One approach to keeping your valuables secure is to squirrel them away in various locations within the home. I’m not suggesting that this is preferable to using a high-quality safe that’s been properly installed. However, not everyone has that as a feasible or practical option.
For many people, it’s instinctive to keep valuables, such as jewelry, cash, and firearms, in the master bedroom. Criminals know this, so that’s often their first stop during a burglary. Fortunately, there are many other places you can use.
Diversion Safes
These are safes that are disguised as common household items, like shaving cream or deodorant. They look neat, but most thieves are well aware of them, just like they know all about those fake rocks you can use to store an extra house key outside. Instead of spending money on them, you’re better off exploring other options.
Basement
Unless you have a drop ceiling installed down there, all of the wiring, pipes, and whatnot are visible, right? You could add another length of PVC, and nobody would likely notice. You can fit a pretty good amount of stuff in four-inch diameter PVC, even if it’s just a few feet long. Install a threaded cap on one end to make it easy to open and close.
While you’re down there, if you’re already using the basement for some amount of household storage, a couple of boxes labeled something like “Grandma’s Shoes” would blend right in. You could even go so far as to put your good stuff at the bottom of the box, then toss some old shoes over it.
One more twist on this would be to use a red marker to label every box that has something hidden inside, so those are easy to spot in a hurry. This same approach to securing valuables could also be used in the attic, if that’s more accessible or makes more sense for your situation.
Living Room
You could tape emergency cash inside photo frames. As long as the frames themselves aren’t expensive, nobody is going to grab them. There are a number of wall outlet safes on the market. These are diversion safes, yes, but they tend to blend in a lot easier than products on a shelf. These are easy to install for even the most inexperienced homeowner.
Kitchen
If you remove your utensil drawer completely, you can tape an envelope to the outside back surface or on the underside of the drawer.
Do not, however, secure valuables by hiding them inside the freezer. Experienced crooks know to look there, and they’ll find that box of frozen Brussels sprouts with the prize inside.
Caution
One word of warning regarding securing valuables by hiding them. Make sure you’re not the only person who knows what is hidden where. It would be a shame for you to be in an accident or something, and your family isn’t able to access the funds you’ve secreted away through the house. On top of that, you wouldn’t want them to get rid of anything without first removing the cash, jewelry, or whatever else is hidden inside.
