There are many articles on the internet explaining the best ways to hide your valuables. A lot of ideas seem foolproof or infallible. Under the staircase? Done. In a second fridge? Of course! However, one of the most ironic parts about reading these articles is yes, burglars can read those articles, too.

After some research, I compiled some of the best places to keep your house safe. Why are these the best places? Because despite knowing “where” these safe places are, even the most experienced burglars will have trouble finding your safe, either due to the discrete location or physical limitations.

Best Places to Hide Your Safe

The criteria for handpicking these locations were determined after deciding upon two things. One, the location must be indistinguishable, or two, the location must be inaccessible under a time crunch. Some of these safe places fall under both criteria while others fall under one or the other. Note that while an option might fall under both criteria, that option might not necessarily be better or worse.

Locations which Fit Both Criteria

• In the floor, under FURNITURE (not just a carpet)
o I don’t just mean under a sofa. This location could be under your television stand, under a carpet that’s under your bed, or even under a bookshelf. Anything heavy will work.

• Behind a vent
o While this location is a bit more on the obvious side, it’s still a roulette for the burglar if they don’t have a detailed map of where all your vents are. How are they supposed to know which vent you swapped out? Bolt the vent shut while you’re at it to make it more difficult to access.

Indistinguishable Locations

• In the floor (carpet optional)
o If you have to get to your safe more often than not, a floor safe is still a viable option when it’s not under heavy furniture. Get creative with where you install the floor safe.

• In a book
o Only use this option if you have a lot of books. Flipping through every book takes time.

• In a bathroom tile
o Bathroom tiles are great because they’re all the same. If you forget which tile you’re using as a safe, even you might have trouble finding it again.

Inaccessible Locations with Limited Time

• Behind a heavy piece of furniture (bookshelves are common)
o While this is a classic, there’s still a huge hurdle for burglars to overcome. How do they get the bookshelf out of the way? This option is even better if you don’t use a bookshelf because then it’s not as obvious.

• In a room
o When I say this, I mean having an entire room dedicated to your house safe. If you choose to build a room, you can beef up the door as much as you like or make special installments for security. This is easily the most expensive option, but if you build the room properly, the chances of being robbed drop to almost zero.

Summary

Finding a suitable location for your house safe can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. By using the criteria above, a burglar will have a much harder time stealing what’s important to you.