65 replies to this topic

[Skagitgal]

Tampons are now on my list. You are a complete geneous!

I urge caution hiding valuables in anything that can be needed or used. All the above ideas are great. They show the degree of 'sneakyness' all us 'jus litttle ole me's' are capable of employing.
In the coming problems, we do not know if we will be burgarlized for money, food, or captive slave.
Before you employ food cans, clothes, or other items that may be used, think of yourself as a starving, rag tattered person in need of food, clothes and trade items.
If you entered your house, what would be the first things you would take.
Cans of food, IMHO are the worst hiding places possible.

[Mother]

You might want to remember that thieves have time to read the how-to's and watch the videos as easily or even better than you. I was told by a detective that most anywhere you could think of to hide something, a professional thief already knows where to look. I do like the tampon idea though. I just hope no thief is reading this thread. LOL



In thinking of fire here we've been contemplating places to hide money outside of the house. We've thought of such places as inside wooden fence posts or in a hollow tree (waterproof and rodent proof containers of course). Buried like a treasure is of course another possibility as is putting it in an outbuilding, perhaps in the garage in a special oil can on a shelf of others.



I keep envisioning something happening to us and one hundred years later someone finding our old useless dollars when they are bulldozing, digging or ?? Our own brand of a time capsule. Think if I do something like that I'm going to include some kind of note just in case and just for fun.



Speaking of that, I always wanted to get a lot of those fake hiding places and only leaving sympathy notes in them for would be thieves.

Big sigh, I do have a bit of the devil in me, don't tell anyone.

[Sparrow]

There is something I have been wondering about, that kind of goes with this thread. Would it be a good idea to "prep" for thieves. By this I mean putting aside a little cash and some things like jewelry that isn't that valuable. Putting this stuff in a somewhat easy to find hiding place so if they find it or we are forced to give it over they might possibly think that they have gotten what we have????

Does that make any sense? I'm not to sure I worded this right, but I guess yall get my drift.

[Skagitgal]

A big YES to the idea of having a small but acceptable stash of cash/goodies to turn over in case of robbery.
The main stash needs to be out of any building, in the non combustable ground. Our elders were correct when they buried their valuables. Thats what makes treasure hunting around old homesteads such fun.
Or, you could also leave a note that says...'gotcha'!!

[Sparrow]

Thank you for the comment. This is one of those things that have been stuck in my head but that I have had a hard time wrapping my brain around. It's like the thought of saving up a little for the express purpose of being stolen goes against some deep natural instinct. Maybe I can trick myself by viewing it as a donation or a tithe.

[BooBoo]

These are awesome ideas! Now to remember them all...

Or, you could also leave a note that says...'gotcha'!!

LOL, I love that!

Boo

[arby]

I have an envelope on the front of my frig that reads 'lunch and egg money' ...... thats all they get! The other cash is hidden away and am considering burying it vaccuum sealed in pvc pipe sealed shut on the ends with caps, in the woods because of potential fire in this structure at any time if I had large amounts set aside for emergencies. The problem is retrieval in the winter time. The snow and hard ground are solid as ice at that point of the year. Thinking a true fire safe is a good investment and bolting it down in my closet for large amounts of cash I couldn't really afford to lose as money is precious to me anyway these days. Around here if they cant carry it off, it ain't going, usually.

[Skagitgal]

OK, please answer this honestly.
When you wake up in the night with your house afire, are you going to save your family...or your cash.
If you have 10 minutes to evacuate, are you going to spend 7 of the 10 opening your safe?
I mention this because if you have to leave in a hurry; how many people are going to be in your home making sure 'you are not there"? All very official business, but curious neverless.

[arby]

Well since its only me, me. As to that kind of thing.....its why its a fire safe choice. has some time before it burns..... But I may rethink the bolt set up. Its a very small place, would be about two steps to the nearest window from where it would be in the bedroom and would be out the window... and down on the dirt and me following it likely. If I am not home and the place caught fire, the firesafe is set up not to burn for 30 mins, minimum. Its still better than an envelope or money inside a wall.. besides, imp papers and other small valuable items will be in that safe too. Certainly I can stash small amounts ready to grab for temporary bugout situations that can be grabbed in a couple mins, but out of sight of visitors. Its simply a matter of securing it well enough from the majority of threat levels, no one will be perfect about it, and it can certainly be figured out if some cretan has the time to look, most of these methods. But it keeps it close to grab, not in a bank, where when electricity fails or the ATM is empty by the time you can reach one..... and the fire safe doesnt have to be a big one.

[Skagitgal]

I have an old trick for hiding folding money on your person. For all who wear jeans, or wash pants, the inside fold of the zipper flap can be cut and and folded money inserted. It can be restitched with a few 'invisable' stitches. The money can be washed, so there is no need to remove it. It is easy to casually check several times a day to make sure it is still there.

Like wise, jeans with 'coin or small watch' pockets can be used in the same way. Insert the money, sew it shut.. The pockets are seldom used, so normally wouldn't be checked. It would be un-noticed in a pat down; unless you had a significant amount in one place.

Dresses, aprons, skirts can also have money stitched into hems, ties and waist bands.
Money folded lengthwise into thirds or fourths is usually thin enough and pliable as to not call attention to itself. Use this idea in dark colored fabrics, so as not to use bleach.

This can also be used in BOB bags, coats, boots. Think about what it is that you would have with you constantly , add a little 'something' .

[dogmom4]

bump

[Nermalina]

I was waiting for someone to mention tampon, panty liner and maxi pad packages. MY HUSBAND WON'T EVEN LOOK THERE!

[Jeepers]

I was waiting for someone to mention tampon, panty liner and maxi pad packages. MY HUSBAND WON'T EVEN LOOK THERE!

Hee-hee. Good place to hide your stuff from him. I got tired of missing my scissors so I bought me a good pair in pink and a couple of cheapy dark colored ones. Guess which ones would come up missing? Not the pink ones.

I did the same thing with tools. My box and tool handles are pink. And they are right where I left them.

[Cat]

I'm bumping this one up so Katz25 can find it. I'm sure others will find it helpful and funny, too.

I'll try to find time to do a bit of "housekeeping" on the posts soon. I see some of the smileys no longer work, and I need to double-check the links. But you'll get the gist of it.

Add your own ideas!

The freezer and the food-can ideas are pretty well known now. There are stories of people who forgot and donated their can to charity, or they died and the children gave it away. The freezer would be protected in a fire, but the can most likely wouldn't. Think ahead.

Be sure you leave a note or something for somebody if you're afraid your stash could be lost. We were gone for some time this last summer and DH hid cash down in a register cover. I made sure both grown kids knew about a note I left on the computer detailing where & more important info. But if there was a fire, even that wouldn't have helped.

[TheCG]

Dresses, aprons, skirts can also have money stitched into hems, ties and waist bands.
Money folded lengthwise into thirds or fourths is usually thin enough and pliable as to not call attention to itself. Use this idea in dark colored fabrics, so as not to use bleach.

This can also be used in BOB bags, coats, boots. Think about what it is that you would have with you constantly , add a little 'something' .

I was reading a fictional book about one of the Romanov relations leaving Russia, and it talks about all of the maids being put to work sewing gold and jewels into the hems and linings of dresses and coats.

If you wear clothing that is lined, you can stitch things inside the lining as well.

[CrabGrassAcres]

Couple yrs ago I had a BUNCH of people here working on the house. They basically renovated it because it had been severely flood damaged and was rapidly getting unlivable. Very nice people, but while they were moving all my stuff here then there then back over here several found my 'stash' and were concerned I was keeping money in the house and that I might have forgotten where it was. I had to tell several that I had Not forgotten it, but it was my emergency gas money and not enough to fill my truck tank even once. I think it was 40-50$. Don't know why they were making such a deal out of it.

People have rather funny ideas, some of them, and will think you are totally nuts if they discover you are hiding cash in the house. Best to keep your mouths shut for more reasons than one.

[kappydell]

I like the outside the house idea; my bird bath base is hollow, a couple pvc pipes or skinny olive jars would fit in there....and it is not too hard to get out even in dead of winter.

being a retired leo i still remember some of the odder places folks stashed their dope in their vehicles, so i dont recommend leaving it in the car...even hidden...dopers would know all those places!

how about putting a roll inside the metal pipe type flag pole that comes with those cheap kits with the flag & pole mount & pole included...inside your chain link fence pole (those top thingies come off you know)...a plastic bag sandwiched between that large potted plant and the saucer underneath it (works best if the drain holes are around the edge of the pot, not in the middle)...in the tube part of your porch chair's arms...or even just in a box or jar buried in your planter-box...behind a fake vent screwed onto the soffit of your shed's or garage's eaves...in the handle or body of a non-working drill or other power tool...in a jar in the bird feeder, hidden by bird seed (you would have to keep it filled up nicely though)...in the wheelbarrow tire (remove it from the rim, tape the money to the center of the rim, then re-mount and blow it up. Works in a car spare tire, too, but again, it is a dope smuggler stash location, so use with caution)...under the plastic or concrete tray that goes under the downspout (baggy, of course)...heck, even under the welcome mat...some medicine chests can be slid out of the bathroom wall and the hollow area behind accessed if you are handy - a good place for a 'safe'...

i do like the hidden pockets idea, as i know how to sew and could put an amazing number of them into a plain looking outfit...esp in a jacket hanging by the door...

[Philbe]

Many years ago, when my husband and I had been married just a little over a year, I came home from work to discover our home had been broken into. Everything in the house was rifled thorugh, turned over, etc. All drawers were removed and dumped; they even upended things like the butter dish and other food.

At first, I thought someone had vandalized our home. Only later did I realize they were looking for hidden cash and were, literally, leaving no stone unturned.

Ironically, my husband had always had the habit of taking out cash for each pay period and keeping it in one of his dresser drawers. We discussed this quite often, as it didn't seem safe to me to keep our entire $60 (!!!!!) for each two-week period in a drawer, but he always assured me that's what he'd always done and it had always been fine. The thieves broke into our home the day before payday, and our ''cash drawer'' was empty. They did find the jar where we kept our stash of quarters which we used for exact change riding the bus to and from work every day.

Never underestimate the determination of someone who wants to rob you of your belongings---if you think of a hiding place, so can they. Also, they have no qualms about destroying your property, so they won't hesitate to pull apart everything they possibly in the hope of finding something of value.

From Philbe: You're absolutely right about not underestimating a thief! We had one of our properties broken into and they stole both of our metal detectors...after using them (I guess ) against us, inside the house looking for metal etc. And yes, they absolutely play havoc turning things inside out, upside down and every which way but loose! BUT...we had some vials of gold nuggets hidden in a "certain" place...would have been obvious if they hadn't been looking for things hidden! LOL Anyway...guess being in glass vials helped them escape the detectors...???

Edited by Philbe, 15 October 2012 - 09:49 PM.

[Philbe]

How about hiding bills in a sanitary napkin box! LOL Maybe coins in a bag of beans? Just remember...every man's trash is another man's treasure! And a thief will always take the path of least resistence...meaning they won't really "hunt"...they'll just do a pitch and dump inside your property and see what comes to the surface, what's readily seen after turning things over, what's obviously perfect for hiding things. Just think...where would YOU look?

[Andrea]

F.Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack character (great series of novels if you're interested in living below the radar) had an access panel behind the toilet and would tape gold & silver coins directly to the water pipes in the wall. Thieves wouldn't bother disturbing a wall where pipes are since the metal detectors would naturally register a signal because of the metal in the pipes.