Suggestions on remembering where I put something of value?

Have you tried asking St. Anthony for assistance?
It can be as quick as:

St. Anthony, St. Anthony
Please come down
Something is lost
And can’t be found

click on the link to see a longer prayer. You can also do a novena for him to assist you on your search.

If you’re anything like me I’d bet the box is inside of another box of stuff you knew you’d never get rid of or accidentally toss as garbage.

Welcome to Fluther @bikingcatlady!

This sound familiar. My Dad had an old rifle from the Civil War that I stored in the attic. I wrapped it in plastic and put it between the two layers of rolled insulation far into the attic out of the way so no one would find it accidentally. Ten years later, we rented the house for 5 years. When I returned I forgot where I’d hidden it. It took a few hours with a metal detector to find it. Is there much metal in the box? That might work for you. .

Welcome to Fluther!

In a situation like this, the blame game does no good. In this case, it sounds like it could potentially be harming your health. Focus on thoughts about letting the box go. It’s hard, but it can be done.

There is always the chance that the box will turn up. As for hypnosis, sure, why not give it a try? Just don’t expect it to work (it doesn’t for everyone) or solve the mystery (it sounds like there is a chance it may have been removed when the house was cleared out). Have you contacted the estate sale people? They may have run across it later. In the meantime, focus on the good memories of your mother and not sentimental items.

Keep us posted please. We’ve witnessed a few mysteries like this on Fluther that eventually get solved.

It sounds like you are panicking without having done all you can to ascertain that the box is missing. Take a deep breath. Allot some serious time to go through both attics carefully and systematically. Once that’s done, do the same in your own house. Don’t be discouraged – I’ve managed to find things that I’ve written off in the past, usually with a very thorough search including places I didn’t think would be important. Sometimes you have to just pull up your sleeves and look everywhere, not just in the most likely places.

Also – are there other family members who might have moved the box during the period of time that it was out of your possession? You should speak to them.

Stop looking for it, whenever I stop searching for something it magically appears. My daughter lost a ring my grandmother gave me at 12 yrs old and when I finally gave up and thought it lost forever since I am moving she comes running up to me and says I found your ring mommy….. when asked where it was she pointed to the air and replied over there. She is only 3.

Something similar happened to me about a year ago. I won’t tell you the long story, it was a couple pieces of jewelry, one my grandmothers and one a gift from my cousins that I wear together. I will tell you every few weeks I would go crazy and search all sorts of places and even go over my usual hiding places multiple times. I was afraid to throw or give away anything. I had gone through my closet and other closets and drawers, had even gathered old clothes and shoes to give away and I would not let anything leave the house terrified That if possibly I had missed the lost items among those things, even though I had searched thoroughly, I would regret it. Finally after a few months, I found the jewelry accidently in a drawer I frequently put jewelry in and had checked 20 times. The items were up against the front of the drawer with items holding the jewelry vertically.

Anyway, I tell my tale, because I think you have just put it in a place you do not remember. Probably never made a mental note of it when you put it there in your depression and sadness. I think the mind fogs over during difficult times to spare us permanently etched pathways of difficult memories amd emotional pain, and unfortunately sometimes things we want to remember get lost also.

Try not to obsess, I think one day it will turn up. Maybe go back to all the usual spots you hide things and try once more and have someone else look with you. I think if my husband had gone through my drawer he might have found my jewelry, because maybe he would have pulled everything out and felt around? Or, maybe he would have seen the drawer at a different angle just because he is a different height.

Think where else it could be: on top of cabinet out of eyesight? Closet in another room? Cabinet in the kitchen behind small appliances? Laundry room? File cabinet drawer behind some folder?

That was a really long story…just look everywhere and if you don’t find it, I’d say it was probably snagged during the estate sale, you might trust the people running it, but if they had any workers, there is a good chance it was stolen. you won’t know until you look everywhere.

Not thinking about it consciously is actually a good idea. Your brain will still be working on the problem in the background. Given it sounds as though other people have been in the attic, someone else could have moved the box. You could try hypnosis though. If it is there to be found, it will turn up. I lost something for many years and then opened a bag I hadn’t used and there was the lost thing. I think you are grieving and this box has become part of that process. As has been suggested, try to let it go emotionally. Hard I know, but it is healthier for you to focus on your mother rather than this lost box.

As you drift off to sleep, ask the items themselves if they want to be found yet.
Ask the items where they want to go, or to be stored when they are found.
Ask the items themselves where they are, ask as if they want to you to find them.
Peek-a-boo.
The items may actually feel “safe” in being lost.
They may face uncertainty when you “find” them.