# Let's think up some places to hide valuables



## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Valuables: guns, jewelry, medicines?

Let's see if other than the obvious under the tables with a long tablecloth draped over it in the living room.

Or a false back to a medicine cabinet.

This is not to say you are currently using these methods but some you've maybe tried, or read about, or know someone who used a method?


----------



## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I know some use pvc pipe sealed and capped on both ends. Then buried. That could be for money or meds.


----------



## Boo8meR (Aug 10, 2014)

AngieM2 said:


> I know some use pvc pipe sealed and capped on both ends. Then buried. That could be for money or meds.


It works for guns, too, if you pack some grease in it.


----------



## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

flower beds in ww2 in Europe were used often for jewelry .


----------



## In2deep (Aug 11, 2014)

I've heard of people wrapping up small valuables in freezer wrap to look like meat-money, jewelry ...:grin: every thing stays good on ice and safe !!


----------



## TerriLynn (Oct 10, 2009)

Once I read an article on hiding valuables where I saw 2 very interesting ideas. 

One was to buy a junk hot water heater, and set it up next to the real one, with pipes coming out from it and going nowhere. The pipes had to go out far enough that anyone just looking at the hot water heater wouldn't notice they weren't actually functional. Then one made an access door on the back the tank for access. I mean who would tear apart a hot water heater when robbing you?

The second one was ductwork. They simply added some extra ductwork in the basement, attached it to some existing functional ductwork, and ran it to the furnace or wherever. They put their valuables in it. I mean who looks at and follows furnace ducts except the furnace guy.


----------



## Boo8meR (Aug 10, 2014)

TerriLynn said:


> Once I read an article on hiding valuables where I saw 2 very interesting ideas.
> 
> One was to buy a junk hot water heater, and set it up next to the real one, with pipes coming out from it and going nowhere. The pipes had to go out far enough that anyone just looking at the hot water heater wouldn't notice they weren't actually functional. Then one made an access door on the back the tank for access. I mean who would tear apart a hot water heater when robbing you?
> 
> The second one was ductwork. They simply added some extra ductwork in the basement, attached it to some existing functional ductwork, and ran it to the furnace or wherever. They put their valuables in it. I mean who looks at and follows furnace ducts except the furnace guy.




Everyone, now!


----------



## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

PVC pipe doesn't really need to be buried or hidden to work. We have a "stack" of pipe we keep for repairs. Just a few lengths of a few different sizes, beats running out the hardware store every time we need a chunk. No reason one couldn't be stacked up there "in use".

Never know what you might find under a mylar bag full of wheat inside an icing bucket 

If you take that fabric on the bottom of your sofa off...the one that is supposed to keep the cat from climbing around in the springs....not the "skirt" you can see. You now have a spot where you can put a few brackets then add your filled PVC pipes.


----------



## TenBusyBees (Jun 15, 2011)

I saw on pinterest hiding stuff in the wall using a dummy outlet for access.

My grandma used to hide her money in coat pockets in the closet as well as in hems of dresses she didn't wear but kept hanging in the closet. She also kept money behind framed pictures as did my great-grandmother.


----------



## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

One place nobody ever thinks of looking. i shouldn&#8217;t even post this. The kick plates in your kitchen. Mine are actually drawers. There is a 1/4 moon cut out at the top of the plate that cannot be seen unless you get on the floor. Easy to open with your bare/sock foot. I keep the broiler in one, cookie sheets in another, trays in the third. You could easily put anything you wanted that wasn&#8217;t too big like jewelry, cash, ammo, treasure map,&#8230; I&#8217;m sure you could figure out an easy lock for them if you have kids.


----------



## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

Maura said:


> One place nobody ever thinks of looking. i shouldnât even post this. The kick plates in your kitchen. Mine are actually drawers. There is a 1/4 moon cut out at the top of the plate that cannot be seen unless you get on the floor. Easy to open with your bare/sock foot. I keep the broiler in one, cookie sheets in another, trays in the third. You could easily put anything you wanted that wasnât too big like jewelry, cash, ammo, treasure map,â¦ Iâm sure you could figure out an easy lock for them if you have kids.


Forget the cash and other stuff! I want those for my pans too! LMAO


----------



## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Yes, someone my Mom knew someone had $ hidden in hollowed out hunks of suiet in the freezer.
Gtgrama hid $ in balls of yarn when they were booted out by the bolshivicks and there is still(well, last that anyone knows of) a bag of coins burried at one corner of their barn(in russia).My Gma stashed $ between the mirror and the plywood backing on her vanity-my cousin stold it while we were moving grandpa, that's a whole awful story.(he didn't know he dropped some as he ran past my mom). False bottoms in any cabnit/desk. Inside your boots or shoes. Under the dog food bowl. Ya, know, come to think of it, cluddered houses all of a sudden have a purpose.


----------



## Ozarks Tom (May 27, 2011)

Anyplace that would make a thief work to find it. If they didn't hate work, they wouldn't be thieves. Under a woodpile, inside a stack of bricks, in an unfinished garage wall, in a return air vent.

Personally, we've got several thousand dollars hidden under the weeds in our garden.


----------



## Kmac15 (May 19, 2007)

I wondered how well it would work to put an outlet with a large box in a wall.


----------



## BlueRose (Mar 7, 2013)

In battery access, in toys, alarm clocks, etc.

Puzzle boxes, game boxes hidden in the closet.

Books.


----------



## StickyFloors (Aug 4, 2014)

I read this article and decided to use an old vacuum cleaner as a hiding place for some metals (silver/gold):

http://prephappy.com/organizing-your-preps/6-ways-hide-valuables-plain-sight/

Put a little sticky note on it saying "not working - goodwill"


----------



## Janis R (Jun 27, 2013)

Inside big clocks
Behind pictures
Behind access panels for bath tubs or hot tubs
Inside hollowed out books
Above kitchen cabinets, in decorative items above cabinets
Inside seldom used appliances
Inside lamp bases
Plastic bag inside flour, laundry detergent or some other dummy container
Melt candle wax, drop in baggie with jewelry or coins then let harden
In side games or puzzle boxes 
Make a hanger safe from hanger, material then hang a coat over it


----------



## puddlejumper007 (Jan 12, 2008)

kotex box, most guys will not put there hand in there lol


----------



## planzman (Feb 28, 2012)

Poopy drawers
Cant find the web
Looks mens briefs ....with skid marks


----------



## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

In2deep said:


> I've heard of people wrapping up small valuables in freezer wrap to look like meat-money, jewelry ...:grin: every thing stays good on ice and safe !!


My Aunt's home was broken into. The family couldn't understand why everything from the freezer was strewn across the kitchen floor - 

Another Aunt hid her jewelry in a plastic bucket in the laundry room with a rag over the jewelry - Everything was stolen.

A friend's house was broken into - the cops said it looked like the robbers used a metal detector to find his gun stash. 

The house I live in installed one of those plastic outlets you can hide small things in. It was installed in the master bedroom closet where one would never think of having an outlet. It just screams "take me".

If you think you hide things well - remember, thieves do this for a living.


----------



## Rick (May 10, 2002)

In the shoe shine box/bag.

Behind a drywall repair.

Above a droop ceiling.

I used to keep cash in a tomato paste can, with a wire inserted through a hole in the bottom of the can.

I lowered the can behind the top of the paneling in the basement, and bent the last inch of the wire.

Between 2 kitchen trash cans, bag pulled over the tops.


----------



## jkhs (Sep 17, 2010)

Underneath the cats' used litter box.


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I read a story once about a woman that hid several thou in jars of dried beans. 
Coins and metals could be hidden under a scrap pile. Just don't forget and start a fire there.


----------



## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

Under bookshelves -- similar to Maura's kitchen kickplates. Did that at my old home for jewelry and money. (No freestanding bookshelves here, so I'm safe disclosing that. :spinsmiley

My grandmother had a bed that was built in to the wall, with a storage cabinet underneath and closets on either side. The cabinet under the bed had a false back. You could only access the secret compartment by removing the mattress and then lifting up the board under the mattress. They kept quite a few guns under there.

You can also get the cheapest, ugliest vintage hollow lamp you can find at Goodwill. Get something non breakable. (Metal or plastic, not porcelain -- just avoid bronze or copper, because of metal thieves. I've seen thieves not just pull the wiring and copper pipe out of a house but take bronze bathroom fixtures too, so I assume they'd swipe a bronze lamp as well.) Remove the bottom, hide your valuables inside, and glue a piece of old felt over the bottom. Now stick the lamp in your basement or attic and let the cobwebs accumulate. Nobody's going to steal a nasty looking old lamp but it's possible that someone ransacking your place looking for valuables could knock it down, so make sure it's not breakable. 

An ugly, dusty, moth-eaten, cobweb covered fake flower arrangement in a great big ugly vase is another good place to stick stuff. Throw it casually into a corner in a storage area. 

Got a rusty old bbq grill in your back forty? Good place to hide stuff is in the cabinet for the propane canister, above the level of the doors so it's not readily visible if someone peeks inside. Bonus points if there's black widow webs under there, or extensive grease. 

Inside a dog house, behind a false wall, would be a place a thief wouldn't be likely to look, assuming your dog isn't (a) a teacup poodle or (b) the reincarnation of a beaver who would eat your valuables. Better, you could hide your valuables in the pen with a bad-tempered sow or an aggressive bull ...

I would not hide valuables inside a "meat" package in the freezer. Or at least mark it as something yucky with a note like "take out to the trash tuesday -- fish guts." (Which assumes the thieves can read.) I've heard too many stories of people having their frozen steaks stolen by thieves to want to hide something in the freezer.


----------



## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

flase walls, inside the closet over the door behind the door trim. inside the collar of your rottwieller. 
I wouldn't do it, but I have a Mexican Pine bed with four bed posts made of 1 x 4 and 1 x 8 with a flat, trimmed board on top. Would be pretty easy to make the top removeable and use the posts for something. Got a big dining table, made of the same kind of pine. some of the old pickup gun racks could be mounted under the top and used to keep rifles and shotguns, i wouldn't do it cause of the grandkids.

lots of folks tape stuff behind the drawers in dressers, most thieves know this.

inside old paint cans.

i've seen coffee tables and end tables with hidden drawers, or hinged tops.

Once went in a historic home. Dining table had a large pedestal, was told that the owners put the family silver in there during the civil war

burying is good, and bad, as you have to remember where and landmarks can be lost due to storms, fires, floods, etc.

thng is if you look around and think where can I hide (whatever) every easy place has been thought of before, if you really think hard and find a place that you think nobody will find, think again, you just did. Best thing if you want to hide stuff is divide the stuff up and find LOTS of places to hide it, then, ...maybe, ...thieves won't find all of it and you will have some left.

but what if you are forgettful? got to tell the kids where things are, but don't tell all kids where everything is, then if one kid goes bad on you something may be left behind.

fun exercise here folks, and some great ideas will be listed on here. I'm looking forward to seeing if there are any I haven't thought of or heard of before.
Ed


----------



## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

Bottom of grain or dog food bin. 

Under the couch make hidden compartment. 

Hidden compartment on a stairwell. 

Anywhere outside,in garden shed or barn or fake rock far from the house. 

As a child I had a secret cut out of the floor in my closet from previous owners. Actually was quite hidden 2 floor boards cut out about 10 inches long. They tucked right back in nicely.


----------



## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

Sadly security stash slicks openly discussed are not that safe of locations for others to consider using after the discussion.

That aside, some of the most effective slick stash locations are the most obvious with one or two further slick hide places concealed so when the first stash area is found the searcher seldom considers the possibility of a further slick level with more valuable items hidden.


----------



## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

Shrek -- I'm not using any of the ideas I suggested at the moment. (Honestly, I don't have a lot of valuables to hide, LOL.)


----------



## sss3 (Jul 15, 2007)

I have also read, burglars are bringing metal detectors.


----------



## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I've thought that if I had anything of real value that was small enough to hide. I have a room of fabric, some in bags, some on shelves, etc. I could put several small things in that room, and I might not even find them.

Then there are the fabric reusable grocery bags with skein and partial skeins or balls of yarn. Would take a while to find something there.

And for the couple of "nice" necklaces I have. They hang in the middle of a bunch of not very expensive costume jewelry. One would have to know they are the "good" pieces.


----------



## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I&#8217;m thinking the worst places would include the freezer because people used to hide jewels in the ice cube trays. In your bedroom is also bad. What you value the most you keep close to you. If you value your money, you keep a safe in your bedroom- thieves know this. The fabric room is a good idea because hobby rooms are not usually the cozy family rooms. Money could easily be hidden within skeins of yarn, not so much guns.

I&#8217;m sure I could have kick plate drawers under my fabric shelves. Hmmmm.


----------



## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

Having had a house fire....inside the home does not work for me.


----------



## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

One of the best concealed stash slicks I heard of from a LEO who discovered it was a large office safe.

The story as he told us years after his retirement was that they were executing a warrant against a corrupt businessman and when they inspected the large safe in his place of business initially it yielded nothing.

On further investigation he or his partner noticed that while the safe appeared to set flat on the floor , there were wear marks on the floor.

The safe could actually be moved to the side exposing a floor safe where they found the evidence they required to bring charges.

How many folks would think to look for a safe under a safe before that?


----------



## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

Where ever you store things you need to check on them. I save the desiccant packets that come with vitamins and such. Moisture can damage jewelry, guns, ammo, money or canned goods. I add many to my container. 

When I was saving to build this house I did not use the bank. The first place I stored was an old ammo box. I thought it was at least moisture resistant as it had a rubber/foam gasket. I had it stored up in a crawl space of the basement. Well I was doing some plumbing in that crawl space and an unexpected visitor came. Spotted it. He said is that full of cash? Lol. After he left I took it into the house and opened it. Over 50,000$ all moldy and wet. I could only imagine if I left it for many years it would have been rotted away. So now I'm more careful. Not that I have much cash, as I'm still building lol. I had laundered 100's laying all over the house drying for few days lol. 

I've learned a few things from this incident. Where not to hide things. And if you store in metal for long periods the metal can rot if it's buried or in wet environment. Also don't store anything in thinner plastic that you aren't watching closely, as mice can chew into it. We also had a house fire as a child lost all our photos. Makes me think twice about inside the house also.


----------



## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

mpillow said:


> Having had a house fire....inside the home does not work for me.


 
Yep, been there done that!

AS to freezer and refridgerator storage, when my house burned, so did everything in those appliances and diswasher, and clothes dryer. In the country, in an older wooden house, if it catches on fire, all you can expect the fire departments ( yes plural) to save is the lot the house is built on. I had 5 fire departments fighting the fire when I lost my house. From the lightening strike that set it on fire until the last fire truck left was 2 hours, but the coals were still hot for two more days.
Ed


----------



## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

I was just thinking of our little cabin in the mountains...we bought it in 1997 it had been vacant for 30 plus years....upstairs I found a notebook full of the local flora pressed into wax paper in perfect condition...despite the mice issues...I found all of the boy's high school diploma/scholarship papers also intact....I'm not sure if the wax or paper treatment was "mouse proof" but the mice seemed to prefer the insulation and mattress/pillow stuffing.

Rice could be used as a desiccant too.


----------



## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

I think the best way to protect assets is to hide a few things in a place any thief would think to look and hope they grab it and don't look further. Say a small safe hidden under a bed or in a closet with a wad of $1 with a couple $20 wrapped around them, a couple silver dollars and a couple pieces of jewelry. Looks like they hit the jackpot so they grab and go. Again, leave the old shotgun and 22 rifle hanging on the wall and the good guns well hidden. Same with jewelry or other valuables. Leave a few things that don't have great value but would interest a thief in your jewelry box and stash any good stuff. 

The problem with getting older is you forget where you stashed stuff!!!


----------



## JohnL751 (Aug 28, 2008)

I can't resist the candle holders that come apart - at sales where they are selling the things that belonged to the old folks who are no longer here. Twice I have found money. Once in a thrift shop.


----------



## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

A friends father was in the Dutch underground during WWII. They hid downed flyers in a barn under a stallions stall. A nasty stallion that never was allowed to spend much time outside and was hot. Even the Nazis didn't go into the stall or try to move the horse.


----------



## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

First I will use these as Mine for the sake of privacy.My truck has an 18" and a 24" tool box on the passenger seat. Both full of tools so heavy you can't pick them up.They are locked up and a pair of coveralls and hard hat with them. The end will come out at the false bottom where there are a rifle with 2 barrels in each one.
A refrigerator with a working compressor can be made to store valuables. Cut the suction line inside the freezer and add a filter,cut the pressure line outside the box and plug it it.It will draw a vacumn on the box and you can not open it! To get it open simply draw a flat head screwdriver down the gasket and break the vacumn. It is marked"Stay out! tempature sensitive welding rod!" and sits in the shop full of guns and ammo on top in the freezer.
I have a steel support beam running down the center of the house that is boxed in with drop ceiling that will hold a lot of stuff.
The stairs to the basement has a backing on them ans a huge hollow for anything you need to hide.
The biggest thing is to make your place uninviting at all time and not broadcast your possessions.
I know a guy that has a de-scented skunk. He goes out of town and leaves the skunk in a cage just inside the unlocked door and spreads skunk essence just outside the door. Noone has robbed him yet!

Wade


----------



## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

A nasty by my standard hiding place is a fake stash rock in a snake aquarium. A woman who had been burglarized in our area had her drug using son busted because they were the only two in the family who tended the rattle snake aquariums and her grandmothers jewelry hidden in the rock in the aquarium was missing along with all the other stuff in the house and it had survived a burglary a few years earlier.


----------



## pookford (Jan 11, 2014)

Quite a while ago I remember reading about someone building hidden/recessed storage under the island in their kitchen. I might have read it here, in fact.

If you did it just right, that might be a nifty storage spot for things you could stand to lose in a fire, tornado, etc.


----------



## Terri in WV (May 10, 2002)

Lots of great ideas!

I use to put money in the base of my old portable sewing machine. My favorite cookbook held some occasionally too.

Paper currency can be hidden by removing the register cover and sliding it under carpet. A small container can be placed just out of sight of the register cover in the duct work.

A coffee mug, bowl or thermos in the back of a kitchen cabinet could conceal small items.

The fabric on the back of a couch can often be easily tacked back in place once items are stashed.

A lock box placed in the bottom of the kitchen trash can.

Under the nesting boxes in the coop. A metal waterer would also be a good decoy, as would the bottom of the feed barrel. Or even under the feed barrel.

Quite a bit could be stored in a slim box placed under the riding mower deck, or in the battery compartment once the battery's removed.


----------



## Trixters_muse (Jan 29, 2008)

Some great ideas already, here are some I have used or do use. 

Cash stuffed Inside a stereo speaker

Extra ammo wrapped in grocery bags and stashed in a balloon valance

Someone mentioned "ladies essentials" boxes, I have used a Summer's Eve box to stash cash.

Fireplace mantle designed to lift up and conceal fireproof goods. No cash or ammo! lol 

Stashed cash in an empty compact tossed randomly into a make up case.


----------



## Trixters_muse (Jan 29, 2008)

Shrek said:


> A nasty by my standard hiding place is a fake stash rock in a snake aquarium. A woman who had been burglarized in our area had her drug using son busted because they were the only two in the family who tended the rattle snake aquariums and her grandmothers jewelry hidden in the rock in the aquarium was missing along with all the other stuff in the house and it had survived a burglary a few years earlier.



We have an Iguana, not as scary as a snake but we do have one of those fake hollow rocks I could put in there. Thanks


----------



## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

I've got a number of $20 bills stashed in various books (I have 5 full book cases).


----------



## MJsLady (Aug 16, 2006)

In plastic wrap in the flour, rice, bean and such bins.


----------



## BlackFeather (Jun 17, 2014)

I read in New York here a fellow hid his valuables in an old refrigerator, the wife who he failed to tell sent the refrigerator to the junk yard while he was gone. OOPs. I always thought under a fence post as a metal detector couldn't go over that spot.


----------



## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

So many good ideas it makes me wish I had something valuable to stash!!!!:bouncy::bouncy:


----------



## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

Ann-NWIowa said:


> So many good ideas it makes me wish I had something valuable to stash!!!!:bouncy::bouncy:


Stash your spouse! They still have some value!!! LOL


Wade


----------



## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

I haven't read the posts so I may be repeating someone, but here goes... 

I've seen a lot of videos and suggestions on safe hiding spots for valuables, but the best hiding spot is one of your own finding that you never reveal. I will tell a couple of my old abandoned spots, but my current hiddy hole will stay secret.

Hide small things in plane sight, like a old house phone that is worthless. Gut enough space to make it useful, but leave the weight or it's a dead giveaway.

Inside a cheap stereo. A thief will not take worthless electronic equipment especially if it's large and heavy. 

Places to avoid are the spots that are publicly recommended. Interviews with incarcerated thieves reveal that the first places they look are in the freezer, between the mattress and springs, fake wall sockets, fake books, behind photos, hollow spots in walls with a sudden solid spot, etc. 

When you find YOUR perfect spot, never reveal it. There's one person who knows my spot and that is the person who will inherit my goodies when I'm gone.


----------



## tarbe (Apr 7, 2007)

Ozarks Tom said:


> Anyplace that would make a thief work to find it. If they didn't hate work, they wouldn't be thieves. Under a woodpile, inside a stack of bricks, in an unfinished garage wall, in a return air vent.
> 
> Personally, we've got several thousand dollars hidden under the weeds in our garden.



Hey, if you see me in your garden next weekend, I am just looking for veggies! :spinsmiley:


----------



## Guest (Aug 17, 2014)

We have a few false fronts and false bottoms...


----------



## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

Shrek said:


> A nasty by my standard hiding place is a fake stash rock in a snake aquarium. A woman who had been burglarized in our area had her drug using son busted because they were the only two in the family who tended the rattle snake aquariums and her grandmothers jewelry hidden in the rock in the aquarium was missing along with all the other stuff in the house and it had survived a burglary a few years earlier.



It would depend on the thief, though.

I knew someone who kept a rattlesnake around for snake-breaking dogs. (He had a side business charging people a few bucks to zap their house pets.) That snake, a mohave, was easily eight feet long after several years of good grub. It lived in a pen on his porch when not on dog-training duty.

One day, somebody cut the padlock off the pen and stole the snake. :teehee:


----------



## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

Spinner said:


> the best hiding spot is one of your own finding that you never reveal.


Yep, hubby and I (and the oldest offspring) are the only people who know our secret hiding places. We only told the oldest in case something happens to both hubby and I. They're unique for our current home - just look around your house and you'll find a hundred places you can hide things that aren't obvious or well known.


----------



## Ozarks Tom (May 27, 2011)

Sometimes hiding spots can be fun. My first ex had the habit of spending every dime she could lay her hands on. Being self employed I had to make quarterly tax deposits and a couple times found myself short. I started hiding $100s in suits I rarely wore, and the toes of shoes in the back of the closet. When I put her on the plane home to mama, I decided to bank the cash and was overwhelmed with the amount I'd stashed over a period of a couple years. What a going away party!


----------



## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

Ozarks Tom said:


> Sometimes hiding spots can be fun. My first ex had the habit of spending every dime she could lay her hands on. Being self employed I had to make quarterly tax deposits and a couple times found myself short. I started hiding $100s in suits I rarely wore, and the toes of shoes in the back of the closet. When I put her on the plane home to mama, I decided to bank the cash and was overwhelmed with the amount I'd stashed over a period of a couple years. What a going away party!


 
I had to hide cash from my ex to make taxes as well, found lots of little hiding places, couldn't chance putting it all in one place. I would still use some of those places if needed, but I don't need to now.


----------



## Convoy (Dec 2, 2012)

well hiding valuables you first think like a thief - so go outside the box and lots of 'good' places are obvious. If you don't need quick access to it underneath a piece of furniture that is extremely heavy (like a solid oak end table loaded with picture albums). If you need quick access something that isn't obvious is if you have a heavier old couch with skirting tape envelopes to the bottom.

These are just examples but the idea is outsmart people who are used to look in odd spots so hidden in plain site but also not if that makes any sense. I learned this as a teen hiding smokes and such from my dad who almost had a supernatural sense of finding my stash (thinking back to one time I put it underneath my bookshelf which was loaded with books and my dad looked for 5 secs and walked straight to it... - make you really good at hidings thing but don't forget where you put it since it'll probably be years before you find it - I know... Just found $200 I've been looking for the last 3 years.


----------



## CrawDaddy (Jul 30, 2014)

What ever happened to safes? 


Sent from my iPhone using Homesteading Today


----------



## BlueRose (Mar 7, 2013)

safes can be broken into


----------



## Guest (Aug 18, 2014)

CrawDaddy said:


> What ever happened to safes?



I have a little "fire safe" and he can be easily carried off - on purpose. I want to be able to grab him and move him, if necessary... 
But he only holds paperwork, nothing any real value or that cannot be replaced with the usual bureaucracy hoops.

My daughter and I learned how quickly he can be jimmied open when we grabbed him and ran during a wild fire. His key slipped under the pickup's floormat... For a year, we slipped his lock in about 12 seconds - until we found the key again. LOL!


----------



## Jerngen (May 22, 2006)

Now I'm wondering how many hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars is rotting away in dumps all across America due to spouses/children/grandchildren not knowing that money had been hidden away when they cleaned out the folks house.


----------



## grandma12703 (Jan 13, 2011)

TenBusyBees said:


> I saw on pinterest hiding stuff in the wall using a dummy outlet for access.
> 
> My grandma used to hide her money in coat pockets in the closet as well as in hems of dresses she didn't wear but kept hanging in the closet. She also kept money behind framed pictures as did my great-grandmother.


When my grandmother was in the hospital and we knew she wasn't going to make it she kept telling me to go through her shoes. Well I just thought she meant to pick ones I could wear (she had great taste in shoes). Inside the toes of many of the shoes was money and lots of it. She said no more because there were many people there but she was letting me know.


----------



## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

[YOUTUBE]ecM414jqBwU[/YOUTUBE]


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I need some shelves in various areas of the house.


----------



## Terri in WV (May 10, 2002)

Just came across this and had to post it.  Canning jar safes!

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/ball-j...rch_page.rr1&campaign=rr&sn=SolrSearchToView&


----------



## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

Terri in WV said:


> Just came across this and had to post it.  Canning jar safes!
> 
> http://www.samsclub.com/sams/ball-j...rch_page.rr1&campaign=rr&sn=SolrSearchToView&


 
Seems to me you could take an olive jar and stick it in a qt jar and put dry beans, or peas or rice or such around it and do just as good for lots less.
Ed

p.s. this reminds me of a story i read once. A woman gave her grandchildren a gallon jar of seeds when they married. The youngest one got a jar that wasn't as pretty as the others since grandma was gettin well up in years and didin't put the seed in as prettily. Her husband was military so she didn't use the seed but kept it as grandma passed soon after the wedding. years later, husband was sick and they were busted broke and worried what to do, sis came over and saw the jar and said you didn't open grandma's seed? Nope, never had a place to plant em, sis opened the jar and dumped it out and there was cash money and stocks worth lots of money tucked inside.


----------



## AR Transplant (Mar 20, 2004)

my grandma put her cash in a box with lose family photos.
only family would care to go through them when cleaning out the house.
and no one was the wiser.

of course today, they are all on the computer so it'd be a little harder.


----------



## CajunSunshine (Apr 24, 2007)

I have heard of painting the inside of an empty clean mayo jar with opaque white paint... insert wad of cash or stash, then store the jar inside the refrigerator.

Shelf life of cold cash is pretty long, lol.

.


----------



## Jolly (Jan 8, 2004)

A couple of places I've used in the past...

1. In a safe built into the house slab under the master bedroom bed. The bedroom has wall-to-wall carpeting.

2. Buried under the scrap iron pile, next to the shop. Just make sure the top piece on the pile is something you put there with a tractor and boom.


----------



## Roadking (Oct 8, 2009)

I think Spinner hit the nail on the head...one found by accident after years of living in a residence is best, and then tell only one person.

Our previous home of 12 years was an 1817 stone farmhouse that had been empty for several years prior to us purchasing it. We took down walls, removed plaster in favor of drywall, etc. re-did the fireplace facades...the chimnies were non functional, so they were just decorative.
One day, on the third floor, after 5 years, I discovered an access panel to the crawl space of the attic. Curious, I crawled around for a while and at the end of the house, where the chimney would have come thru the floor, there was a license plate nailed to the floor...popped it off, and there was a void about 8 feet deep. When they sealed off the chimney, they poured some concrete down, but left an 8 foot gap.
That was home to various items I felt need safe keeping. Even in a fire, they would have had great protection, and it took me 5 years living there to even notice the access panel.

Matt

Have heard of using an abandoned vehicle (if you could deal with it on your land, and no zoning problems), a real beater as a hiding space. Don't know it a thief would bother with a rusted out old pick up with a crushed cap.


----------



## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

Jerngen said:


> Now I'm wondering how many hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars is rotting away in dumps all across America due to spouses/children/grandchildren not knowing that money had been hidden away when they cleaned out the folks house.


Given the number of coins that archeologists find in midden piles, I suspect that money's been accidentally tossed out since money was invented. 

I used to buy a lot of used books. I found money hidden in them a few times.

On a slightly different tangent, one way to "hide money" is to buy valuables that most people won't see as valuable. I restore dolls, and I joke about "the bank of Barbie" but it's true. How many people would suspect a box of doll shoes would have much value?


----------



## Junkman (Dec 17, 2005)

Perhaps someplace no one would want to put their hands. Any one have an inside cat? Only under the litterbox, not in it. Last night (Sunday) local neighbors cars were broken into. Might be better to leave them unlocked, and empty. Save broken door locks and windows. Just thinking, what would you do if you caught thieves breaking into your car by the house at 1:00 in the morning?


----------



## handymama (Aug 22, 2014)

They just don't seem to come back when you fire off the 1952 bolt action sixteen gauge....


----------



## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

Junkman said:


> Perhaps someplace no one would want to put their hands. Any one have an inside cat? Only under the litterbox, not in it. Last night (Sunday) local neighbors cars were broken into. Might be better to leave them unlocked, and empty. Save broken door locks and windows. Just thinking, what would you do if you caught thieves breaking into your car by the house at 1:00 in the morning?


Find the dogs that should have been barking and find out why they let the thieves in the gate. Our dogs are well fed and spoiled. Their only jobs are to bark at trespassers, protect the kids and occasionally be a kids pillow or foot warmer.


----------



## moldy (Mar 5, 2004)

A nurse I work with once treated some guys for snake bites. Seems they put their meth and cash in the bottom of a tank, put sand on top, then several live rattlers. 

Got bit trying to get the cash out. Not the brightest bulbs in the box.


----------



## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

moldy said:


> A nurse I work with once treated some guys for snake bites. Seems they put their meth and cash in the bottom of a tank, put sand on top, then several live rattlers.
> 
> Got bit trying to get the cash out. Not the brightest bulbs in the box.


Yeah -- meth kills brain cells, no doubt about it.

I can think of any one of several ways to safely remove the goods, starting with shooing the snakes into one side of the cage with a barrier (piece of plywood, whatever) and up to and including the death of the snakes. But then, dealing with rattlesnakes is a routine part of living here. *shrug*

I imagine the freak-out factor of OMG RATTLESNAKE would be a deterrent for some thieves. (Though as I think I posted upthread, other thieves would just steal the snakes. Drugs + cash + snakes, all in one convenient box, packaged to go.)


----------



## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

Keeping up with this thread as helped me ID more good hiding places. I have a 12x12 chimney with a clean out a foot off the floor in the basement.Below the clean out would be a great place since it would be protected even from a fire also.


Wade


----------



## Convoy (Dec 2, 2012)

Junkman said:


> Perhaps someplace no one would want to put their hands. Any one have an inside cat? Only under the litterbox, not in it. Last night (Sunday) local neighbors cars were broken into. Might be better to leave them unlocked, and empty. Save broken door locks and windows. Just thinking, what would you do if you caught thieves breaking into your car by the house at 1:00 in the morning?


With my first truck I did that but it had the ultimate theft deterrent - to start it you had to pop the hood and manually open the choke with a screwdriver :grin: well that and parking next to newer vehicles which were very easy to find - for the record I still love fords from the 60's to early 80's (rust adds character)


----------



## Guest (Sep 2, 2014)

We have installed hidden kill switches in a couple of our vehicles... You can jam the ignition and crank until the battery dies & they won't start if you don't know what to flip or where to find it. The one I'm putting in my pickup is going to kill the starter, I'd rather it do nothing at all. They'll quickly move on.


----------



## TenBusyBees (Jun 15, 2011)

Cygnet said:


> Given the number of coins that archeologists find in midden piles, I suspect that money's been accidentally tossed out since money was invented.
> 
> I used to buy a lot of used books. I found money hidden in them a few times.
> 
> On a slightly different tangent, one way to "hide money" is to buy valuables that most people won't see as valuable. I restore dolls, and I joke about "the bank of Barbie" but it's true. How many people would suspect a box of doll shoes would have much value?


My grandma collected and dressed (or redressed) antique china head dolls. She purchased most of them at yard or estate sales. When repairing/replacing the bodies she has found money a time or two stuffed in the heads.


----------



## AR Transplant (Mar 20, 2004)

I'd like to add my two cents on keeping valuables that most people wouldn't think were valuable, as in the barbie shoes. There are two problems with that,that I can think of. One, think beanie babies, they are worth next to nothing now, but once were a pretty hot item.
the second, in addition not only do have to school someone on the value of the items, you need to tell them how to sell them to realize the money.
I would be in the boat of not knowing that barbie things were of value, and not have a clue how to sell them.

Now, if you're talking about serger sewing machines, I might give you a run for your money


----------



## lmrose (Sep 24, 2009)

My mother-in-law is no longer alive so I can post this now. She always kept important papers and money in a purse and put the purse in her washing machine covered up with clothes. Unfortunately someone decided to do the wash while she was in the hospital not knowing abour her stash! The results were not good.

Another man we knew hid money in the ash pan of his wood stove which he never used. His brother came to visit and started a fire. Needless to say the money is no more.! 

Now I know a perfect , secure, secret hiding place but if I post it here it will no longer be a secret! Some times it is better not to tell what you know!


----------



## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

I put all my stuff where nobody would find it. Now I want it.


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

a friend and former employer found a great place in his 9mm pistol in his office , then about 6 months later he asked if I borrowed it , he had forgotten he used Velcro straps to strap it up under his cabinet I think he found it when he went to change the light bulb also under the cabinet


----------



## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> a friend and former employer found a great place in his 9mm pistol in his office , then about 6 months later he asked if I borrowed it , he had forgotten he used Velcro straps to strap it up under his cabinet I think he found it when he went to change the light bulb also under the cabinet


That reminds me -- My father is convinced that a relative stole a bunch of gold coins from him, when I was about ten. He thought he hid the coins in an air vent.

I am reasonably convinced that he moved the coins to a drop ceiling (accessed via a fluorescent light panel) in that house's laundry room -- which was off my childhood bedroom. (Bedroom was formerly a garage.) And forgot. I remember watching him do it. 

He mentioned the coins being "stolen" just a few months ago, and I was like, "Wait a minute, they weren't in the air vent, they were in the laundry room ceiling." First I'd _ever _heard about the coins going missing -- he hadn't wanted me to know the relative was a thief. Which was weird, because he told me when he moved the coins not to tell anyone where they were, not even said relative -- with an emphasis on said relative. I sorta figured it out.

(No, I didn't tell my father where I remembered the coins being. *Sigh* However, we moved right after the family drama involving the thieving relative, so it's really clear in my mind. And it's unfortunate that the coins were lost, because we had a few tough years after that, and I'm sure that those coins would have covered a lot of bills.) 

I suppose the only person who knows for sure is either the thieving relative or the new owner of the home. (Sooner or later, someone would have had to change that light ...)\

ETA: My father had good reason to suspect said thieving relative, as he _definitely _swiped a bunch of family heirlooms and other valuables, including another coin collection. Family drama type situation.


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

when my great aunt died my dad ,grandpa and grandma when to clean out her apartment in Chicago , she and grandpa were born and raised Jewish in depression era Chicago, grandpa just out of the navy met grandma after the war ,Grandma worked in the office at zenith and they moved away from Chicago a few years later to Grandma's native Wisconsin. Any way my great aunt never really moved away she live in about 3 different apartments at one point she moved entirely in 2 suit cases from one apartment to another . she lived alone. they were cleaning quickly till some money dropped out of a book 

then they had to flip through every book unfold and refold every sheet check under every drawer they would find little coin bags full of silver dollars , one cabinet had linens there was a silver certificate folded into every sheet 

she knew what money was and there was a lot of hard silver coin I think grandpa filled one and a half of the gallon pickle jars with silver and never more than a small bag of it in any one place.

blankets for a lady who lived by herself she had a pile of brand new blankets still in the JCpenny plastic zipper bags , we were still using blankets from her apartment 20 years later , I suspect every time she saw a very good sale she remembered being cold and bought another 

speaking of hiding valuables she trusted my grandfather completely , he was joint on all her accounts , I suspect that maybe having your brother on your accounts it was assumed it was a husband with the same last name and was given no trouble being unmarried in the 40s 50 60 and such , any way he was able to reduce every account to one penny so that when things went to probate , well nothing went to probate , hiding valuables from the tax man also


----------



## nduetime (Dec 15, 2005)

Bathroom closet..in the bottom of a maxi pad or tampon box :tmi:


----------



## triana1326 (Feb 13, 2006)

Ziploc baggies hidden in the soil of potted plants
In or under workout equipment like exercise bikes or treadmills
I have a "sock bowl" in my laundry room for my lost socks - seems like an unlikely spot to me
Empty opaque wine bottle, recorked, on a small wine rack
In a box in the attic, labelled "skinny clothes"
Lastly, I have a good friend who has a shoebox in her bedroom with toys of an adult nature in it - she keeps her cash stash at the bottom of that shoebox&#8230;no really, it's a friend, not me!


----------



## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)




----------



## Tyler520 (Aug 12, 2011)

I second the use of air conditioning ducts and electrical outlets (that are not in use) - If you live in an older home, there is a good chance it has abandoned outlets that are no longer wired and functioning. It also isn't difficult to install a false outlet plate in a wall for access to items inside the wall - just make sure that it matches the rest of the outlet plates, is mounted at the same height as the rest, and is in a realistic location.

Depending on your budget and if you're planning on accessing the item regularly or not, using false walls and wall cavities works well, too - once you begin walking around a home inside, it is nearly impossible to gauge how deep a wall is. Also, floor cavities have the same affect - recess the handle so there are no protrusions, and cut the carpet in a non-linear fashion so that the carpet nap hides the seam.


----------

