# Hiding Valuables in Your Home



## GPS1504 (Dec 13, 2013)

Protecting that which is valuable to us has always been a necessary action. Since the dawn of time, there has always been something, regardless of what it was, that was desirable to the masses. This could be gold, money, ammunition, food, or a plethora of other things.

Also since the dawn of time, theft has existed. If someone wants something you have, they may not always take the reasonable action of getting a job and working hard to buy their own. Sometimes, to some people, it is easier and makes more sense to simply take what is yours instead. Because of this, you need to have safe places to keep items of value.

A safe place to hide or stash your items can mean many things depending on who you ask. To some, the answer may be a safe that requires a key or combination to open. To others, the answer may be a secret void in the floor where they hide items. Whichever means of stashing your stuff you choose, keep in mind how quickly you may someday need to access those items. When the time comes that it really counts, the seconds versus minutes it takes for you to access your items could be the difference between life and death, especially in a scenario when you require a firearm that is in one of those locations.

A lot of times the hiding places people utilize are very indepth and complicated to access, but consider whether or not that is truly necessary. Sometimes it is better to hide things in plain sight, especially when it comes to something you want to have access to in multiple areas of your home. Rather than have things rattling around loose in a drawer somewhere, why not place items in designated hiding spots that do not look like hiding spots? Here are three examples:

1. Mirrors are a commonly seen object in homes everywhere. Full length mirrors are most often seen in dressing areas or bedrooms, but every now and then they are located elsewhere in the home as well. A mirror of any size can be useful for this purpose, but full length mirrors particularly so. By creating a shallow cabinet with a mirrored front, you can give yourself a hiding place. If a deeper cabinet is what you desire, it can be sunken into a wall to make it appear even more like a standard mirror. A mirror can be placed on rollers or tracks to slide back and forth as access is needed. Mirrors that you push to open, such as a medicine cabinet, are less advisable as how to open them is common knowledge. If someone did decide to try your mirror, chances are that they would push or pull long before they would slide. Since mirrors such as this are normally seen in the bedroom, this is a great place to store items that you will need to grab and go with from inside your bedroom should the SHTF while you sleep.

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2. Remember those old VHS tape boxes with that were made of hard, durable plastic and bore a clear plastic window all the way around? These were commonly seen in movie rental chains to contain video tapes; rather than compromise the original cases, these were used to protect tapes. The convenient plastic window allowed for interchangeable titles that could be used in the same case time and time again. These tapes have much more usefulness than just this, however. Since it is so easy to slip something into the cover, these tape boxes can be used as a picture frame. Simply slide a family photo in there and mount it to the wall with a couple of screws. Inside of the box, place your valuable items and snap it securely closed. At a glance, it will not be obvious that this object is a tape case as opposed to a picture frame, making it a reasonably safe option for storing items you wish to keep safe while still accessible in a hurry. These tapes can still be found online or perhaps at a neighborhood garage sale for minimal expense.

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3. Most people are not going to check an electrical outlet for valuables because most electrical outlets are just that: electrical outlets. This is not necessarily the case if you install a wall safe in the form of an electrical outlet. Since these outlets are plentiful in every home, having another one or two throughout your home will not stand out. What they will do is give you a good spot to hide valuables that most people will never suspect, and even if they do, there is no way the average thief is going to take the time to check every outlet in your home in hopes of hitting the jackpot with one outlet that happens to actually be a wall safe. You will need to do some light construction work to install one of these outlets, but it is well worth it for the hiding space it provides.

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Studies have shown that burglars spend all of about five minutes in your home searching for valuables. That five minutes is spent going for the easy stuff in the most likely hiding spaces. This means jewelry boxes, drawers, closets, etc. It could also mean checking mirrors, picture frames, and electrical outlets, but that is far less likely. 
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The choice is yours as to where you hide your valuables, but in these changing times we face, be sure to hide them well.*


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