When we moved into our new house in 1977, a bunch of boxes were never really unpacked. They were stacked under and around the pool table which was crowded into the garage, though the garage wasn’t really a parking place for cars in my family but rather a place for stuff.
So when someone in our family couldn’t find something, we’d laugh and say, “It’s in a box in the garage.”
All those things you have but can’t find . . . are in a box in the garage. Figuratively speaking.
A couple days ago, my newly employed son mentioned that he needed a padlock for his locker at work. I said, “No problem! I have padlocks.”
And without too much trouble, I was able to locate two padlocks. I could not find the keys.
If we were still in our previous home, I could have located a key in minutes because I own an entire collection of mystery keys. I’ve kept them in a clear plastic box for many years.
Why do I have a collection of mystery keys? Most of them unlock doors in places I will never live again. They are keys missing their locks yet I tuck those orphan keys in that clear plastic box. Because you just never know. You never know!
I checked the garage shelves, the drawers in the laundry room, the cupboards in the kitchen, the filing cabinet and then I circled around a second and third time, looking in vain for that box of keys.
I can’t find it.
I bought new padlocks with keys.
If you were a box of keys, where would you be? Until I find it, I’m not sure I can ever truly rest again. (Just kidding. Nothing comes between me and sound sleep.)
But I would like to unlock this mystery.
Do you save mystery keys? What about old calendars? (Yes, I do have a pair of shoes that I owned in high school. Why are you asking?)
Actual Unretouched Photo 
You are in a sorry state. Um … no … California is almost heaven from what I hear … with apologies to WVA.
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I have kept collections of various things from long ago… but over the years have had to let many of them go. The house we’re in right now just can’t accommodate much at all. I’ve never lived in a home with so little storage space as this one. Sometimes it’s therapeutic to release things, though.
As for your keys… I’m sure they’ll turn up when it’s time to move again.
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the only thing i have kept is high school year books…i have moved too much to keep anything long…and i lost one of those.
good luck finding the box of keys…look under the bed ha ha
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Keys? Your mother also has dozens of keys – keys from cars, houses, suitcases, and who knows what else. And now, I have old keys that MY mother kept for years. So I kept them to add to my original bunch. (Only I don’t know where my original bunch is – probably in a box I haven’t unpacked in the last two years!)
The oldest key I still have is for the roller skates (I also have the skates) I wore 65 years ago.
As for calendars, I have some going back many, many years. I wrote on them, so they serve as a diary sort of thing.
I also have notes my little children sent me when they went to stay with their grandma and grandpa. One of them has a nickel attached, so I have never, ever, been truly broke!
One other strange thing I have kept is Christmas lists. I have a habit of making lists, so when that time of year comes, I first write down ideas, then after I shop, I write down what I actually bought – usually adding how much I paid. Some of those lists date back to the early 70’s.
Treasures all!
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KEYS FOUND!
At the Vintage & Antique shop north of Marysville, Washington, today I found a dish of old keys – all for the bargain price of $5.00. Perhaps they are yours……….or at least they could be!
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We keep old keys, but they are mixed in with our keys that really do belong to something. We need to separate them, but if we did, we might lose them like you did. And yes, I keep old caldendars. My mother always did, so I do it too. I could probably call her today and ask when I had chicken pox and she could find it on her calendars.
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Beth mentioned keeping calendars, and her mother, and chicken pox. My mother used a tiny piece of paper to record when I had chicken pox – and other childhood ailments – and kept it in her Bible. Now I have her Bible – and the little list with it’s dates.
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