Have you ever misplaced your keys so badly to the point of being locked in your own house?

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Kapika96@reddit

I've never locked the house in a way that'd even make that possible, so no. Always had a yale lock in every place I've lived, so no key neede to unlock from the inside.

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I was looking after my mum with alzheimers and she had a habit of putting things in weird places. My schedule was I would leave the house in time to walk the 3 minutes to work to arrive by 6. Carer would arrive at 9 and get mum up , then I'd be home shortly after 2 to relieve the carer.

So I got up one morning and couldn't find my keys as I was about to leave. Text my boss and said I'm going to be a little late as I'm locked in. Spent half an hour frantically searching, in the meantime my neighbours who were on holiday text me about something. Knowing they were awake in a different time zone I replied to ask if ok to jump through their garden, I'll explain later? (my house is terraced, they're end terrace and have a side alley). So I ended up going out the back door, locking it after me, jumping the fence and got onto the road through neighbour's alley, went to work, came home at lunch, borrowed carer's keys, went into town, got keys cut, returned carer's keys, went back to work.

Eventually found the my keys wrapped in a sock at the back of a drawer in mum's wardrobe about a year later.

Fucking Alzheimers

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BabyAlibi@reddit

No but recently I went to unlock the front door and the key snapped in two at a half turn so I was locked in and no one else could use a key on the outside

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seven-cents@reddit

Yes, many years ago I went out on a work night and got absolutely bladdered.

The following morning I woke up, took a bath (no shower in that flat), got dressed and then attempted to leave.

No keys to be found. Frantic search ensued (the place was an admittedly chaotic tip).

Searched in the usual places. Pockets, under the bed covers, under the bed, in the corners of the room, inside the cupboards.

The door was locked from the inside with a deadbolt, so there was no way I could've entered and locked the door without the key.

No keys.. eventually I was an hour late for work, so I called in and said I can't find my keys and will be late. I doubt they believed me, but I was stuck.

So I started cleaning the flat from top to bottom. 6 hours later the place was spotless and as tidy as the day I moved in.

I'd calmed down, the work day was almost done, and I was beginning to doubt my sanity.

I decided that it was time to have a beer since I wasn't going to get into work that day anyway, so I opened the fridge (for the first time that day)... Guess where the keys were..

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farmpatrol@reddit

I can tell that story was not at all finny at the time but please be assured I am laughing now. Hope you can do too!

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Accurate_Prompt_8800@reddit

How do you get locked into your own home? I don’t get it.

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bunksy93@reddit

How have you never heard of a door that requires a key to lock / unlock on both sides before?

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SignNotInUse@reddit

Step 1 decided to go for just one drink with friends. Step 2 get absolutely rat arsed. Step 3 ???. Step 4 wake up monumentally hungover with no memory of how you got home.

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whootle@reddit

Some doors need to be locked from the inside in order to be locked from the outside. I assume they’re not made like that anymore, seems like a fire hazard 😅

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HeriotAbernethy@reddit

Multipoint door locks, which are actually the most secure as the door is locked in (IIRC) four places. Very common, we have one, and I hate it.

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whootle@reddit

Interesting!!

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SaltyName8341@reddit

They keep the police out though

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chocolatefeckers@reddit

My 12 yr old house has key locks on all the external doors.

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SomeHSomeE@reddit

Lots of locks you have to lock/unlock with a key on both sides - they're pretty standard.

Presumably in OP's case they mean they've locked it and then absent mindedly left the key somewhere they can't remember so can't unlock it again.

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liseusester@reddit

I once got trapped in my kitchen and therefore in about a quarter of my house because the spindle snapped. Luckily my back door keys also had a front door key on, so once I'd hoiked the back gate open and gone down the alley and round to the front and let myself in I was safe and sound. If my back door keys hadn't had a spare front door key on I'd probably have had to call the fire service.

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CumberlandCat@reddit

Step 1 - enter home Step 2 - lock door Step 3 - misplace keys

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lxgrf@reddit

By misplacing the keys, and having the kind of lock you can't open without a key.

We could theoretically, but first of all we keep the keys by the door, and second there's a spare key that never leaves the electric meter cupboard. So no to OP's question, but it's at least theoretically possible.

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verybadgay@reddit

Yes. My partner at the time would leave for work before I got up and lock the door behind him. I searched high and low for my keys one morning to get out, but couldn’t find them anywhere,. I was in early pregnancy and inconsolably crying which didn’t help the search. I honestly thought my partner had locked me in and taken my keys (which would’ve been on-brand, he was a dick.) I called in sick to work with some excuse about morning sickness because I was too embarrassed to admit I was locked in the flat. Later that day I sat on the reclining chair in the living room, leaned it back and the keys popped out the bottom. What a wally.

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Opening-Abrocoma4210@reddit

Wait how were they in the back of the recliner?

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verybadgay@reddit

They’d slid down the back of the seat and into the frame. Probably came out of my own pocket at some point.

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Opening-Abrocoma4210@reddit

Oh that’s ok then, it read like they were hidden somehow

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Less_Pie_7218@reddit

We couldn’t locate our car spare key around since the beginning December. We gave it a few days or slight searching didn’t locate it.. one weekend we searched every nook and corner of the house knowing the keys are at home but not luck..

We had given up and my husband had started looking at getting our key copied realized it was expensive so put it off for a few more months.

Last week my 7 year old daughter was playing in my office room after school. She loves my office rug so she lies down in the rug and reads books or brings toys over for playing.

I had gone to get her a sandwich and she was wildly going round and round in my chair as I was just about to tell her to stop I heard a thud noise and it was the key.. she had kept it in the small gap where the spine of the chair connects the base..

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R_12345678910@reddit

Yes, I once had to cancel a hair cut as I'd run out of time to get there after looking for my keys.

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The1non1y1@reddit

Locks on doors that need a key to lock/unlock from the inside can put your life at risk. In your situation, you've lost your keys so can't unlock the door, what if there is a fire? Smoke fills quickly and you've got minutes to get out otherwise it's game over.

Door locks on the inside should be the thumb turn lock. No keys needed to unlock from the inside.

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Artistic_Data9398@reddit

Yes. 3 hours and a missed dentist appointment later, i found them in the fridge next to the can of coke i put in there.

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Sockpervert1349@reddit

Yes, but I found them, they where in my pocket.

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toady89@reddit

I’ve been unable to leave due to not being able to find my keys but only because I couldn’t secure the property, I could still get out in an emergency. I have locks that require keys to get out now though so I keep the keys in the locks, I also have an AirTag on my main keys because no doubt I’ll still leave them somewhere dumb.

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jasilucy@reddit

I locked myself in the porch once and I was stuck there for hours. Forgot my key, the door was on a latch and the porch door was locked. No one else home

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ImpressNice299@reddit

I was sat in my living room a few years ago and a bunch of Apache helicopters flew over low in formation. I grabbed my phone and ran outside, but couldn't find the door key. By the time I got outside, I couldn't get a picture. Worse, nobody believes me because it sounds like BS. SO, yes I have.

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Random_Guy_47@reddit

This is why my keys have a specific place they live when I'm in the house.

I do not put them anywhere else, ever.

They are in my hand because I'm using them, in my pocket because I'm out and about (and even then they go in a specific pocket) or in that specific place in the house.

There is only 3 places my keys can be at any given moment. It's hard to lose them this way.

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missmackattack@reddit

This is why I bought a Tile tracker. Not for if I lose my keys out and about: for if I lose them in the house, which I do, about 6 times a week on average.

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ben_jamin_h@reddit

Mate, if you're locked inside your house without your keys to let you out, what the FUCK are you going to do in a fire!?

Get thumbturn locks to the inside of all your locks, now.

My mom's house set fire in summer 2023, the fridge went up at 2am.

Do not wait, change your locks so you can escape your house in an emergency.

They all got out, they're fine. You might not be if you have to look for your keys to get out of a burning building.

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fredskingdom@reddit

Once locked myself OUT of the house, and had to literally kick the door down… have also lost a set of car keys, ended up scrapping the car.. and am currently missing a set of caravan keys, they’ve been gone for about 3 years now (anyone want a free caravan?)…. Suffice to say, me and keys don’t go well together.

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AF_II@reddit

In all seriousness if it is possible for you to get locked into your own house with no way out then you don't have proper fire exits and you need to reconsider your emergency exit plans.

(I locked myself into my own porch - there's an interior and exterior door and the interior one autolocks, and I thought i had my keys in my pocked, I put on the auto lock, went to open the front door and...no keys, door behind me locked, I'm stuck in my own porch without even a mobile phone. I ended up smashing a glass panel in teh door and doing a burglar reach around. Changed the lock to non-auto and learnt my lesson).

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SaltyName8341@reddit

I have a hammer and windows not an issue

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MrAxx@reddit

And what if you lose your hammer

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JohnnySchoolman@reddit

Just use one of the old hammers from down the back of the sofa

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SaltyName8341@reddit

Computer? Plenty of heavy/sharp things in a house

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IOnlyUpvoteBadPuns@reddit

and doing a burglar reach around

I mean, letting you out was really the least the burglar could do in exchange

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StigitUK@reddit

30 minutes plus walking around house trying to find keys.

They. Were. In. My. Hand.

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AnselaJonla@reddit

Yes.

In the end it turned out that someone had mistaken my jacket for theirs, and so they had my keys with them in addition to their own.

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DrMoneybeard@reddit

Canadian who lived in UK here- I love you guys but the locks are very, very stupid. It should be impossible to lock yourself in your house (or get locked in someone else's house!) it's an absolutely insane setup. Love, the rest of the world.

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MokausiLietuviu@reddit

High quality thumbturn locks are very common and available (and installed in my front door). When I grew up, there was a self-closing latch that anyone inside could open.

I have genuinely no idea why or when British locks became so stupid so often.

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172116@reddit

100%. The two normal exit routes for my house both have thumb turns on them. The one remaining exit, the key is attached to the door. I don't know why we remain so wedded to locks that take keys from both sides in this country.

My mum is paranoid about fire safety, and always left the keys in the lock when locking from the inside.

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Gnomio1@reddit

It’s fucking daft. Growing up my mums house had an auto locking door so you just turned the handle inside and you could get out, but outside needed the key.

Then a hand-operated deadbolt thingy as well.

Problem with the key-both-sides bollocks is yea it’s a fire hazard, but insurance is invalid if you leave the key in and it can be reached from the letterbox. Which we have.

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TehTac@reddit

I put my front door key in the fridge one night after locking up (no idea why!) and it took me about half an hour to track it down next day - I feel your pain!

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blizzardlizard666@reddit

I've lost my phone in the fridge multiple times

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oliverprose@reddit

I think I'm more impressed that you found them that quickly with that level of handicap - the only way I'd have found them in that situation would be when I'd given up and looked at my next meal or started considering rationing 🤣

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noddyneddy@reddit

After a long and frustrating search for a misplaced item that turned out to be in the same place, I now START all my searches there!

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SaltyName8341@reddit

Nah look in the obvious places make a brew bingo

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oliverprose@reddit

That'll be my downfall - I rarely do hot drinks

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SaltyName8341@reddit

Just remember to make a sandwich when you're looking for something (warning I take no responsibility for obesity caused)

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Adorable-Boot-3970@reddit

I knew a woman who was stuck in the toilet of a halls of residence in Plymouth for an entire weekend after the door knob fell off in the locked position.

It was during the summer and she was attending a conference there.

Someone went to check when she didn’t check out on the third morning! Was actually quite sketchy she would have been quite ill if it had been much longer.

The funny thjng about it was that she had no idea how long she’d been in there as she had no watch, phone or window!

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BeanOnAJourney@reddit

No. When I'm in the house I keep a key in every lock, I don't want to have to fumble around for a key while blinded by smoke and panic if there's ever a fire.

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rkr87@reddit

An answer to a totally different question but your question triggered this memory...

I would've been 16-17 at the time and stayed over at a friend's house and a night of light under-age drinking.

He got up in the morning and went to work and left me asleep - this wasn't unusual, we'd been friends for years and were pretty much part of the furniture at each other's houses for years.

What was weird was that he didn't tell his mum I was there, so while I was asleep she went out shopping locking me in their house with no way to get out for about 3 hours.

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TheGreenPangolin@reddit

No. Because I am paranoid scared of fires so I have made sure there are always extra keys as part of my ridiculously over the top evacuation plan. I’ve locked myself out plenty of times though. We have one each. There is one by the front door that is never taken out the house or moved unless it’s an emergency, and there is an alternative exit out the side door which also has keys near it. Plus there’s the back door which has keys near it which could be used in a fire but then I’d be stuck in the garden. There’s also keys in a lockbox outside for when I get locked out and my sister has a spare set too just in case. I recommend you do something similar because you don’t want to be locked in during a fire or other emergency- even if you know where the keys are, the fire might be between you and them, so have spares.

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ribenarockstar@reddit

I have an AirTag on my keys, and the amount of times I have to use the Find My app inside my own flat is humbling. But even more frequently, I use my keys to let myself into the flat… and then leave them in the outside of the lock. Whoops.

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horrible_goose_@reddit

We keep a spare key in the house just in case of events like this. I also have a friend who lives a 5 minute walk away who has a key for our place, and I have a key for their place as well

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krypto-pscyho-chimp@reddit

I got locked in a house. The 150 year old front mortice lock failed when my landlady left in the morning. All the windows were nailed shut. Rear garden entrance was screwed shut.

I had to call a locksmith. Then call a family member to post money. Then post money to locksmith to pick the lock.

Best excuse for being late to work ever.

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Easy-Equal@reddit

My key has a airbag in its top bit

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CensorTheologiae@reddit

You wouldn't starve, trust me. There's a glorious JG Ballard story about a bloke who decides to stay in his house forevermore, and I don't want to spoil it, but... he finds ways to feed himself.

BBC did a great film of it called 'Home', with Antony Sher in the lead role. Doesn't seem to be on iPlayer at the moment, sadly.

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Rossco1874@reddit

Yep and they were in my jeans which were in the washing machine. I had to wait for the cycle to finish before could leave the house. Was only 20 minutes left so not too long but still frustrating

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Ipoopedinthefridge@reddit

I left my keys in the door storage inside my car once. I had to climb out the kitchen window onto the driveway to unlock the car and let myself back into the house.

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Nineteen_AT5@reddit

No, I just leave my doors unlocked until I get back.

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keepthebear@reddit

I lost my keys for about three weeks, was using the spare car key and just not locking the front door. I eventually found them while sorting the play kitchen, in the oven, chilling out among the pretend food. They now live on a very high up hook!

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bopeepsheep@reddit

I recently managed to lose my keys in the 10 mins between deciding to go out and picking up my keys from the tray where i keep them, and checking again that I had them, before I left the house. Went out anyway, as I was meeting someone who could let me back in. Halfway through the evening, I checked my coat pockets - looking for mints - and there they were. I'd checked there three times already.

If I ever moved back to a house where I could trap myself like this, the first thing I'd do would be change the locks.

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keta_ro@reddit

That's why a small gadget is useful to be on your key ring. You whistle an the gadget respond.

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yorkspirate@reddit

Yep, they was in a different pocket of my jeans. An hour searching in an ever more panicky state, I live in a small 1 bedroom flat with hardly any storage. Why I thought they'd magically appear in the place they normally are after the 47th time I looked there is anyone's guess

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cornishpirate32@reddit

Do people not hang them or put them somewhere whenever they get in? Or have a spare set incase they do happen to misplace them

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dolphininfj@reddit

Yes, so many times that I installed a lock box on the side of my house and have a secret hiding place in my porch. Once I was at the dump and couldn't find my car key. I was in a total panic for ages and thought I was going to have to walk home leaving my car there. I eventually discovered that I had put the key in my bra for "safekeeping".

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wardyms@reddit

Can you eat letterbox hair?

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tomcat_murr@reddit

I have been stuck in my house for a day because I couldn't find my keys and the only person who had a spare set was away. I could have got out - just not back in!

They were at the bottom of the laundry basket, for reference. No idea how they got there.

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TowJamnEarl@reddit

I have kids, I also have about 10 sets stored in and around my flat with roughly 5 pics zooming out from their location.

Took me a while to find a shop that would cut the system keys though, those things are expensive if you have to go through the administration.

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MadamKitsune@reddit

Get a key hook and train yourself to always hang your keys up before anything else, even before taking your coat off. It works for me and I very rarely have to search for my keys. The other half, though... He's untrainable and notorious for misplacing his keys so now we have two spares and his main key on a chain attached to his belt loop.

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yolo_snail@reddit

No, because I have thumb turn locks on all the doors.

Keyed locks inside are just dangerous!

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Salt_Description_973@reddit

This is why I always have a spare key hidden outside and an AirTag on my key ring so I don’t have to do that

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Enchanting_puddles@reddit

I was locked in for four hours with a toddler, whilst panicking that I wouldn't be able to pick up his siblings from school.

Luckily my dad (who has a spare key) got home from work about 10 minutes before pick up time, collected them and then freed us.

Turns out a small container that found it way to the bottom of the toybox was the perfect place for the toddler to hide the key.

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buy_me_a_pint@reddit

I thought I lost some house keys (I live with my parents) and forgot I put them in a different coat, as I went out in a less warm jacket as the weather was warm that day, I was panicking at college,

I did emailed the college I was attended, that I did find my keys when I got home,

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alloitacash@reddit

Oh god yeah, always have to open the window to people when they come to the door.

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SaltyName8341@reddit

Always check the fridge first especially if you came home drunk

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HeriotAbernethy@reddit

Yup, I was completely fooled one morning by the fact that I’d put them in a different pocket of my trousers the night before. Usually they live in the front left, and despite these being a pair of light cotton summer trousers, the weight of the keys in the back right pocket didn’t register. I had to get a taxi to work and even then I was half an hour late as I demolished the flat trying to find them (I have previous for sleepwalking and putting them in a ‘safe’ place).

Needless to say I bought an AirTag key ring when they first came out and it’s been a godsend.

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Djinjja-Ninja@reddit

I once locked myself inside my newly rented house and had to get the letting agent to come and unlock the front door from the outside.

I had only moved in that weekend, and when I went to unlock my front door on monday morning the key just sheared off in the lock. I managed to get the remains of the key out, but there was no way to actually unlock the door and get out.

I didn't have a key for the back door yet either, and no windows I could have gotten out of.

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