Sometimes during a major purge something may be tossed out or donated that later on down the road you find a need/use for.
Try hard to not dwell on that one item.
Take pride and comfort that 99.9% of the stuff that has gone is stuff you don't even remember, will never need or miss and that in return you have nice clear and organizable space to live in. 😀

I've brought a lot of stuff home and allowed it to get disorganized, so tonight I'm spending time sorting out my room. (Primary categories are food, clothes, electronics, and paper.) Let's see if I can find stuff that's known to be here. Currently missing: envelope of cash to pay the rent; paper with notes about my recent blood donation.

Thanks for the clever comments.
No hollowed out book, good idea though.
Nice comments Dave!!!!
I spent at least 1/2 hour looking for a long cable for tv antenna. Then I remembered I took all extra cables to thrift store this summer. then thought, probably kept one, looked some more, no cable anywhere. A neighbor gave me a HUGE antenna, so got it up on roof today, then could not find cable. so just bunjied antenna to tree for now. Have to attach cable before put it up, cause connection will be too high to reach once it is upright. Labels on all boxes would have been so helpful, guess I can label now when I do my searches through organized boxes, which I don't know what is in there.

I'd estimate that there are at most eight boxes that have completely unknown contents -- I've been working my way towards the least accessible corner, and maybe I can get to them soon. There are also some boxes where I've opened it enough to identify its likely category, but there's some possibility that an individual "lost" item could be hiding in it.

Old comic books used to have a back page of stuff for sale, like "hypno-coin", "onion gum", "x-ray specs", and "secret book safe". The last one being a hollowed-out book where you can keep your valuables, and nobody would ever know. I always imagined that the title on the spine would turn out to be SECRET BOOK SAFE.

Diane,
Pennies are good. (Particularly if they are 1909 vdb ones!) 99 of them plus enough for tax gets you enough for a small frosty at Wendy's.

I made a stack of 21 books to accompany my instock Black and Decker refrigerator to Goodwill a couple of days ago.

There was a dollar bill sticking out of one of them -- which led to:
I got in trouble once for hollowing out a book and smuggling a squirt gun into school (nowadays I'd probably go to Juvie for that) -- which led to:
Do you suppose Diane hollowed out a book for her in house bank?

Karl,
Good you're finding some useful stuff. I know not having the stuff one really wants is extremely frustrating. What kind of quantity of boxes do you still have to go through?

Found a couple of pantry boxes, containing food that doesn't need refrigeration. I brought a few items home. Nothing new from my official "lost" list has turned up.

found 3 pennies yesterday Normally I would just leave them where I found them, but this has made me have fun, so now collect my found money. still hopeful for big find!!

While searching the storage unit, I found my spare glasses. This is good, as I was down to just one pair, my previous "spare" copy having failed to survive my experience with catching a TV set while rearranging the unit.

I also found the box where the movers had put my kitchen silverware and a few food items. I'll be moving those to separate boxes to simplify things. I discovered that I had a lot more "salvaged" disposable plasticware than I would have guessed. (So does my housemate.)

Hurray for money. (This time I'm supposed to "turn in" any I find-maybe a party fund, not sure, but not finding too much this time around. I think I had change envelopes from two different car cleanouts when we traded them. I think you are doing pretty good, but I understand the stress over the "big bucks". Loosing things like that just eats at me.

Hurray for tools! Having them all together in a tool drawer or box sounds good to me. I bet you'll be able to keep track of them. My latest tool fiasco is pulling some things to do some wiring with. Then I go looking for my "beater" screwdriver or spare tape measure and can't find it for anything. After a half hour or so, then I remember.....

yesterday I found $12 in an old tin of tea. Today I found $37 in a purse I used a few times last year. I still have not found the $3000 in $100 bills, I hid a few years ago and have looked many hours for it over last few years. I always kept it in one place then decided that place was too obvious, so moved it. Not so obvious now, not obvious at all to me. Sure could use it. My magical thinking says, you found $12 then found $37, tomorrow could be a big find!!!
My scissors, pliers, wrenches and screwdrivers are all grouped together in one place as of today, started on it yesterday. I didn't get rid of any, just put them in separate drawers, will weed later.
I could not find what I needed when workers were here, now they are in an "obvious" place, guess I better write myself a note so can find when needed!!!!

FOUND!
The heavy duty ice scraper and long handled windshield brush.

LOST:
Cold resistant fingers!

The box with the caulking guns turned up. I can't remove them right now due to other time pressures, but hopefully can keep track of them. Maybe my drillmotor paint stirrer is in the same box.

For paperwork, I have found that fat 3 ring binders and those plastic page inserts work wonders for preservation and keeping everything handy. You can have binders for different purposes, by different color and a designated place to keep them.

Labels might help, I organize like things together then can't find them months later when I need them. At the time it seems like an obvious place to put them, then months later I have no clue. Yesterday thought maybe I need to put things alphabetically, then thought, if you had less things it would be so much easier. Still too much stuff to find what I want.

Lost: Insurance forms. (Can't be too far away -- I had them on moving day, they've never been to the storage unit, so they must be somewhere in my tiny bedroom.) Need to find and submit them now that my bill has arrived for the physician's office visit in November.

I'm enjoying the adventures immensely! I am most guilty of the "it's right where I put it" -- "now where is it?" phenomenon.

Tillie,
I'm sorry. Your situation is beyond my imagination. You show a lot of dedication and determination in continuing to maintain your relationship and your efforts to support others on this site.

We lost our home owner's insurance due to his massive hoard all over the property.

He also had a big stash of tubes of caulk that after so many years they were all dried up and useless.

Caulking gun deterrence-Lack of parity.

I'm behind! I only have 2 (or maybe it's 3, I'm not sure) amongst the "disappeared". Should I run to Ace Hardware this afternoon? OOPS, I forgot I'm unemployed - Not a good choice - From a hoarder - avoiding shopping!- I must be delusional.

I don't think I have any clear silicone caulk so I am behind there as well. I do know where my white is (following best hoarding practice, I bought a case when it was on sale a few YEARS ago), so when I find one of my guns over the next few days I can do some sealing on the garage.

I am considering creating an "arsenal" on nails under the basement stairs.

I know for a fact that there are at least 6 caulking guns out in that hoarded garage here.
When I need one I just go borrow the neighbor's caulking gun because his is always right there where it's very easy to find. ;D

And then there is not refinancing a loan for more advantageous interest rates because one is afraid to have an insurance person in taking pictures.

Dave, you made me laugh when I read about your stuff, exactly what I went though yesterday!! I had put all my caulk and guns in one bucket when organizing months ago, except the tube of clear silicone for faucet. The one I needed was in back bathroom in cabinet, took 1/2 hour to find, good thing I "organized" caulk. When I need a hose to empty crud out of water heater, couldn't find old hoses so had to cut off section of new hose. It was really long with frozen water in it, so cut off the length I needed. What a waste, glad I am not alone. You mentioned insurance adjuster, I do not have insurance because I am afraid to have insurance guy here. Progress not perfection

Ha!
Doesn't everyone store their drywall screws in the (hidden) empty out of the way space under the wood chipper?

Now where do you suppose the caulking guns are? I know, they are in a box! (Only 60 or so, blocked by the empty box mine and the saws and machetes.)(Or they may be blocked by the 6 box stack containing the valuable 20 year old cache of garden hoses. I am in "hose heaven". 2 different kinds of sprinkler hoses, 2 diffent kinds of soaker hoses, plastic hoses and 3 or 4 better quality rubber hoses. Invaluable for starting the lawn. Now that I am 20 years out and the lawn has failed .......)

Hmmm....
Saws and Machetes.
Thinking outside the box, if I did a Jackie Chan routine with the (or perhaps better for my skill level-just one) machetes on the boxes, then I would have to recycle them!

I did find the finish nails I was looking for for a project two days ago.

I want to put up some drywall around my garage door. I need to be able to remove some of the panels sometime in the future for some electrical work, so I want to use screws instead of nails. My bucket of drywall screws is right where I left it. Unfortunatly that location is unkown. I must gather my helmet and magic ring and enter the "Cave of Stuff" for excavations.

I found the phone items where I expected them to be. Since I currently have two working phones (study and kitchen), I probably won't be putting these to use for now.

While going through the far corner of the closet, I found the sneakers that I'd expected to be there.

These aren't exactly "lost", but I'll add them to the list anyway, since the box that I'm pretty sure they're in is kind of inaccessible at the moment.

• Headphones
• Portable phone with charger
• Belt-clip phone

Karl, cool finds with the Baskin Robbins coupons and little magnifying glass.

Then we bought an ice cream cake. I could have used some coupons for sure!