Five Places to Hide and Hoard Valuables Before SHTF

I use to roll my eyes at my great-aunt Edna, who was one of those people who hid her jewelry in different places around her house. I don’t know, but it just seemed kind of silly, at the time. Then, I really started thinking about it one day, in the context of SHTF happening, and it didn’t seem so silly after all. In a post SHTF world, an epidemic of lawlessness will spread like wildfire. People will not hesitate to plunder and loot other folks’ homes. Now, sure you can defend your home but there will be times when you need to go out yourself to scavenge or what if you’re unable to defend your home. I think the best defense is that there is “nothing worth taking” if people get into your home. So, just like dear, old great-aunt Edna, I will make sure my valuable are hidden where nobody can find them. I also look at it like accruing unconventional “wealth” for when the currency system breaks down after SHTF. Like a squirrel, I’m going to hoard and hide for the long winter ahead.

Ammo is a guaranteed “wealth item” because every household that survives will have a gun or some kind. If they didn’t prepare, they will be looking for ammunition once they run out. So, you can think of it as hard currency to be used if you absolutely need something someone else has like a specific medication or other medical supplies. You need to invest in a few Survival Ammo Cans and stock up on the ammo you need for your firearms and more to barter with. These cans are specifically made to be buried, which is a perfect way to stash them away for the future. Look at your property and decide how many of them you reasonably store underground. Believe me when I say, ammo will become hard currency after SHTF.

Now, really, this hiding place is fairly clever and creative and, when I came across it, I thought, “Yep, that’s a no-brainer.” (Actually, you could use any old appliance that has a compartment you can access. Think computer tower.) No one is going to even give an old upright vacuum cleaner a second look. Just pop off the front cover, where the bag goes, and you have a great space to hide things. You can put it in the back of your closet but make sure you don’t accidentally throw it out. I think this is an excellent place to stash medications and over the counter drugs like pain relievers and antacids. Things like antibiotics and pain killers will be in high demand in a world where you can’t go down to the local pharmacy and get a prescription filled. Also, any daily medications that you take like blood pressure or insulin should be hoarded and hidden away. A note, though, just don’t raise red flags with the authorities while doing it. Be smart about building up your supply of medicine.

People aren’t going to mess with your old paint cans in your garage or storage shed. So, consider investing in some Paint Can Safes. These look exactly like paint cans and have a heavy-duty plastic insert to keep things safely inside. Since, the temperature may not be necessarily controlled where you store the cans, I recommend that you use them to stash your gold and silver items, with the understanding that they may not necessarily continue to retain their value in a post-SHTF world, at first. Just hand onto them, though. Even with the uncertainty, I think gold and silver are still a good bet to accrue, especially coins. Just in case you don’t know or remember, it is before 1964 that U.S. coins were 90% silver.

You know those old VHS tapes you just sorta hang onto. You can now give them a purpose. They make great hiding places because, once again, nobody is going to look at them twice. You can carefully open the tape cases and pull the guts out of them and then put them back together after you cover the holes left by the reels. Then, just slide them back into their outer covers. You can hide any number of small valuables in your collection of old VHS tapes. I actually think they are a great place to hoard away your supply of Barter Seed Packs. It may take some time for these to start rising in value but once the non-perishable food supply runs out, these will trade for anything. People will need to get back in touch with their farming ancestry to survive. Having a stash of heirloom seeds that have a long shelf-life will be like having money in the bank. Hiding them in the VHS tapes will keep them safe from people who take them from you from finding them.

“Hiding in plain sight” is a great way to keep your valuables safe. So that’s what I love about the Wall Plug Safe. A person coming into your home isn’t going to think, “Ooh, I bet there’s something hidden behind that wall plug.” Now, these are relatively simple to install and make great places to store your stock of small batteries because they are not only hidden but easily accessible when you need them. Batteries of all sizes and kinds will be items that folks are gonna want. When electricity is scarce or gone, batteries will power things that people will use to maintain some sense of normalcy after SHTF. They will be a very valuable commodity for quite a while in a post-SHTF world. Folks will want some kind of “power” even if it’s just battery power.