>>A very common way is simply to ask somebody.
>>[gdr]
>
>My common mistake is to think of actual objects when they say "things". In English, everything (sic!) is a thing. In my (language and) my mind, I'd never say "it's a good thing that it's sunny today" because there is no actual thing in there. I'd say "[it's] good that it's sunny today".
>
>So lost and found things are not PEMs, not real things that you put somewhere and then forget where. They are your pencils, tools, papers, disks, whatever. And if nobody saw you when you last had it, whom can you ask?
>
>(I know, ask Big Brother, but he won't tell you)

For real touchable objects they are normaly in reach. I'm used to ask the kids first. For PEMS - UT, for example?
;)