I am notorious for losing things. So much so that my mom created a “prayer” specifically for losing things that I’ve used since I was a kid. I still haven’t learned my lesson here, but get really excited when I find ways to prevent disaster from this silly habit.

Imagine this: you walk up to your apartment or home in a rush to get in, it’s cold outside, you are practically “bag lady,” and you have to drop everything to find your keys. But then, you realize you don’t have them. You run around the block just about 100 times to see if you dropped it, but can’t find it. You ask every nearby business if they’ve seen it. You call your Super and roommate to ask if they are home or have a spare. All the answers are “nope.”

Well, that’s literally what happened to me.

Lucky for future me, there’s now a solution to this scenario: KeyHero. This nifty service creates a digital backup of your keys so you can retrieve a spare with the push of a button, and when you need it most. The secure app allows you to make new copies of your lost keys at any Home Depot Key Center nationwide. I tried it - and was giddy with joy!

Here’s how it works:

Take your keys to a local Home Depot Key Center and ask for the KeyHero kiosk.
Enter your phone number or email address as your keys are scanned at the kiosk to link your keys to the KeyHero app.
KeyHero sends you a text or email with a link to download the KeyHero app from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Once downloaded, your backed up digital key will now appear in the app.
Walk out of there with peace of mind knowing you’ll never be left stranded if you lose your keys again!

In short, you’re creating an encrypted (safety first!) copy from the physical scan in the machine. The process to download the free app, sign-up and scan your keys for the first time on-site, takes just a few minutes. From there, keys are labeled by door — never your address — and the backup is generated and stored.

What’s also neat is you can securely share your digital key with significant others, housekeepers, etc. who might also need access when you’re not around to let them in. Once they receive your verified text or e-mail, they download the free app and head to Home Depot’s KeyHero kiosk to cut away!

Well, this is one of those handy tools you wish you never have to use but I’m so glad it’s around because this chronic item-misplacer is going to sleep happy knowing her keys are safe from being the victim of my next move.

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by KeyHero, but all opinions are my own.