Looting is a nearly ubiquitous feature of natural and political disasters, and burglary is an everyday risk, especially in metro areas, so protecting your goods is an integral part of your preparedness plan. In this article we’re not talking about hiding things from government agents. Burglars usually have limited time and must operate undetected, which makes it more difficult for them to find your stuff. Government agents, on the other hand, have unlimited resources, unlimited time, and no liability, so they will simply destroy your home and find everything. Hiding stuff from them requires much more planning, which we will discuss in a future article.
Finally, we’re not discussing deep concealment like burying money in a concrete floor because I want you to be able to easily access your valuables when needed. Certainly there’s a place for deep concealment, but that too will be addressed in a future article.
Learn and apply these principles to make your hiding places more effective — concealment, camouflage, and distraction.
Concealment
When you conceal something, you take something in plain view and place it where it can’t be seen. That’s straightforward, but the trick is learning how to make it hard to find. You must place it in a location that is not usually associated with that object.
For example, money is usually found in a wallet or a safe. If you’re hiding it, you might stick it in a dresser drawer, a shoe, or a coffee can in the pantry, but those are common hiding places, and a burglar will look there first. Be imaginative; remember that because a burglar has limited time, he won’t be able to search every location. Therefore, he’ll look in “likely” places first. Here are some unlikely possibilities for hiding money or jewelry:
- Curtain rods. Roll up some bills and stick them in the curtain rods.
- Floor or desk lamp. Not taped under the base, mind you, but inside the lamp itself.
- Inside a light fixture.
- Above ceiling tiles.
- Inside a door or window frame. Remove a piece of door trim, hide your stuff, and replace the trim.
- Taped in the back of your clothes drier.
- Empty can of PVC cement in your workshop.
The possibilities really are endless. Just make sure you don’t hide everything in the same place, and either make a record of where your stuff is hidden, or share the knowledge with one or more trusted people so you improve the chances of remembering all your hiding places.
Camouflage
When you camouflage an object, you leave it in plain view but make its form indistinct by blending it into its surroundings. For example, a tent that is brown and two shades of green will be more difficult to spot in the woods than a tent that is hot pink. This principle of hiding things doesn’t really apply to hiding money in your home, but you might apply it when hiding a small shed on the outskirts of your property. There you could hide a small food stock or some extra fuel.
Distraction
If you can draw a burglar’s attention away from your valuables, he will be less likely to find them. One way to distract him is to draw his attention to something less valuable; this is a decoy. For example, leave a wallet in plain view with a moderate amount of money; maybe $100 or $200. If he finds this and takes it, he might be satisfied and move on to your computer and television, and never find the big stash of cash.
Now there will be a rash of break ins where all that is stolen is curtain rods and table lamps lol
Or my statue with a clock where its stomach ought to be….
Get a heavy but carriable safe and put a bunch of pennies in it.That is your decoy and will hopefully be the only thing the burglar will take.
Build a false wall in a closet. Trust me ALL valuables will still be there after a break-in.
Sew it in the hem of your cheapest curtains, or inside an old decorative pillow. Put it in a small object that is able to be planted in one of your potted plants.
smart and good common sense approach, thanks
my aunt and uncle used to stash cold cash in the freezer wrapped between hamburger patties in tin foil! their office was broken into several times, but the theives never got that cold cash!!
If you create a ‘hiding wall’, make sure to insulate it so it will sound like the rest of the walls! Look at how things were hidden in Holland during WW11..some great ideas below remind me of those times, including sewing valuables into clothing, shoes, curtains, and using wall trims, lamps, stairbacks, under patio’s, sheds, and even using animal dens such as gophers, fox, etc. if they are in your area, like on the Prairies. Many great outdoor spots can be right in your back yard. Trees for example. Woodpecker nest sites, natural holes where you can stash a lot into a hollow area of a tree. Magpie nests, Crows nests, etc can also hide stuff and no one would ever think to even bother to look there! Use natures bounty to hide in ‘plain sight’.
May father always said, if you want something hidden, don’t bother to hide it at all. Don’t repeat what others do, as that IS the first place they look now. Like ceiling tiles (due to drug traffickers etc), vents, wall spaces, as these places are now common to many and they WILL look there first! Look around to find unusual places. Even the Sofia on the house are a great hiding place. Who checks rain drains or compost?
If you are on the farm, under the old manure pile (under plastic is your stuff) is a perfect spot! You can even ‘cut out’ hide spots in bails of hey, as it is highly compact and you can hide your stuff very well there. Anyway, just a few more tips. Hope that helps to be creative, and invent ways to hide. Hey, how about right on your bike handle bars…they look everywhere but there, but, you may want to hide it in a bike that they can’t ride or use too…or you may wind up with stash and bike gone!LOL
Cheers
Vicki