Worst Places to Hide Your Valuables

Despite an ever-increasing number of home security products and options, it is a sad fact that homes are still made targets by thieves and burglars. Although security devices may make it more difficult for thieves to enter a home, they cannot completely eliminate the risks of them doing so. Often they may reduce the amount of time the thief has to search out and steal valuables, but many of them are experienced.

So, what is the best place to hide valuables within the home? Before answering that question it may be more prudent to ask: What are the Worst Places to Hide Your Valuables?

There are some very old and familiar places that should at all costs be avoided because they are simply too obvious; these include:

• Under bed mattresses
• In underwear and sock drawers
• Behind cupboards
• In lavatory cisterns
• In refrigerators
• In vases

All of these may seem so obvious that it may seem appealing to try a little ‘reverse psychology’ and actually use such hiding places in the belief that thieves won’t look there. Unfortunately, many thieves are not entirely stupid and will also include the most ridiculously obvious of places for the very reason things may be hidden there.

Another choice that many have made is to hide valuables in children’s rooms, working on the assumption that thieves will not look there for adult items such as jewellery. Unfortunately, this has also become a commonplace method and thieves are wise to it. Additionally, children’s rooms in these days of high tech often contain valuable games devices, smart phones, tablets and other expensive items.

The kitchen? No, sorry. That is actually (at least in most homes!) a place where there is very little concealment other than food, cleaning products and drawers and cupboards. Experienced and heartless thieves will throw contents around and clear drawers and cupboards in moments, causing damage, mess and finding anything of value that has been hidden.

Returning to individual places that thieves may not think of looking, or may not want to look, here are some that have been suggested:

• Wastepaper and rubbish bins, beneath bin liners
• In houseplant pots
• False containers of food and other products
• Boxes with misleading labels

Whilst it is true that the more of the above there are in a house the more time thieves will have to spend exploring them, unless there are a great number it takes only a few seconds to empty them. The process of emptying will create mess and cause damage and breakages.

All of the above answer the question What are the Worst Places to Hide Your Valuables. So, what about the question of what are the best places? The answer to that is actually very simple: in a safe that is so securely affixed to the building that it cannot be easily removed. Breaking in will also simply take too much time, which thieves do not want to spend.