Here are a few tips to keep you from leaving things behind to begin with.

Don’t unpack anything until you need it. Many sweaters and bathrobes are left on the hanger behind bathroom doors because the party anticipated needing them and then forgot they had unpacked them. Or they hang a dirty shirt there when taking a shower. If you are staying for any serious length of time (a few days to a week) and you don’t want to mix dirty clothes with clean things in your suitcase, put the soiled clothes in a drawer by themselves until you leave. Do NOT put them in a white laundry or garbage bag on the floor. If you accidentally leave it behind, the maid will assume it is either garbage or unwanted and will usually throw it out and it will never make it to lost and found.

Do a walk-through when you check out. Look under beds, behind open doors (especially to the bathroom) and in all the drawers. Check the bed linens also – sometimes valuable items get caught up in sheets and spreads and are never seen again. Check the shower for shampoos or conditioners, the bathroom for medicines including in the cabinet if it opens. Check electrical outlets especially for phone chargers – they and camera battery or iPod chargers are THE most common items left behind and some are not worth shipping home when they only cost $15 to replace. If camping, do a walk-through of the whole area – under the tent and picnic table areas, near the fire pit and close to where the car was sitting. These are where many items that fall out of pockets tend to be found in the light of day.

These simple steps will almost always prevent you from leaving things behind including sunglasses, books, valuable papers, iPods, keys, Blackberries, etc.