A bank safe deposit box is a great option for storing your valuables, however it’s not the most convenient choice if you want access to your possessions outside of business hours.
The obvious alternative then, is to keep your items in a safe at home.
But unless you’ve got the same security system as your bank, you’re potentially leaving your valuables at risk if you store them in a place where thieves might search.
After breaking into your home, experienced thieves will routinely look in places with the most potential of finding valuables that are easy to carry and offload for cash.
The idea is to quickly find what they want and get out before their break-in is discovered, so they look in common hiding places, such as in a dresser drawer.
To improve the odds that a thief won’t find your treasures, here are 7 hidden storage and safe ideas that could work for you.
1. Burial
One of the oldest means of protecting valuables is burying them.
To help you remember where you’ve buried something, use an obvious marker such as a bench, a particular rock or other garden item such as a gazing ball or gnome.
Make a note to yourself of its exact location (and give a copy to someone you trust) in the event you cannot retrieve the item yourself when you want it.
While not very convenient, it is a fairly safe option for those items you don’t need to access frequently.
2. Fake rocks
Everyone knows about the key under the doormat trick, but a hollow rock is a good place to hide your key and/or other items you want hidden from potential thieves.
There are many fake rocks available for purchase, or if you prefer a more unique option, make one instead from expandable spray foam.
3. Wall shelves
Wall shelves with hidden compartments are a clever way to hide valuables while also providing more storage space for home decor items.
Here is a detailed tutorial if you’d prefer to make one yourself.
4. Fake wall outlets
Although there are a lot of these products on the market, here’s a great DIY video to make one (or more) of these clever hiding spaces yourself.
5. Fake air vents
Like the fake wall outlets, fake air vents allow you to hide your valuables in plain sight, where a thief wouldn’t look.
Check out this easy DIY video tutorial to make one for yourself.
6. Old shoes
Fast and easy, this is a smart (if not smelly) way to hide valuables from thieves!
Wrap up your items in a small bag and shove them in the toe end of the dirtiest, most ragged looking shoes you own.,
It’s the rare thief who would bother digging through dirty old shoes, looking for hidden treasure.
7. Book(s)
Finally, bookshelves can hold more treasure than that of the words themselves…there are a wide range of secret book safes available on the market.
Or, you can hollow out one or more books with a knife to create a clever hiding spot for your valuables. Strengthen the pages by pasting them together and you’ve easily created a safe place for your things.
Check out the detailed DIY to make a book safe for your own valuables.
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