There is a story in People about a family which accidentally threw out the family jewels. After sifting tons of garbage at the local dump, they found the jewels. In fact, twenty years ago, I threw a parcel of stones into the garbage and they were lost forever.
So my advice is two-fold:
One, keep the garbage pail a good distance from your work bench or desk. Thus you have to make an effort to “accidently” throw something out.
Two, Bag the garbage every night and then save it for two days before it is thrown into a dumpster. This gives you time to realize something is missing and a smaller pile of garbge to go through searching for it.
Anyone else have suggestions for safe-guarding against mistakes. Please add by clicking on the comments button.