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6 Tricks to Avoid Losing Your Room Key

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Mass Amherst chapter.

If it’s never happened to you, just know there is NO worse feeling than returning from a night out, getting back to your room, and then realizing you don’t have your room key. After hopping from party to party and possibly getting in and out of multiple cabs, it becomes almost impossible to trace back to where you may have lost it. Somehow at this point, carrying your key alone or on just a lanyard didn’t seem like the best idea for a night out. Avoid the late night panic by trying these new ways to carry your key on you!

1. Wear it on a hair tie:

We’re so used to wearing hair elastics and other hair ties around our wrists, so why not put our key on them? They’re tight, and once you loop your key on, it becomes almost impossible to fall off the elastic.

2. Safety pin it to the inside of your bra:

We place lipstick and money into our bras for safe keeping, why not our keys? Just note that it’s probably risky to just put your key in your bra without something to secure it. Safety pin it in a location where it won’t hurt you.

3. Tuck it into your shoe:

Since the weather’s gotten colder, the more inclined you’re going to be to be wearing boots or enclosed shoes when you go out. Unless you’re wearing heels, lay your key in the bottom of your shoe before putting it on, when you’re wearing boots or shoes like Converse there’s no way it would be able to fall out.

4. String it onto a necklace:

Zoey 101 didn’t have such a bad idea after all! If there’s a necklace you’re accustomed to never taking off, just string your room key around it and wear it around your neck. It’s easy to look down and keep track that you still have it.

5. Hide it somewhere in your dorm:

This is probably a more risky way to avoid losing your key, but actually a rather common way that other people use. Since you only need your UCard to actually get into the building, you can lock your door and hide the key somewhere in the building where only you can find it. Under a couch cushion in the common room or up above on top of an exit sign for example.

6. Give it to your sober friend or sober driver:

The most simple and straight forward solution to losing you key. A lot of people lose their things when they’ve had one too many drinks. If you’re one of those people, leave your key with your sober friend or roommate. That way no matter what, you’re guaranteed to get your keys back.

Now you have no excuse for losing your key – be smart, collegiettes!

Contributors from the University of Massachusetts Amherst