Where to Hide Valuables at Home. Tips Please.

[simong]

Ah Ha! At long last a sensible thread.?
Never fear jay, help is at hand!? In your case help is all around you in fact. You're a man of many books, if memory serves & you should be looking at your cannon of Conan Doyle for inspiration. The answer lies within the pages of 'The Musgrave Ritual'. You'll no doubt recall during the civil war, the Crown of the Royal Stuart's was hidden away within the grounds of Musgrave's drum. It took nearly 400 years & the brains of old Sherlock himself to crack the case & discover the treasure!
We shall do the same with your collection of valuables & pocket watches. You will need to decide a place outside to bury the goods & you will also need a shovel. Now, for the ingenious part you will need to come up with a treasure map like the one from the Musgrave Ritual to confuse & defeat the impending criminals / thieving bastards. With the Cornish criminal mind being somewhat slower than the average crook, you should have ample time to alert & wait for the Old Bill to arrive. ?
A tit bit from the Musgrave Ritual to jog your memory...
'Who's was it?
He who is gone.
Who shall have it?
He who shall come.
Where was the sun?
Over the oak.
Where was the shadow?
Under the elm......etc. etc.
Let us know how you get on mate. We'll have to call it the 'Mawnan Smith Ritual' lol. Thieves won't stand a chance!

 

[jpmcwjr]

I have nothing of value But we have our important papers in a fireproof locked safe in the basement. If house burns down they are good. Jewelry weapons etc. are covered under homeowners policy but check the limits of course. In a previous life, I built a store and the contractor put a floor safe in the concrete, lid was metal with a combination lock. Not suitable for a rental but if you ever own a place could be good.
Bank safe deposits are good but in the event that you happen to die access can be messy depending if you are the only one with access. You probably want your spouse of a family member to have a backup key and signature card if you trust of course.
The toilet deal has been used by mobsters and drug dealers so it works
Cheers

That's one reason the toilet won't work. Too TV-ish!

And Jay is pretty much by himself I've read right. And he's ruled out a safe deposit box full stop.

 

[simong]

When I was a young boy I cut a hole in my box spring and hid my Playboy collection there. My mother never found it so I think that’s a pretty secure place.

I'd advise against this. As a youth I had a similar set up, unfortunately discovered by my late grandmother of all people. Most embarrassing......?

 

[Andriko]

As others have suggested, I'd rethink the safe - a small safe concealed in the wardrobe is less likely to be discovered by a burglar in a hurry, especially once they've tripped off the alarms, and if they do find it, it will probably be too heavy to cart off (bolt it down or weigh it down for good measure).

Other things to do are to be off putting to such visitations. Having all entry points being well lit and exposed will act as a deterrent, as well as secure locks and windows. If it's difficult to have 'exposed' entry points, then CCTV/Cameras are an option. I doubt that they are too expensive these days and can be made motion activated, just be sure that they don't over look public/private spaces as much as possible, and are focused on the points of entry. But they should be visible, and a sign put up somewhere that you have them.

 

[warren]

I'm only surmising here but, I'd guess your biggest threats are "dopers" and youngsters looking for easy entry and quick "looksee" for the obvious, easy to peddle, property. So, strong, extra long, dead bolts on your doors are a good deterrence. There are some good ones available which connect with a smart phone. I can control mine through from half a world away. Add a Ring camera doorbell and you can unlock the door to allow the deliveryman to place a package inside and have a video of the delivery. Sometimes a plus and sometimes a worry but, a well marked Amazon package isn't sitting unattended on the stoop, a signal that you aren't home and/or, a theft simply awaiting a thief.

Luck to you and you can only do so much so, keep up the insurance payments. Also consider a policy strictly for your collection. I have a rather extensive policy covering only my photo equipment, theft and accident coverage which greatly relieves the mind.

 

[Steddy]

Watches you say? You ever watch Pulp Fiction?

 

[mawnansmiff]

Some useful though guys, thanks.

Alas I've just thought of another negative of having a safe. Living alone with limited mobility as I do....if Mr. Burglar spots a safe he assumes it holds something....so starts about poor old Jay with his baseball bat until Jay spills the beans of the combination!

Methinks Warren's idea of Fort Knox like security is the way to go. I've already budgeted for around £1,500 for a security system, maybe I'll have to up it.

BTW, my Playboy/Mayfair collection disappeared one day from under my mattress. Mother obviously never mentioned it to Father otherwise I'd have had a pretty sore backside for a month

Regards,

Jay.

 

[NC TX ID pipeman]

Some useful though guys, thanks.

Alas I've just thought of another negative of having a safe. Living alone with limited mobility as I do....if Mr. Burglar spots a safe he assumes it holds something....so starts about poor old Jay with his baseball bat until Jay spills the beans of the combination!

Methinks Warren's idea of Fort Knox like security is the way to go. I've already budgeted for around £1,500 for a security system, maybe I'll have to up it.

BTW, my Playboy/Mayfair collection disappeared one day from under my mattress. Mother obviously never mentioned it to Father otherwise I'd have had a pretty sore backside for a month

Regards,

Jay.

Thats why you need hidden guns so burglar will not mess with you...or you can put your collection in a suit case under clothes or make a box with double bottom or drawers with a secret compartments behind them..or safe hidden in the wall or secret closet build behind the wall...you can also get some 5 gal bucket from paint or other chemical and make the raised floor in it with dried out paint on it or stucked brush in it which would be your handle to lift up that fake floor...or move somewhere where it is safe again

 

[romaso]

I'd vote for a small safe that bolts to your wall studs or floor, making it hard to remove, in some not obvious place (under your dirty laundry pile, behind the cat box, etc). Also, replace the screws in your door locks, lock plates, and hinges with really long ones (sometimes they put in really short ones).

 

[mawnansmiff]

Thats why you need hidden guns so burglar will not mess with you...or you can put your collection in a suit case under clothes or make a box with double bottom or drawers with a secret compartments behind them..or safe hidden in the wall or secret closet build behind the wall...you can also get some 5 gal bucket from paint or other chemical and make the raised floor in it with dried out paint on it or stucked brush in it which would be your handle to lift up that fake floor...or move somewhere where it is safe again

I'll repeat, firearms don't have any interest with me.

Your double bottomed drawer however does sound a possibility. I have some antique furniture where that just might work due to the way it's built. A sheet of veneered plywood hinged at the back and when settled woollens piled on top....yes, that might work so thanks!

Romaso, alas safes are out for reasons given above. How many fingers should I lose before I tell them the combination or give them the key?

Regards,

Jay.

 

[jpberg]

I know where I used to hide stuff in prison.
Worked well going through customs as well.

 

[aspiring_sage]

in a fireproof locked safe in the basement. If house burns down they are good.

I love small fireproof safe for documents but I feel compelled to advise that if your house burns down, your documents will likely be gone while it smolders for a week.


Most of this advice isn’t very good. A safe doesn’t get your security, it gets you time. Bolting it to something solid gets more time. Putting it in an obscure location gets you time.

Under the bed, desk drawers, closets, sock-drawers and bathroom cupboards are not obscure locations.

Most of the time, if it’s an item you want to enjoy now and then… keeping it in a standard small safe is not how I would want to live.
My opinion: Things like jewelery are better on display in the bathroom and insured, than in a safe far out of the way. Your homeowners or renters policy may cover them. Just make sure you have photos of them so you can prove you have evidence for the insurance company later.

 

[warren]

A Ring doorbell (Amazon or ring.com) is a pretty inexpensive start. Then a "long throw" dead bolt with "smart phone" connection, relatively inexpensive also. Well, unless you have it professionally installed. I use a Schlage brand.

I've not seen a "fireproof" safe. I suppose there some though. I've only run across "fire resistant" safes. They usually have a rating in hours of resistance.

And, for those of you who do not know the OP lives in England so, pistols are pretty much out of the question. Plus, the OP has rejected firearms out of hand. So, those of you favoring firearms are simply wasting key strokes.

 

[AppalachianPipe92]

Currently I'm living in a 2 bedroomed flat/apartment on the first floor (the floor above ground level) and have only the one point of entry. I regard this as being pretty secure though not entirely burglar proof. That said, the area I live in is regarded as very safe when it comes to all types of crime.

However, later this year or more likely early next year I will be buying a new place, much larger and with likely 2 or 3 entry points at ground level. The place I'll be moving to will be totally new to me.

My valuables consist mainly of my collection of about 35 American railroad grade pocket watches & my collection of about 25 quality wristwatches. I currently have no specific hiding places for these as I feel pretty safe in my home though I do have one of those 'book safes' for hiding medals & large amounts of cash.

What I'd like to hear about are places in the home where I might hide away my above collections so that your typical housebreaker is not likely to find them in a hurry.

I've thought about the loose floorboard thing but dismissed it as unlikely to be found in a house these days. An indoor safe is out.....the thief would just steal the safe & open it at leisure.

So guys, where to hide my stuff....any ideas gratefully accepted.

BTW, one of the first purchases I'll be making in my new home will be a quality alarm system!

Regards,

Jay.

Interested in those watches. I collect the Accutron RR watches and just love them.
On the hiding topic I can say I've mastered hiding. As a recovering addict/alcoholic, I became pretty good at hiding back when I used. I think it helps to either hide stuff in an obnoxiously hard place to utilize, or somewhere that's almost too obvious to be used. An example of the second one would be that I would hide stuff in my socks and then fold my socks into a ball. Then I'd mix those loaded pairs in with a sock drawer full of balled up socks. I feel like under the mattress and areas like that are a little too obvious for burglars. Hell, tobacco tins either valuable in them and mix those tins in at the bottom of your cellar. Lots of ways to get clever. Like others, I I have a fireproof safe in my closet. It's mainly foe documents. If your really motivated, the framing of your house is great. A quick drywall repair over the hiding spot is quite easy.
Now let's see some RR grade watched! Here's what I have on today - N2

 

[aspiring_sage]

What I'd like to hear about are places in the home where I might hide away my above collections so that your typical housebreaker is not likely to find them in a hurry.

One place I’ve never heard of: Waterproof case under kitchen sink.

 

[aspiring_sage]

Is this a random burglar or somebody that knows what they’re targeting?

 

[huntertrw]

I wonder if burglars read the Forums?

 

[trudger]

Time is limited in an apt. break-in. Ransack the place and hope to get lucky. Last place to look is the kitchen.

 

[Kobold]

I wonder if burglars read the Forums?

Damn I hope not. Now they know where I keep my nudie mags.

 

[warren]

I wonder if burglars read the Forums?

I'd doubt it. Pros read society pages for people going on vacation, wedding schedules and other useful information. Obits for funeral schedules. Looking out for people with RV's preparing for a long weekend, school moms leaving with the kids for school delivery, RV's missing from the usual parking spot, newspapers and/or mail piling up are "tells" for the pro or semi-pro burglar. But, professional burglars aren't whom most homeowners need fear, they're casing up-scale neighborhoods. Neighborhood teens, self-proclaimed homeless/druggies prowling neighborhoods, high schoolers on lunch breaks, any of an assortment of suspects looking for ease of entry and easy to sell/pawn materials.

A professional wants an empty house/office (less jail time and safer) and knows what he/she is after, what's in the chosen location. The "amateur" burglar is looking for a quick, easy entry and is simply committing a crime of convenience, no telling what will catch their fancy. Then there are the friends of your kids who see daddy's pistol, drug stash, the mother's jewelry or, a moderately sized, expensive stereo system.