Keeping your stuff safe from potential burglars is important.
Whether you have a security system installed in your home or not, there is nothing wrong with a bit of extra protection. Instead of heading out and buying the most expensive safe on the market, you can actually hide your things strategically around the house and burglars will never find them.
If you have jewelry, cash or any other valuable that you want to keep extra safe, there are many DIY ways to hide those things from burglars.
Jump to:
- Stash Cash in the Door?
- Make Your Own Hide-A-Key
- Oversized Art Storage
- Floating Shelf with Secret Storage
- Picture Frame Hidden Storage
- Hidden Jewelry Box
- Lettuce Storage?
- Hidden Bookcase Storage
- Secret Storage Sofa
- DIY Hollow Book
- Bathtub Hidden Storage
- Hidden Stairway Storage
- Computer Keyboard Storage
- Hidden Outlet Safe
- Bathroom Tile Storage
Incidentally, you can use some of these ideas to hide Christmas gifts from the kids as well. If you want to keep certain things out of sight, take a look at our collection of easy DIY hiding places for your stash.
Some of the ideas are products that you can purchase from most hardware stores or Wal-Mart. Others are things that you can do yourself to create a secret storage area in your home.
Stash Cash in the Door?
You can actually create a great hiding place for cash in the top of any interior door.
You just have to drill a hole and insert a metal tube that will keep cash and smaller items out of view. This is a great place to hide jewelry and anything relatively small and you can stash away some extra cash to save for a rainy day.
Via: Makezine
Make Your Own Hide-A-Key
You can buy those little hollowed out rocks for hiding your spare key but you don’t necessarily have to spend money to keep that key secure. You can just glue a real rock to the top of a small plastic bottle, like an old prescription bottle and then bury the bottle so that just the rock is showing.
Plastic rocks look so fake but this one will fool even the most intelligent criminal because it is actually a real rock.
Via: Zakkalife
Oversized Art Storage
You can create great looking art on your walls and hide your electronics at the same time.
You just have to cut the hole to make the storage area and then drill holes for the cords. This is a great way to keep those wires and cords hidden and gives you the opportunity to add new art to your walls as well.
Via: Apartmenttherapy
Floating Shelf with Secret Storage
This shelf looks great because it seems to float on the wall. That will impress people enough but when you add the secret drawer for storage, you get something that is impressive and a great place to hide your stash. The bottom of the drawer drops open to give you room to store just about anything you want.
Via: Instructables
Picture Frame Hidden Storage
Whether you want a picture of your child, a celebrity or anyone else hanging on your wall, you can use that large picture to hide a hidden medicine cabinet. Just install the medicine cabinet in the wall and then cover it with the picture.
No one will ever believe that you have storage behind the print and you can use this anywhere in the home.
Via: Apartmenttherapy
Hidden Jewelry Box
Make your own hidden jewelry box to keep those valuable gems safe.
You just have to have or build a small jewelry holder and then hide it behind a relatively large picture. You can build up the frame on the picture so that no one knows there is actually jewelry hidden behind it.
Via: Designsponge
Lettuce Storage?
You read that right. You can actually buy a small safe that looks for all the world like a head of lettuce. You just keep it in the fridge and hide your most prized possessions in it. Even if a burglar looks inside your fridge, he is not likely to think about looking inside the lettuce. The bottom of the lettuce snaps off to give you a hiding place for valuables.
Via: Bimbambanana
Hidden Bookcase Storage
No one would ever guess that behind that built-in bookcase is a storage area where you can keep your valuables safe. You can easily create a storage space that you hide with a bookcase.
When you need into the space, you just pull the bookcase out and then push it back when you are finished.
Via: Reddit
Secret Storage Sofa
You can build your own sofa and put some extra secret storage in it at the same time. Whether you need a new sofa for the living room or you want something for a sitting room, this is a great sofa and the fact that it has secret storage is just icing on the cake.
Via: Ana-white
DIY Hollow Book
You’ve seen those old hollowed out books in movies that people use for storage. Well, you can make your own and it is really easy to do. You can pick up an old book (if you don’t have one to use already) at most bookstores really cheap and then you just have to hollow out the inside for keeping your valuables safe.
Via: Vividplease
Bathtub Hidden Storage
If you have a tub that is encased, you can use the encasement to create hidden storage. No burglar would ever think to look under or around your bathtub for valuables and this is a great way to keep things organized as well. You just create little storage areas in the wooden base of the tub.
Via: Bornrich
Hidden Stairway Storage
Whether you have a small landing on your staircase or not, you can use a step or the landing to create a hidden storage compartment that is perfect for storing safes or just about anything you need to hide. Depending on where you choose to build your storage, you may have room to hide larger items in this one.
Via: Imgfave
Computer Keyboard Storage
There is a great hollow keyboard that allows you to store things underneath. Of course, this won’t help during burglaries if your burglar takes your computer but it is a good place to hide certain items from the family and a good way keep your desk a bit more organized. Jewelry and extra cash will fit perfectly inside.
Via: Geekologie
Hidden Outlet Safe
Okay, we have all seen these cute little fake outlets that act as safes so you just know that a burglar has seen them, too. Of course, no burglar is going to go around and check every single wall outlet so they do offer a bit of protection.
You can keep smaller items like jewelry and cash in them and they install very easily into the wall.
Via: Misdefenseproducts
Bathroom Tile Storage
You can create hidden storage in your bathroom by simply remove a tile or two and making a hole.
You then replace the tile and you have the perfect place to hide valuables that no burglar would ever think about looking in. You just have to remember which tile is the secret hiding place.
Via: Dornob
burgled
My house was burgled, and my valuables weren't found
I have an alarm and the burglars knew that, and still came in with the alarm screaming and did a "fast grab" before my security people arrived.
This method is 1. Main bedroom, tip out all drawers contents onto the floor, flip over the bed, take off pillowcases, check pockets of all clothing, picture frames kicked through, carpet torn away from walls, all furniture pushed over, and the backs kicked in. 2. bathroom= toilet cistern top removed, bathroom cabinet tipped out, wall mirror smashed 3 hall cupboards emptied 4. Kitchen, all cupboards emptied, ALL FOOD CONTAINERS emptied onto the floor, fridge emptied (luckily all "liquid" containers emptied into the sink...), fridge moved away from wall 5 loungeroom=cushions CUT, back of lounges CUT, picture frames off walls, backs kicked in, bookshelf tipped over, tv cabinet tipped over 6 laundry= kitty litter tipped out, all storage areas rifled
and the list goes on.
We assume there was more than one person because they were in and out before security arrived in just over 10 minutes.
My spare key= there are 3. One at my mothers house, 1 each brother/sister. If I had to leave my key outside I would bury it in a public park. That way if it were found they wouldnt know which house in what street. Im guessing you could ask a neighbor to hide your key on their property and theirs on yours.
My hiding place? there isnt one really but...
EMERGENCY cash can be glued inside 2 sheets of paper, and that paper can be used "decoratively" in plain sight.
Cash that you have at home is best inside walls. False walls/hidden walls, inside door frames.
Or inside something of absolutely NO value to a theif, like an old answering machine or digital alarm clock. empty it out and put things inside that, making sure NOTHING rattles. Theives arent likely to take anything they cant resell.
Honestly the BEST option is to install wifi cameras. These cost around $200 and dont need monitoring (no further costs). The images are sent to your phone so you can see exactly whats happening, and its recorded.
Burglars tend to stay away from homes with wifi cameras. They never know if your neighbors are on hand...
you can even install a speaker so you can "talk" to them before they break in, so they think you're home.
I think the biggest issue is hiding things when you're staying in a motel, or sharing accomodation.
oh, and what was stolen was a plastic storage tub full of vhs tapes, cds & dvds. We think because the theives thought we may have stashed things in these covers.
Cleaning the house and fixing everything cost more than the loss would have been IF they'd found my hidden cash.
My next suggestion is to put a jewellry box full of FAKE jewels in plain sight in your bedroom, and a small amount of cash in plain site in the kitchen.
If they find that, they'll assume there's nothing hidden and leave without ransacking and destroying your house.
PS you CAN buy "movie prop" cash to put in your plain site cash area.
James
Thanks for your input... Sorry for your loss (destroying your home)
E
Never Hide anything or build stash spaces behind pictures or in pictures. It is one of the first places thieves look! It is the worst advice to give someone for securing or hiding possessions. That section should be removed.
Michlle
Almost every “heist” movie used to show thieves heading straight to the picture on the wall and the safe behind it.
Just be sure you remember where you hid it, a friend accidentally gave her jewelry away when she donated it, another never found it….