Never Forget Anything In The Hotel Safe Again With This Simple Hack

It happens to the best of us, and we would bet even the most organized of travelers have probably done it at least once. That's arriving at the airport or — even worse still — returning home and realizing you've forgotten something at your hotel or Airbnb. Maybe you sleepily slipped your e-reader into a bedside drawer, left a dress shirt hanging in the closet, or forgot your passport and house keys in the hotel safe.

If that last one is the kind of nightmare that wakes you up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, we're with you. So, we would love to share a helpful tip to avoid such a disaster. Today, we head to TikTok, which is simply chock-full of the kinds of travel tricks that we weary (and maybe anxiety-ridden) travelers need to keep all our belongings where they should be. What does this particular hack require? Something every traveler will have: a pair of shoes.

Unless you're really packing light or you're a barefoot wanderer, you're probably going to have at least one or two pairs of shoes with you, right? If that's the case, then heed the TikTok advice of Esther Sturrus (@esthersturrus), a seasoned flight attendant who has the perfect trick for making sure travelers remember the valuables they have placed inside their hotel safe. Simply put one of your shoes inside the safe.

Here's why it works: In theory, by placing one shoe along with your passport or keys in the safe, you'll quickly notice that while packing up, you'll only have one shoe and not the other. This way, you're less likely to forget you've put items in there. We're pretty sure this trick will suffice for most travelers since forgetting the other half of a pair of shoes would be highly unlikely.

A warning: The shoe hack simply may not work for someone who's often in a rush or maybe very forgetful. If that's you, there's no shame in that at all; you just need to prepare for your departure a little differently. Here's what we recommend instead: Don't put anything in the hotel safe or in a place that's out of sight and out of mind.

Living out of your suitcase for a few days or a week will be a little annoying, sure, but so is having to return to the hotel for your stuff or pay for the hotel to mail it back to you. This is a much safer bet and is one of the best ways to ensure you never forget anything ever again. If you're worried about leaving your passports or other valuables unattended, bring a lock for your suitcase and make sure it's closed up when you leave your room for the day.