“Systems!” My friends and the Internet cry of Marie Kondo. “All you need is a system. As long as you always leave your things in the same place, you will never lose anything again,” they say, as I stagger through the door carrying my children’s backpacks, my handbag, a tiny violin and a dog bag. food.
Like Elizabeth Bishop, I have come to lose a fine art—whatever I need seems to be moving away from me, as quickly as possible. I hid my Kindle from the 6 year old and now I can’t find it. My husband asked to borrow my wallet to get the car insurance card; While he was looking for that, the dog left the yard. You might feel ambivalent about stalking your friends or loved ones (resist the temptation to sew a tracker into your shady boyfriend’s coat), but without Bluetooth and GPS trackers, it could barely function. I’ve listed my preferred uses for each of my favorite trackers, but many of them are multi-purpose: if you can put it on a dog, you can also put it on a child, and vice versa.
Confused about how these devices work? We have more information in our guide on how to find your phone. For more ideas, check out our roundups of the best travel bags and plenty of other buying guides, like the best portable chargers.
Updated June 2024: We added Pebblebee, Groove Wallet, and Fitbit Ace LTE. We’ve also added more information about how trackers work and updated links and prices.
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