The average person from the West Midlands loses more than 3,300 items in their lifetime – including 230 items of clothing and 104 umbrellas, research reveals. A national study into lost belongings of 2,000 adults found we’ll also misplace 394 pens across a lifetime and on average lose four items a month. Keys are the most commonly lost item, followed by mobile phones, pens and glasses.
Perhaps it’s no surprise that two thirds of Brits describe themselves as ‘someone who misplaces things’.
And that might be why the average person from the region forks out £2,976 over their lifetime replacing items they have lost.
The research commissioned by My Nametags, a British manufacturer of name tags, found that parents don’t have it any easier with children losing seven items a month – most commonly school jumpers, school books, stationery, their socks and toys.
In fact, children will lose more than a thousand items throughout their school years, results showed.
Lars Andersen, Managing Director of My Nametags, who commissioned the research said yesterday: “Schools are like the Bermuda Triangle for clothes and stationery. Parents often discuss how they can avoid losing school uniform as you don’t want to fork out for new items you’ve only bought the other week. Some losses are inevitable, but there are ways that you can make sure your child doesn’t lose every item they own by labelling everything, even their socks!
“It is utterly frustrating when you lose a particular possession, whether it be a child’s cherished teddy bear, or a mobile phone. You are invariably unhappy about losing the item, but also about wasting time looking for it! But of course, when you've found the misplaced item, or it has been returned to you, the agony of losing something is then replaced by sheer joy.”
Headphones, lipsticks and memory sticks have a unique ability to go astray and also featured on the 20 most lost list.
Other items that have a mysterious habit of disappearing include remote controls, phone chargers and gloves.
The results also showed that one in four careless people have even temporarily lost a car.
While a fifth has found themselves stranded after losing some crucial directions.
Outside of the home, the most likely place for stuff to go walkabout is in the car or on the bus, results showed.
And the costs of losing items mount up – the most expensive item parents said their child had lost, never to be seen again, was valued at an average of £104.
Andersen added: “Sometimes the reunion with your lost item depends on another person's honesty. It could be a kind soul spotting your wallet left on a bus, or your child’s lonely hat lost in a car park, who will decide to contact you, but if there is no form of identification on the item it could be lost forever. Most of us don't lose many items of significant value, but no matter what the value, if it matters to you or your child there will be emotional ups and downs associated with the lost item.”
