That’s one of the really annoying things about moving. When you discover something is missing, is it because it got lost in the move? Or is it because you stowed it somewhere and can’t remember where?
I got a free TSA lock from Amazon Vine a few months ago and put it on my suitcase. (In order to be clever, I only locked it through one ring of the zipper, and not both…a very smart move indeed, as you will see.) Today I am prepping to pack for our winter vacation, and I can’t find the keys to that lock. My visual memory from the old apartment is excellent: I can picture them on my nightstand, along with the travel sewing kit, big combination lock for locking suitcases to fixed objects, spare cakes of Ivory soap, and the pack of passports.
Today, I’ve looked inside the pack of passports; I’ve found all those other things that were on the nightstand. Have looked through my jewelry box (which was there), all our suitcases, all my toiletries cases, my nightstand drawer, all our backpacks, all other travel gear that wasn’t in that area, our junk drawer of tools and pencils and spare odds and ends, my knitting bags, my handbag, pockets of all coats, Chris’ nightstand, Alex’s dresser (which I was using at the time), baskets containing office supplies, bathroom drawers, and my desktop organizer. Naturally I cannot find these keys. Did they fall out of a box somewhere en route? I can’t remember where I stashed them, and am running out of places to search!
But luckily, since I only put the lock through one side of the zipper, the suitcase could still be used. It’s just a bit of a nuisance to have this now-nonfunctional lock dangling from the zipper pull.
A quick email to the manufacturer about spare keys resulted in an offer for a replacement lock (hah) but the distressing news that they do not keep/make spare keys.
In the end, I took one of Chris’ ginsu knives and sawed it off. Whee.
The US Picks 