This might possibly be best in Useful Tips and Tricks although I can post the vital information there for reference.

We have all done it I am sure, we know something isn't lost but we cannot find it no matter how hard we look. We go in circles to no avail.

Some months back I was telling someone how I had lost a particular item, it was somewhere in the house but as I am so messy I didn't know where to start looking. She told me to ask St Anthony for his help, now I am not religious but apparently this doesn't matter. What one must do is thank him when he comes up trumps.

This morning I spent a couple of hours on the phone chatting to a cousin who lives in France. She said that she would be interested in having a copy of our grandmother's family tree going back to 1723 which I mentioned having. That would be fine but I didn't know where it was. I remember seeing it in January 2007 but didn't know what happened to it after that. I remember looking a couple of months ago when this cousin and I first made contact with each other.

Anyway I said the rhyme...

'Anthony, Anthony,
turn around, something is lost that
must be found'.

Then looked in places which I thought I might have put it, no joy. Then for some reason I looked somewhere that I wouldn't expect to find it - yes, there it was and for good measure my grandfather's military records were with it.

I duly thanked St Anthony for his help.

Things often turn up in places you have already checked, I am not totally convinced that he doesn't hide things first!

Saint Anthony is often called on by Mum, and he very rarely lets her down (I hasten to add that we do NOT live in an untidy house, we can usually lay our hands on things, but sometimes need a little nudge )

If that doesn't work, just think of the last place you would look, and look there first.

I always find what I was looking for last when I'm looking for the next thing I've lost. It seems to work every time.

Well it works Sue! Thanks to Telly (and St. Anthony - see the thread in Computers & Tech) I found myself!

lol

Can't be done with everything of course but mostly what works for me is giving up trying to find the lost item and buying a replacement. The original one nearly always turns up after that.

I'll put St. Anthony through his paces next time. He could save me a bit of money.

I've never called on St. Anthony, but I have called on the "entity" that keeps taking what I need. For example: I use rubberbands a lot and I know where I keep them. But every once in awhile, when I look, they're all gone. Then I'll say "ok, you've had your fun, return the rubberbands". After that I'll find rubberbands all over the place. The same thing happens when I'm looking for a paper clip. One minute there's none, then the next, they've multiplied and I have more than I need.

My husband is my radar for lost items. I'll ask him and after a moment or two of concentrating, he can tell me if it's lost for good or what part of the house I can find it in. He's right over 90% of the time.