it out at school.
It would spend more time lost than keeping his teeth straight.


He wasn't yet using the Home Base system - so I made a simple one for him. I took one of the standard dental retainer cases (The Orthodontist will probably give you one or two for free). His was bright yellow - pick something easy to spot not a color that will blend in a dark backpack.


I took a drywall screw and just screwed it into the wall by his bed. (Hinge side down, so you couldn't drop the retainer)


I gave him a simple mantra.
"IN ITS CASE OR IN YOUR FACE"


He had a second case for his school backpack or pocket, ostensibly to hold the retainer during lunch. The retainer had to either be in its case or in his mouth at all times. By having an easy to see, always findable case at home we dramatically reduced the 'where did you last chew something' hunt.
And really, one time searching through wadded up napkins in the trash bin is more than enough.


This coping strategy combines Home Base, Visual Reminder, and Mantra

Home Base

Summary: Having a very speicfic place for essentials reduces panic searches

Cost: Free





There is a single spot (no matter where I call home) that is my 'Home Base'.
Home Base is the place where all the essentials go. It is where I empty my pockets at the end of the day.

At home it holds, wallet, keys, cell phone every day. If I need anything else special it can go there too (tax forms that need to go out that day, etc). When I travel it has those essentials plus my conference badge, plane tickets, and hotel information.


If you have a designated home base you will dramatically reduce the time you spend looking for lost things.




Rules for making a home base:

• It must be a flat surface
• It must be 100% visible on the way out (visual reminder)
• It must have space to hold all your essentials

Bonus points if:

• It is near an outlet (easier to charge things and leave them in the home base)
• It is free of other distracting clutter

Once you have established your home base - if you EVER need to take one of the essentials off of your person, you can use the One Hand system until you can get it to home base. If it bothers you to have your phone, or wallet, or keys on your person then you'll need a different system to manage them that works for you.

Using a Staging Area

Summary: Pack early in a specific location
Cost: Free!

Travel represents a big change in routine, with a lot of picky but high priority details. Reduce departure panic by planning a 'staging area' for any kind of trip. The staging area holds everything that is going to go on the trip. Get things into the staging area as early as possible...your clothes aren't going to get that much more wrinkled if they are packed 8 hours earlier.

A perfect staging area is:

• Is impossible to miss on the way out (e.g. near the front door, garage door, or keys)


• Has enough space to put everything needed for a trip (air travel, car, or camping even) or that needs to go to the office with you.


• Is not a storage space or 'dumping ground' - everything put there is intended to go with you on the immediate trip - there is no time for last-minute sorting in the staging area
  
  Here is my typical staging area with suitcase, carry-on bag, and the phone charger plugged in with the phone in the luggage. That way you travel with the cell phone charged but can't leave anything vital behind. Since I'm using the 'two of everything' method there is no reason to wait until I've brushed my teeth before packing the toiletries bag - its already in there.
  
  When I travel I always pack the day before, I also lay out my clothes for the next morning like a 5 year old. I am a tiny bit (okay, a lot) foggy in the morning - especially for that 8 am flight you leave at 6am for...and what might be manageable 'normal' level of forgetfulness becomes a travel minefield.
  
  If you have something you need to travel with but cannot pack ahead of time, my suggestion would be a long color cloth ribbion (I got the idea from the 'remove before flight' tags that aircraft crews use) that you can leave hanging out of the bag as a visual reminder that you need to put something in there. Binder clip your ribbion to the inside of your suitcase.

Using the oven timer to prevent fires

Summary: Use kitchen priorities for safety
Cost: Free

Please Note: The smoke alarm is not a good substitute for the oven timer.

The problem is that waiting for food to cook or water to boil is boring. And boring times are the most likely problem areas for your ADD.

If you are preheating the oven, use the oven timer for 5 mintues. If you put something in the oven, set the timer for just under the right amount of time (to give you time to set down whatever project you were doing for the 14-16 minutes that it took the pizza to bake).

Then turn off the oven, then turn off the timer.
If (ohmygosh the food is burning!) you get distracted taking the food out, or finding a collander or a hot mit - just leave the timer buzzer going off. Never turn off the timer until you have turned off the heat.

I have not left the oven on once by mistake when following this coping strategy.

Related:
Another good idea is to never leave the kitchen when you have food cooking for any reason. There are plenty of distracting things do do and clean while you are waiting for water to boil. If you do have to leave the kitchen for some reason - try to take a big cooking implement with you (spatula, hot mitt, something like that). If UPS is at the door, they won't mind if you sign for a package with a hot mitt on - way less embarassing than explainging the fire-truck to the neighbors.

Related:
The toaster oven (with no built-in timer) is dangerous for this reason, use 'toast' but not 'bake' in the toaster oven unless you set a separate reminder alarm.

Related:
Never get out of arms reach of any faucet you have opened.

The Leg Wrap

Summary: Use physical attachment to stop losing items
Cost: Free

Whenever you have a personal item that you can't near you leave in plain view all the time (like a laptop bag or backpack when you are at lunch), wrap the strap around your leg or put your ankle through the loop - so you can't leave the table without it. If you get up to use the restroom, you might want to take it with you.

You might trip yourself or jump along like a cartoon dog on a leash, but you won't forget your expensive laptop at the restaurant.

I also use my shoes as markers because I won't go off without them. If you have a shopping bag that won't loop comfortably - you could put your shoe under (or inside) it and then sit on your stocking foot. Any physical reminder that stops you from forgetting the item is worth considering.