Prepper Hiding Places: The Uncommon

Thinking about different places to hide different items, especially my precious metals and other valuables, I started writting down a list and searching around for info.

If there was someone who broke into your house, often they dont spend alot of time searching through every nook and cranny.

They knock stuff down because they want to see if you have it in obvious hiding places, such as a safe behind a photo or..

Hollowed out books

I know this is common but, I actually tried to hollow out free books i picked up, and it ended up being a success, but there are a few tips i would like to pass along.

• Dont try to use scissors, a knife or exacto knife, you have to cut too many pages, and it takes WAYYYY to long.
• Use a small DREMEL with  just the drill bit or the Multipurpose cutting bit (overall i love my dremel for many different uses)
• Like the photo above after cutting the opening, glue the pages on the inside edge together, but don’t let the glue hit the outer edges (makes it more obvious)
• you can also use Elmers spray glue to spray some loose pages on one side to glue them sticky side down to form a not sticky paper side like in the photo.

PUNCHING BAG

Many bags in garages are old and taped like this.  when they start to split and leak sand, they are either thrown out or taped to hold it together.  What thief, looter or policeman is going to take or look into  a punching bag?

You can cut the top open and put in weapons or bags of silver dimes, then just slap some duct tape on it to look like a repair and stick it in the corner of a garage or storage room.

Look on Craigslist or at garage sales and find a cheap or free busted up used one for this to save money and one that looks old enough to need taping.  There might be the chance you have a thinker in your garage and just may notice that it is strange that you have  a BRAND NEW bag that somehow needed to be repaired. You never know so get a used one!

VHS TAPE

You know those old VHS tapes you have laying around, or that are 10 for $1 at garage sales? Dont throw them away or pass them up, these are prime hiding places!

Take that old VHS tape, and remove the 5 screws holding it together.

You can then remove the reels and have a large (however visible from the reel side) hiding place or

Keep the reels in and remove the guts between them.

Then remove the plastic parts that block the entrance when you flip up to reveal the tape

And now when the Slide shuts you have a VHS tape with some gold coins or whatever you put in there hidden unless you actually push the bottom to open the front!

VASELINE/CREAM JAR

Ok so for this all you need to do is scoop out a bunch of the contents and then wrap your coins or objects in plastic and seal them.  Place them in the middle of the jar and pile the stuff back around it.

DONT slap it on the table to settle it or the corners of whole hidden contents may settle to the side of the jar and youll have to start over.  Place this in say a carboard box with other expired or half used cosmetics or hygiene products so it doesnt look worthwhile to look through.

MACH 3 RAZOR

So Many of the semi-disposable Powered razors that are all the rage recently have a battery slot that opens up to be able to replace the AA battery that powers them.

This leaves an area where you can stash some small objects like loose diamonds, jewels, gram size gold or some folded hundred dollar bills.

This could be placed in a bug out kit or in a Bug out hygiene bag to grab and go, so that you know even if you leave your wallet you still have some cash or portable wealth on hand for getting out of dodge.

BIKE PUMP

A simple bike pump like this Schwinn Bike Pump can be purchase for around $12, or found for cheaper at garage sales.  If one of you get out of dodge vehicles is a bike, this would work especially well, or just have a “pump” in your Bug out Kit.

Just take it apart, shorten the road and remove the piston.  The size of the pump will dictate what you can fit in there, a American Silver eagle is 40.6mm in diameter so maybe a pump with a larger width could be used to stack a bunch in there!

CRAPPY CLAY POTTER PROJECTS

Now i dont mean your kids projects are horrible, they are cute.  I just mean you dont have to get all picasso on it!

You can buy some Polymer Clay at say Michaels or online and mold up some nice sculptures, or even incorporate your kids into it if you want!

You can pack in some objects that wont melt into them before you bake them and then once baked you have a ‘solid’ hiding place

Polymer clay bakes at around 275-300 degrees for as little as 15 minutes

Silver needs a temp of 1763 degrees

Gold at 1850 degrees

Copper (which is common alloy added) takes 1800 degrees

so if you put coins in their you should be fine!

Crayola also makes a “No Bake Clay” product that air dries, not for presentation, but for the job it will do fine!

Stick these in plain sight or put them in a box marked “Kids school projects” Throw in some crayola drawings for effect

NO ONE is going to start breaking open scenes like this to find valuables!

THE FROZEN TURKEY

So alot of people in movies hide stacks of cash in their freezer, so its not exactly a “unknown” hiding place…

HOWEVER

A Frozen turkey will not thought of will it?  Did you when you read this?

After Thanksgiving this will be more economical when the sales ramp up to get rid of inventory.  You could also use one that may have gotten freezer burnt, etc…

Thaw this out int he bag, do not touch it. When thawed…

Take this Turkey and open the metal band holding the mesh outer

Then slice open and area on the bottom big enough to stuff whatever you want through, if there is bone or something else cut through that as well.

Drain the juices or not, either way it doesnt matter.

Stuff whatever you are going to hide inside.  then dry the area with paper towel including the turkey.  Use superglue or hot glue gun to glue the are you slit open shut.

Put the mesh bag on, pinch the clamp shut and then stick it back in the freezer.

You could also cut the bag open if you want (save the bloody juices), stuff what you want in the cavity, and pour those bloody juices back in and keep it upright, wrap the bag around that open end and sit it in the freezer upright.  The cavity will now be solid bloody water and freeze the bag to it.  Stick the un bagged end out, so it gets REAALYY freezer burned and then you have a very un appetizing meal sitting there.  Youll look like a unkept slob, but who cares.

Another Variation would be to buy a bunch of anchovies and mix it with vinegar and mash it up a bit. let it sit out for a bit, so it gets nice and stinky, but not completely rancid.  Then stick whatever you are hiding in the miss and cover it.  Label it something like “Vinegar Pickled Anchovies” and then stick it in the freezer.

WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND IS GOING TO THAW THAT OUT TO EAT IT?

Trashy Yard Water Heater

Ok so we have all seen the pictures of the “stereotypical” trashy redneck yard right? If not here it is…

Now you dont have to go to this degree to hide something.  But if you have a shed out back and few things laying around, this might not seem out of place.

Take an old water heater and disassemble it.  The tank is a HUGE area to cash some stuff (depending on size)

You could put pistols, rifles (make sure they are coated in grease if outside) or whatever you want in there.

For outside you can just lay it down where it doesnt look out of place. Or you could half bury it cover it with leaves and let nature weather it for you, maybe pick up a few other trashy things to pile around it so it looks like your “Out of sight out of mind” pile out back.

Inside the house you could just hook it up to look like its part of the system next to you existing system.  No one will know the difference.

You can pick these up for free if you just watch the classifieds, talk to neighbors, post flyers or look on craigslist “LOOKING FOR OLD WATER HEATER, CONDITION NOT IMPORTANT”

 COMPOST BIN

So most of us have compost piles or bins like this outside our homes.  Before you set it up, or even after (just more work)

Bury some PVC stashes or however you want to stash your stuff underneath the bin itself.  The Bin is stinking, rotting, decomposing stuff, who is going to start poking around it?

If you have farm animals this works even better.

Who is going to go through this horse manure to search for anything?

 PVC PIPE CASH

This is also not “uncommon” but i mentioned it in the last section so i will quickly go over it

All you need for this is

• A piece of Drainage PVC pipe (depending on what you are hiding, there are a multitude of diameters)

• Threaded End with Cap (Of course make sure it corresponds with the pipe!)

• PVC Cement

So all you need to do is basically cement the end cap on one end and then the other.  You can cement shut the threaded cap on one of the ends if you wish….

Then all you do is put in your gear, throw in some dessicant packets to keep moisture out and bury the thing.

NOTE: If you live in the north you cant just bury it, the freezing ground will destroy it so… You have to insulate it, bury it below the permafrost level or just bury it in a open hole and hide the opening.

These work pretty slick, and can fit anything from jewelry to weapons depending on how wide of pvc you buy.

You can pick ALL of this up at your local Home Depot.

If you have your own sewer system, you could even REALLY waterproof the thing and seal it up TIGHT and drop it down in their with a rope attached to pull it up, drop it in a pond, the possibilities are endless.

These are just a few ideas…there are alot of others that are not DIY.

You can buy things like…

ELECTRICAL OUTLET SAFES

SHAVING CREAM CAN SAFES

CANNED VEGETABLE SAFES

These ones have been around for a long time, and in the “Spy” catalogs for decades, but they are still very neat and useful!

Let me know if you have any other ideas! Comment below or email me

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