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I make a conscious, visual check of my surroundings every time I leave the place (restaurant, lodging, bus, etc) I've been in. "Conscious" is important: running one's eyes over the walls and floors and so on so that you're really seeing what's there.

Works very well, and has become a useful habit.

There are a variety of strategies you can use but they all involve a cost of time. I use different strategies in different places.

First and foremost is what we calling "walking the campsite" (because it came from camping trips where leaving something behind could be catastrophic). You literally walk from room to room in the hotel (or wherever you are) looking for your things. I just look for things that I recognize, but if that's hard for you, you could use a written list of things to find and pack away.

Second strategy is not to see if x is still where you left it (by going and looking in the bathroom for example) but to see if it is where it's supposed to be when you leave. Having specific pockets and places for specific things. Chargers are the sort of thing that are often last to pack and need to be gotten quickly, so they can have a special pocket in your bag. Check that pocket before you leave to be sure you have your charger. For your toiletries, again they're typically in a specific water resistant bag, so make sure everything that's supposed to be in there is in there.

Third strategy is to evaluate the places you put things as you put them there. Wow, this plug under the table cries out to have my charger forgotten in it. Then either put a sticky on the inside of the door that says "charger under table" or don't leave the charger there without a phone on it. When the phone is charged, put the charger away until tomorrow. Yes, it takes longer than just leaving the charger there all the time, which I can do on a desk or somewhere obvious. Same with toiletries -- should I make a point of keeping them out here where I can see them, even though that means carrying them into the bathroom when I need them? Or put a note somewhere reminding me they're in a weird place this time?

Fourth strategy is to have spares. I always have at least one spare USB cable, with which I can charge things even if I forgot my charger. I typically have spare nail clippers and other small things - the smaller they are the easier it is to bring spares and the more likely it is you'll leave it somewhere weird and not see it. Travel adapters you should definitely have a lot of because so much grinds to a halt if you can't use the local electricity. For paperwork and documentation, your spares might be photocopies, or digital versions on a laptop or phone, or digital versions in cloud storage that you can retrieve even if you lose or forget the originals.

And the final piece of the puzzle is not to sweat it too much. I once left two good blouses (that I could wear on stage or to meetings) in a hotel closet because I forgot I had brought extras and still had clean clothes in the closet on the last day. I remember the incident, which reminds me to check the closet when packing, but I don't beat myself up over it. The cost of replacing forgotten things is part of the cost of traveling.

Remember that you can forget things, so e.g. for the charger, when it is not attached to the computer, put it in your bag. If you need it again, you will take it out again. Put things in evident places. I put often my umbrella under my chair at restaurants, so that I would probably see it also if it stop raining. If you forget your bag, it is probably that the restaurant keep it (BTW it is required by law, in Europe).

Then I go out (office, home, restaurants), I check 1-2-3: keys, phone, purse/moneys. Now it is nearly automatic, I may make few meters before to check and go back.

For accommodation: I try also to put things together: charger other the open luggage if I'm not actively using it. Toiletries: all in my toilette purse, so it is much more visible. I tend not to put things on closets (but on long stays). Usually before I exit last time, with all luggage closed and near the door I do a last check in all rooms, and under the bed and I move the bed sheets (my weak point of loosing things).

Those things (which I also often forget) have something in common: they are out of sight and out of mind, and easy to overlook especially when in a hurry:

• The toiletries are probably in the bathroom, maybe under a towel or in the shower behind a fold of the shower curtain, and it's easy to forget to look there or to miss a spot


• The adapter is wherever the plug is, probably under a table, often somewhere awkward to get to

As a backup, it helps to have a fixed space in your bags or pockets for such easy-to-miss items, so that even if on your 3rd sweep of the room, you didn't properly look under the damp towel in the bathroom or behind the cabinet where the only usable plug was, you'll notice the item is missing because the space for it in your bag or pockets is conspicuously empty.

Side pockets of bags are great for this because you can just pat them to check they feel right. (Just don't put valuables there if you're going somewhere with a pickpocketing problem)

If your luggage doesn't have compartments like this, e.g. a trundle suitcase that is just one big compartment, you could consider things like packing cubes which won't fit together as expected if one is missing or under-filled - especially sets that are different sizes and colours:

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Write a list of everything you want to take with you on a trip, use it to pack your bags, then at the end go through that same list and check you still have those things before you leave

Some tips that might help:

• Whenever you are visiting a place, locate the item you don't want to forget (such as your adapter) near something you definitely will not forget (your jacket for example).


• Or (but this can take some practice), connect your jacket to the adapter in your mind in the most funny strange way you can think about (e.g. when you take on your jacket, a cable will come out of it and tries to electrocute you). This will remember you when you take your jacket not to forget the adapter. You can do this with as many items as you wish; the better the mind-connection the better it works.


• In your hotel room, before you leave, check all spots, under the bed, behind the desk (some items can have fallen down without you even noticing).


• For the very important items (or all), make a check list... I always use one when I leave, if you take it with you, you can reuse it again.


• Tidy up items as soon as you can... the more that is packed, the least easy it is to forget.


• You can set an alarm on your phone to remember not forgetting things (at a certain time).


• If you have an item you don't want to forget, put it on top or inside something you definitely will not forget. E.g. at the beach, when I don't take a bag, I put my watch inside my shoes; also it is less visible, but most important I cannot forget it (I don't forget to put my shoes on).

If you can reduce, the number of things you carry with you, outside of where you are staying, so you can check for them every time you stand up. As a habit I now check for my wallet, keys and phone every time I stand up, and they all have their own pocket. In essence Awkward Zombie was on to something

Doing a search of each place you leave prevents most lost items.

The other thing is to get everything back into place after each use. That means a lot of taking stuff in and out of bags but it does help.

The other tip that is harder to get used to is to remember the feel of the back weight and bulk. I travel enough that I can notice small changes in weight, not as small as a travel adapter, but even forgetting a charger or guidebook is something I immediately question as to why my bags are lighter than before. This however takes the discipline of putting things exactly in the same bags each and every time.