How Do You Handle Your Keys?

arisvega writes "I lost my backpack some time ago, but was lucky enough to have left my laptop at home that night, and my cell and keys in my pocket. The inevitable habit-change that followed was to start strapping my keys on my pants, so at least I would still be able to get home (as long as I kept my pants on). But I realized I had a lot of keys: one for the outer door, two for the inner, three more for my girlfriend's place, one for the office, one for the postbox, one for my bicycle, the car, the motorbike and the roof. ... Plus, I keep a tiny Swiss Army knife on my keychain that I really wouldn't want to part with. Needless to say, this makes a jingly bunch that eats through my pocket. I ask you, Slashdot people, how do you carry/safeguard a hefty, pronouncedly jingly bunch of keys? What are the alternatives? Any suggestions on clothing or technology? Would having 'The One Key' make things better, or worse?"

Comments

Solution:

[Ethanol-fueled]

Everybody I know keeps their keys and trinkets around their neck on a lanyard along with their badges.

I prefer to use two keyrings: one with the bare essentials(1 key for car, 2 keys for house) and a big one for the more obscure keys that I could go pick up from home if I had to do something special. I also make backup duplicates of all my keys.

Hollow rocks and magnetic key holders are also good places to store backup keys in case you lock yourself out of the car or house.

Re:Solution:

[The Mighty Buzzard]

Mine hang outside my pocket, held there by the 16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists) stick of ram attached to the key chain and shoved in my front pocket. The ram grabs surprisingly well onto the inside of the pocket against anything but a straight upwards pull, then it slides out quite easily.

One suggestion

[Locke2005]

Get flat copies of your keys, and keep them in your wallet.

The only key I actually need to keep with me is my car key; I use the garage door remote to get into the house. But that is a non-issue anyway, since all your keys should be on the same keychain!

Carry Them

[Thyamine]

I got tired of wearing holes in my pants from keys in general while moving PCs/servers while at client sites, so now I just carry everything except my wallet. Cell phone and keys in hand, so that I always know I have what I need. When you really need to, they go into the pockets of course, but getting in the habit of literally having them in hand means you always know where they are. It also forced me to reduce the keys I have by figuring out what I really needed to have _all_ the time, and what was just 'nice' to have.

Put a handkerchief in your pocket...

[xploraiswakco]

I place a handkerchief in my pocket before I put my keys in, the handkerchief then protects the pocket from the sharp keys and pocket knife, and also provides padding that will at least muffle the noise of jingling keys in your pocket.

Re:CDO Key Habits

[tantaliz3]

I use a similar system. I have one Master Ring with a big ring on it, and each of the sets are on tiny carabiners. When I need that particular set, I attach it to the Master Ring. Otherwise, they hang on the wall by the door.

Re:News for nerds.

[Daengbo]

Even the trolls are weak these days!

More on-topic -- what I learned from the Special Forces and Rangers: dummy cord everything to you. If you don't like cord, use a carabiner.

multitool key mod

[hldn]

http://lifehacker.com/399031/diy-leatherman-key-mod

i bought a $5 multitool at the hardware store and removed the tools from it. get some copies of your keys made, cut them down to fit, and stick them in place of the tools. the multitool i bought holds eight keys, four in either handle. that just happens to be the number of keys i have too~