Learn how to hide your valuables in plain sight. This article is loaded with great ideas for making sure that your important stuff doesn’t walk away in the event that someone breaks in. I’m going to go over how to hide things in:
- Floating Shelves
- Picture Frames
- Light Sockets
- Sunscreen bottles
- Wall clocks
- Power strips
- and even your bra!
Let’s get to it!
Every now and again, my area experiences a bit of a crime wave that involves criminals visiting people’s houses while they are away at work and actually using the home owner’s own pillow cases to fill full of valuables from that very house. Statistically speaking, there is a home intrusion every 20 seconds in the U.S.
I don’t know exactly what their procedure while in the house but my guess is that it involves going through drawers and cabinets and searching all the usual places people hide valuables.
In the interest of making the whole process rather quick, I imagine that they aren’t going to spend much time taking things apart or otherwise putting much effort into their search -its probably more like a lowest hanging fruit kind of approach.
With that scenario in mind, wouldn’t it be nice if you could relax knowing that your valuables were hidden but still in plain sight? Hidden behind and in everyday items that don’t offer much value to a thief.
Floating shelves are a great place to hide something because it affords you a good amount of space. Floating shelves are not limited to those over the fireplace either. You can install them anywhere you have a wall stud.
There’s two main styles of floating shelves are the pull out and hinge style. As you can see, this shelf is of the hinge style where you simply apply some pressure downwards which releases the magnet and VOILA! there’s your jewelry, firearm, cash or, in my case, skittles (hey, I have kids and they are candy crazy!).
With this style you don’t have to mess around with removing anything from atop the shelf before you access your stuff inside.
The other style is the pull out style. With this kind of shelf you will need to remove whatever is on top or you can get a little clever and glue the item down (or use nails or screws in a concealed way).
So for example, you might have a decorative candle on top of a floating pull out shelf but the candle is adhered to the top (or perhaps you put a couple of screws into the bottom of the candle from the inside of the shelf)?
Either way, if you make it easier for yourself to pull out the shelf you’ll be happier with the end product.
You’re well read, right? Of course, you are that’s why you like to proudly show off your books. Thieves don’t steal books, its like a scientific fact.
When was the last time a big blockbuster movie was made about a thief planning a big heist to steal a copy of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? Like never.
The next super secret hidey place is the faux stack o’ books. Only about 10% of the book remains while the removed portion in the back has cleared the way for valuable stuff like a hard drive full of family photos.
Hard drives have value to a thief but you’re irreplaceable photos don’t. They will wipe your hard drive clean and go pawn it.
Speaking of books, how about the ol’ hollowed out book trick? This is a classic that, although somewhat common in movies, (as secret storage places go) means it might be something your average thief might know about it still comes down to time. If you have 50 books on a shelf, is a thief really going to check each one to see if its hollow?
Put your cash in there, a hard drive, a key, a really valuable, tiny book. Whatever but just don’t forget which one it is!
Moving on to clocks, a common household item that a thief would see but pay no attention to. Check out this mantle clock. It is the perfect shape for a pistol.
Or how about his common, round faced clock? Swing it open to reveal your cash and pearls (who has pearls anymore? Marge Simpson!)
Electrical outlets; they’re everywhere. Any given home has dozens and dozens of them. They are truly hiding in plain sight. This is a cool little receptacle cover concealed storage solution.
Some have a small screw that you remove that then allows you to rotate it forward while others have a kind of keyhole and key.
Either way, they are a great way to store and hide those smaller items like cash…and pearls! Again with the pearls! You would think that pirates are hiding their jewels in the walls.
Speaking of electrical receptacles, how ’bout this lil’ dandy? Here we have a power strip that doubles as a concealed storage spot.
Not even the cleverest of thieves would consider a power strip as a potential hiding place. Again this is going to be restricted to smaller items but that’s okay, it might just be the most clever hiding place yet!
You’ve heard of “product placement” in the movies? Well, how about “placement of your valuables in products”? These are examples of great hiding spots because they don’t raise any suspicion whatsoever.
Everyone has sunscreen, right? Why not take put your valuables in this baby when you’re at the beach? Not many sunscreen stealers out there. When you have an empty bottle of suncreen, just clean it out and stick your valuables in there.
Speaking of going to the beach and hiding your stuff. How ’bout this new thing called the Beach Vault?! Its a big container flanked by a sand screw. Just screw it into the sand, put your stuff in there close the top then cover it with your beach blanket.
There’s also the handy dandy hidden chapstick storage tube. Roll up some emergency cash and pop it in. Just don’t forget what it is and chuck it in the trash! Realistically though you could have that chapstick right there out in the open in your car with no concerns of theft.
Back at home, there is always the can of shaving cream concealed storage. Gives you a little more space for valuables than chapstick.
Think you can’t hide things in plain sight in the pantry! Oh guess again, m’friend! How ’bout this canned fruit secret storage? That’s even the “lite” style I get too! 
But wait, there’s more! If you’ve got boobs, you’ve storage capacity. Okay, lemme explain. Its a little lacy, dollar sized sleeve that fits in the cleavage area and it gives you a little extra secret storage space for some cash, cards or whatever. First they send a man to the moon and now THIS!
In the unlikely event that all your other super secret stashes have been discovered in the house there is always the ol’ standby, the Vent Safe. What appears to be just a harmless wall vent is actually an RFID safe. Just touch the RFID card to the unit for a second and it allows you access to the safe. No unwanted or accidental access.
Oh and speaking of safes in the wall that wouldn’t raise any suspicions how ’bout this beauty? Its a wall safe that the facade of an electrical panel.
Its smartly designed with some cool features like how you can remove the portion containing your valuables. If you have to get your stuff out in a hurry (like your building is on fire) there’s a quick release for the the vault portion, leaving the rest of the facade intact.
vault Okay, let’s freshen things up with this, the Clorox bleach bottle secret storage safe. Talk about lots of space to hide stuff. This cleverly disguised safe looks just like a Clorox bottle but easily hides all your Clorox bottle-sized loot. It whitens, it removes stains, it disinfects and…keeps your stuff safe from would-be burglars.
Speaking of freshening up, lets talk deodorant. This Speed Stick secret safe does a great job of hiding some paper money rolled up. Good for a travel safe (or hiding your saved up rent money from your roommate).
Back to the pantry. Introducing the peanut butter jar storage container. Peanut butter is something you’re bound to see in virtually every pantry so it wouldn’t be any surprise to a burglar to see this hanging out with the other foods. Looking exactly like a Jif jar, this baby is sure to keep your loot hidden from prying eyes.
This secret storage container takes the form of that classic salt maker, Morton. The Morton Salt container will do nicely if you need to stash some cash or ice (that’s diamonds for the uninitiated).
Oh my, what’s next?! Everyone’s got WD-40 right? Of course, so why not use that commonality to your advantage? Burglars are bound to hit the garage and if they see this innocent looking can of WD they will just glide on by without a second thought.
econ Speaking of commonality. Quite possibly the most universally recognized brand name in the world, Coca Cola. Now this common drink can can be your uncommon secret hiding place.
Got office thieves? Sure, we all do. You go at lunchtime to get that cheesecake that you’ve been thinking about all morning and WHAT! its gone! Thieves!
Well, at least you know your small stash of cash is safe in this super spy Sharpie marker secret safe. And oh yeah, it still writes and gets all over your hands just like a regular Sharpie.
Spam isn’t something you would take to the office and/or ever worry about it getting stolen (like ever ever ever ever getting stolen) which makes it a great candidate for a secret safe. No one has ever given me a clear answer on what Spam actually is but one thing IS clear -it makes a great hiding spot! 
Tired of all these pantry hiding spots? Let’s head outside and see what we can find. Rocks, that’s it…or is it? The ol’ “I’ll hide the key under the mat” thing just isn’t going to cut it anymore. I mean, EVERYone knows that spot. Introducing the fake rock spare key safe.
There’s only one door mat so its obvious where the key will be at most houses but outside there could be a gazillion rocks- that’s the beauty of this secret safe. Toss your spare key in your fake rock and put in a spot you remember. Easy peazy.
That rock not got you convinced? Okay, how about sprinkler heads? They are something you see in many a yard near the house. A burglar wouldn’t give a sprinkler head a second look but little do they realize that a spare key is cleverly hidden inside.
Just clip your key to the inside of the lid with the provided clip, screw the cap on and bury that sucker in a good spot. Once its in the ground it can stay there and when you need the key just unscrew the top to retrieve it.
Why try to hide your hiding spot anymore than it has to be? Lots of homes have thermometers, right? How about using that to not only get the outside temps but to also hide the ol’ spare house key? The key(s) can be hidden away inside its secret compartment and easily opened when needed.
Moving on from spare house key hidey spots, I’m going to move on to automotive. This next secret storage solution clearly meets the criteria of “hiding in plain sight”. The car/truck hitch safe is an awesome solution for hiding your valuables on your car but not necessarily in your car.
Some items you can stash in there: spare car key, credit card, cash etc. This baby has a 4 digit combo lock and a heavy duty rubber dust cover to conceal and protect the combo dial. Pretty clever.
And just above the hitch one will find, hiding in plain sight, the license plate secret safe. What could be more obvious, yet secret, than the thing everyone looks at when you go by (especially if you have a vanity plate). Put a spare key, credit card or something else small but valuable behind this plate and you’re good to go.
Did I promise I would talk about picture frame hidey spots?! Then here it is, the hidden compartment picture frame with RFID lock. Now this particular model is not only made in America but its construction begins after ordering. Very good looking picture frame and well built.
Okay, so by this point you should feel supremely confident that you can hide your valuables in plain sight. This article just laid out over 30 ideas for cleverly hiding your loot, from cars to the yard to the home.
Despite this healthy list I have to wonder if perhaps there are some that I missed? If you have any devilishly clever hiding spots that I may have missed, I wanna hear about ’em. Leave a comment below for me and everyone else. Its a community, after all!
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