This thread is categorized under Personal Considerations.

Preparation includes stocking up on things, some of which may be things of value. There has also been discussion about the potential for theft increasing, perhaps dramatically, as a result of Y2K and the general concern that may lead folks to put cash under the proverbial mattress, for example.

Perhaps some of you have given thought to hiding places and the how to aspect involved. If you have considered this, then how about some dos and donts that might be helpful for others that are also preparing and may need to deal with this?

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), July 16, 1999

Answers

Call this more HTML practice, too (Sorry Rob)

1. Determine what it is you are trying to protect against.

a. Prying eyes

hide in drawer, under matress, in cupboard or pantry, in #10 can (disguised as beans?)

b. Determined thief, before rollover

behind false wall, behind books, in bookcase in book cover,

c. Determined raid, post Y2K

item not on property or item in hidden safe

d. Confiscation

2. Determine other possible enemies of your stash.

a. Fire -- a biggie

buried, fireproof safe

desicant, sealed outer wraps

-- de (delewis@inetone.net), July 16, 1999.

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-- yup (did@it.again), July 16, 1999.

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-- , (,@,.,), July 16, 1999.

Chubby hubby is a gun collector. So we have a VERY large gun safe. It is fire proof. But also within the safe is another small safe and cash, papers and jewelry are in that. This whole thing is behind a false wall. Hidden in a closet where a burglar with half a brain would look, is another safe with a bunch of papers, some jewelry and about $2500 in cash. That is the safe for "the gun at the head" move. HOpefully if they find that and get it, they will be convinced that is all we have. Re preps...unfortunately they are not hidden. I have taken a bedroom which happens to be the coolest room in the summer and warmest in winter, and that is where all the food is. 500 gallon diesel tanks are above ground,but are located in an open pole barn in such a manner that one would have to really look for them. The 40kw generator is on a back porch that is enclosed on three walls and has potted trees in the front of it. Exhaust goes through the roof. Has the super dooper silencer on it and sounds like an idling car. We will use it only during the day and NEVER have electric lights running at night. WHATEVER OUR NEIGHBORS DO, SO WILL WE. We will pump water and fill jugs for neighbors. But that will be from a 5kw generator that is plugged into pump. The big generator is also wired in,but you can't see that. My biggest fear of having such a generator is that the county/state or fed gubmint would decide they need it more than we. We had to pull an electrical permit to install. No one else is going to steal it. Its weighs two ton and came in on a crane. I think its important that you look and act like everyone else. If they are going up to the corner to get cheese and rice from a gov't truck, so am I. I will not go where there could be a riot but after the dust settles and there are some routines, then I will go and stand in lines with my neighbors. We will drive vechicles at a minimum. We have bicycles. We have a HUGE lawn...like almost two acres.. and it will not get mowed. We will let the donkeys out there to eat. We will show no signs that we are better prepared than our neighbors, other than I have a really good medical kit put together ( three 5 gal buckets) and will make myself available for first aid, minor surgery, injuries etc. I think its important to become a tree so that they cannot see the forest.!!

Taz...who is getting burnt out just contemplating all this stuff!

-- Taz (Tassie@aol.com), July 16, 1999.

The one place I have never cleaned is the roof space.I guess its because it is so dirty.We live in old house & the cobwebs look as though they were started as soon as the roof was put on in 1838.

I defy any burglar to even want to search the back end of any roof truss up there just in case there might be something of value hidden there.Besides which they would have to be pretty slim to get through the hatch anyway.

PS.If you don't have yards of cobwebs in your roof,go to the local joke or toy shop & ask for them in a spray can.

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), July 16, 1999.

But Chris...what about fire???

-- Taz (Tassie@aol.com), July 16, 1999.

a book about hiding stuff

-- number six (iam_not_a_number@hotmail.com), July 16, 1999.

But Taz! $2500 in the diversionary safe? Gosh, don't you think $500 would be enough for the ones robbing you?

Maybe you could leave the safe open and empty and explain you were already robbed...

Sorry. I guess one would have to put enough there to make them think it is your main stash. It's just one of my little jokes pre-GI was "Well, if I can't get my money out of the bank I guess they can keep all $5.00 of it..." (Could be a post-GI joke, too, but I haven't been kidding around too much.)

Seriously, sounds like you are well prepared and I'm glad for you. Take care,

-- winter wondering (winterwondering@yahoo.com), July 16, 1999.

This is a good question and I've wondered myself, not so much about money but other 'valuables' like wood, propane, gas cans etc. It seems to me any preps outdoors will be taken. (I live in a suburban area in the northeast)That's why I have not bought anything 'obvious' like a generator or large propane tank. Planning to store smaller tanks that are not supposed to go in the house (anyone clear on if it's OK to put propane cannisters, 20 lb or so, in the basement) in the storage shed out back but can't see that these things will last long there.

Has anyone considered burying their money/valuables? I am thinking of wrapping money in a few ziplocs, putting it in a plastic container, then a few more ziplocs & picking a tree near the back fence/field behind the house. I wouldn't keep everything out there, just use it for my "bank". I read a lot of mystery books and they always say a good thief finds it laughably easy to discover where homeowners hide their money.Right now I have money under the bottom of my sewing machine (where you tilt the sewing apparatus up to do oiling/repairs) but it seems that outside would be the place to be for safety from fires & theft, also (maybe) to fetch or come back for if you had to leave home quickly.

I think the idea about a more obvious storage place in the house for part of your stash is a good one.

Thanks for bringing this question up!

-- Deb (deb@*wonderland*.com), July 16, 1999.

I REALLY don't think it is a good idea to burry your money in ziplocks in the back yard. Unfortunatly, neither do I have a better idea (not for city/urban dwellers anyway. I have a hard time thinking about city people, I'm afraid for you.

We are keeping (and always have) our money in a large safe, bolted to the floor, hidden in a false wall, behind a large book shelf that has a hinged opening for access. We keep most of our guns under lock and key, but if the 'powers that be' take all of our guns, we still have 3 hidden in a place they will never find them (unless they have exray vision of some kind.)

Well Taz, its sounds like you are coming right along. I am so glad someone else will be around when the dust settles. Do you have children? If so what are thier ages? Maybe we could arrange a marrage between my 7 yr old boy or my 5 yr old girl for the future. (ha ha)

-- bulldog (sniffin@around.com), July 16, 1999.

Deb: I talked to my propane guy about converting my suburban from gasoline to propane - with a smallish tank in the rear. NO WAY he said. He stated that he used to keep a picture on his office wall of a car that had blown up(along with the lady owner). She had a small tank in the trunk(gas grill size) which apparently had a leak. The gas rises,apparently went through the back seat area, and when she opened the door and the overhead light came on, the whole thing exploded and she was killed. I decided against the propane conversion. He said to NEVER have a propane tank anywhere in a home.

-- jeanne (jeanne@hurry.now), July 16, 1999.

I was thinking about putting stuff down in the bottom of the goldfish pond. Lots of plants and an attack trained turtle. I just need to find a good waterprof container. Also under the compost pile. I think it would be best to have several hiding places inside and outside. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

-- Homeschooling Grandma (mlaymon@glenn-co.k12.ca.us), July 16, 1999.

Silly ideas off the top.Under the chicken shed/dog kennel/in a bird nesting box/inside a false meter box on an outside or inside wall.

Taz, Good point about fire risk.Most of our valuables are books & Ms & odd pieces of furniture.At last count we have three fire extinguishers but we wouldn't risk our lives for something that can be replaced.

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), July 17, 1999.

A few ideas...

 If you have solid-core interior doors, or your doors have thick enough sidewalls, remove the hinge from the door, use a Dremel to carve a channel into it between the screw holes (being careful to NOT go all the way through; might wanna test-drill to determine max. safe depth) and slip coinage into the channel. Reattach the hinge. Poof, a readily-accessible hiding spot for MANY ounces of precious metals in coin form that even metal detectors would be thrown by (read: The detector would go nuts near the hinges, just as they'd expect.)

 Do the hinge trick on the door jamb side as well to double the stash limit.

 Another trick for a Dremel and a steady hand... Remove a baseboard that's broad enough and in an oddball, hard-to-get-to area, and route a pocket into it. Another many many ounces of stash that could be goten by ripping off the baseboard. Throw off metal detectors by stashing metal objects (Brass rods work very well) in the walls throughout the house. Drive the detector insane and make it impossible to find the treasure through the junk.)

 If you have a few disposable fire extinguishers, discharge one totally while trapping as much of the powder as possible and unscrew the nozzle assembly. Don't dispose of the remaining powder. Slip in coinage wrapped in duct-taped cloths to prevent rattles, and the captured powder, and repressurize the extinguisher with an air compressor so it behaves like an almost-dead one. Stash in plain sight.

OddOne, who was pretty good at hide-and-seek...

-- OddOne (mocklamer_1999@yahoo.com), July 17, 1999.

The top rail of my chain link fence is full of currency and gold and silver coin.

Also several ordinary looking old paint cans in my basement are full of silver coin.

The metal exterior of these hiding places helps neutralize metal detectors.

-- notmy (notmy@usual.handle), July 18, 1999.

(1) If you are worried about someone searching, and you have an outhouse, the obvious place to discourage the search is in a waterproof container (or two, nested) buried at the bottom of the outhouse pit... If you have very small children, perhaps in the bottom of a diaper pail.

(2) In a ground safe...outside, preferably under a thorny bush, such as a rose bush.

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), July 19, 1999.

Y2K, ` la Carte by Dancr near Monterey, California

Leave some of the paint in the paint can, so even if they do open it, they may not pour it out.

I was thinking of getting a U-Stor-It locker in November or earlier if things get too funky, and moving some of our larger consumer goods to there... a big screen TV, some computers, stereo... They may be safer there (though I realize that under ordinary circumstances they are subject to thieves).

This might help in cultivating that "already been robbed" look. If the power stays off for weeks, it will be easier to sell stuff (to folks who think all will soon be back to normal) if it's closer to town. In that case, we wouldn't want it in our home anyway, since it would just be taking up room.

I also thought it would help to have travelers checks. These would be almost as negociable as cash, and a few of them would signal to thieves that one does not have additional larger sums on hand. I'd not have but a small amount able to be found, since I may not be able to cancel them out if they're stolen, if I can't reach the bank by phone.

-- HideDancr (addy.available@my.webpage.neener.autospammers--regrets.greenspun), July 21, 1999.

not meaning to offend anyone but my mother has kept her jewelry in a kotex box for years... we had our entire house ransacked, all drawers, closets, bedding... everything, even a toy safe, one year and they never found the goods... not to be sexist, but few men are interested in these types of products and will most likely avoid searching the box... of course, the goods must be lightweight in nature... fyi...

-- booann (cantsay@lovemyjob.edu), July 22, 1999.

Y2K, ` la Carte by Dancr near Monterey, California

A problem with the kotex/tampon hiding place is that in a bad Y2K situation, these products may be quite valuable in themselves.

-- LiteDancr (addy.available@my.webpage.neener.autospammers--regrets.greenspun), August 03, 1999.