Preflighting that includes looking for loose objects

I just read a recent news story about a general aviation accident some time ago that includes a detail that I realized I was not doing during preflight. The story is here. It refers to an apparent loss of control accident where a flashlight was found in the tail cone of the wreckage. The flashlight may have become lodged in a stabilator push-pull tube linkage which means that the pilot might have been able to control pitch. This made me realize that my preflights are probably not as thorough as they could be in terms of looking for lose "stuff" that might move around in flight and get stuck somewhere. The underseat and baggage areas are certainly examples of this. From now on, I intend to pay more attention to this, particularly before night flights and after the plane has flown at night (where it might have been difficult to see everything that needed to be retrieved).