You may find that a neighbor has given you an extra key to their home that you might have forgotten about. Therefore, exercise caution before disposing of an unknown key. Most metal recycling centers accept keys or you can always reuse your old keys in an art project. [2] X Research source
Keys that are used on a daily basis include car, house, or mailbox keys. Keys that are used only a few times a month might be keys for gym lockers or bike locks. Infrequently used keys include safety deposit keys or keys to another person’s home.
You may find that you have keys from old homes or workplaces that are no longer necessary for you to own.
For example, you might differentiate keys by color for your home, for other people’s homes, or for work. You can also color code at home by painting the tops of keys with nail polish. [3] X Research source
Labeling keys will also ensure that you do not keep keys that are no longer needed. For example, if you throw out an old jewelry box with a lock, the corresponding key’s label will remind you to throw the key out as well.
Don’t enjoy bulky, noisy keys? Look for a speciality key system that will store your keys compactly and without any noises. If you’re feeling crafty, make a key storage system yourself by removing the tops of keys and storing them in a swiss army knife. [5] X Research source Some keychains come with a part that detaches so you can easily add or remove another set of keys to it. This might be a good option if you want to be able to attach or remove keys that are used more infrequently to your daily keychain.
If you have sensitive keys, such as one for a personal or bank safe, place your keys out of sight in a drawer. Label lovers can place labels on key hooks for different members of your household.