One of the most common reasons we find ourselves needing locksmiths is that our keys go missing. This can mean that either the keys are getting lost, or they're getting stolen. Either way it will rack up unnecessary locksmith bills as you need to get your keys copied or your lock change if you think the keys have been stolen.

It's important then to look after your keys and ensure you're keeping them somewhere safe both while your key is in your home and when you're travelling with it (more so the latter in some ways). However it's still highly important to look after your keys when you're in the home and this is something that shouldn't be overlooked. Here well look at some of the ways on which you can protect your keys within your own home.

In the home it's important to have a place where you keep your keys and normally this will be on a key rack. It's important to do this rather than to just place them on the side as placing them on the side will leave them susceptible to having things piled on top of them such as books and magazines that people discard on the side. This doesn't happen with a key hanger as they will be on the wall. At the same time it could mean that they easily fall down the side of the cupboard to end up underneath it. Again this isn't a problem when the keys are hung up as try are actually hooked in place and so unable to move unless you actually purposefully move them. There is nothing 'official' about keeping them on the side either, meaning you might unconsciously place then somewhere else on another occasion. Finally, constantly just growing the keys down can cause them wear and tear and thus make them more likely to break and even make it harder for locksmiths to make you new copies. This is because when a key is copied, you need to have the original unfairly good condition in order for it to be used as a guide when cutting the key. Here your old key will be clamped in place while the same shape is cut out of a blank key. Should the key be worn, you will then potentially need to have the whole lock replaced by a locksmith rather than just having the individual keys copied.

Of course if you have lots of keys then you may not have the space for all of them on a rack. If you keep spare keys then there is not really any point in keeping those in the same place that you keep your originals. Otherwise if you lose the original you know you'll lose the space. For spares then some form of safety deposit box or drawer in another room such as your bedroom is more suitable.

Finally, as a way to keep your keys extra safe, you might want to consider getting a remote control for your key ring, which can be set off to help you locate your keys when they've gone missing.