While I’ll never stop believing that skills trump stuff when it comes to prepping, there is no way around the fact that prepping also requires at least some degree of storage space. Few people really want to live in a home that would qualify to be on the cover of Hoarding Weekly, right? But, it is a sad fact that we often run out of storage space well before we’ve socked away all the supplies we’d like to have on hand. That’s where hidden storage comes in handy.
That’s when you need to get creative!
A large plastic tote can contain quite a bit of canned goods and other supplies. Cover it with a nice tablecloth or throw blanket and it turns into a footrest or coffee table in the living room. Â
If you have a need for hiding cash or documents, slip it behind framed photos or certificates. I doubt many burglars are looking to nab pictures from your trip to Disneyland or your kid’s kindergarten graduation certificate.
Bulk Storage
Most of us have some sort of bulk storage in our homes already. Often, this is in the basement or the attic. Even apartment dwellers are usually given some space for storing boxes of clothing and such. Pack a few boxes with your emergency supplies, then label the boxes as “Grandpa’s suits” or something similar. You might even go so far as to pack a bit of old clothing at the top of the box, in case someone gets nosy. If you want to get really sneaky, mark each of those “special” boxes using a certain color or put a small smiley face on a corner of the box. This way, it will be easy enough to find your supplies should you need to do so in a hurry.
Basement Storage
Another possibility is to hide a few things in the air vents that run through the basement ceiling. Remove one of the air vents on the side of the duct and place your goodies inside. Be careful, though, that you don’t add so much stuff that you inhibit air flow. Â
While you’re in the basement, you may also see one or two long runs of large diameter PVC pipe. Casual observers probably won’t notice one more run of the same size pipe. Affix screw on caps to both ends and use it to store canned goods and such, then hang it from the joists using the same or similar hardware as is used on the other pipes already there.
Bedrooms and Closets
Storing items under beds is always a possibility, though I doubt it could be considered all that “hidden.” For this purpose, avoid the plastic tray type boxes that have small wheels on them. They work well for light items like shoes but if you start adding in canned goods and other heavier objects, they might not hold up very well over time.
A location few people ever think to observe is right above the door inside a closet. Often, this is just empty space. Consider installing a shelf there. While it won’t afford you a ton of space, every little bit helps.
Closets are another place you could use the mislabeled boxes we talked about earlier. Who is really going to want to snoop in a box labeled Mom’s old love letters?
Advanced Hidey Holes for Hidden Storage
If you are somewhat handy with tools, you could add one or two baseboard heat vents to a room. Take a picture of one of your existing heat vents and head to your local home improvement store. Purchase a new vent cover that looks the same as the ones at home. Cut a hole in the wall, making sure the vent cover will fit over it first, stash your supplies inside, then attach the cover to the wall. You can do the same with an electrical outlet cover. It would take a thief an awfully long time to double check that every outlet in the house isn’t concealing a small hiding place.
Another suggestion is to create your own customized hiding places when you’re doing any remodeling. A false wall can be installed inside a closet, for example, or you can create excellent hiding places beneath staircases. Built in bookcases can conceal large areas for storage, and even an entire secret room can be built given enough planning, and likely, a bit of extra cash.
Now, some of these storage solutions aren’t meant for supplies that need to be rotated frequently or that are subject to temperature changes. Be careful and make sure the storage solution will be a good match for what is going to be stored in that location. As well, document what you’ve hidden and where. You would hate to sell your house, only to remember later that you had stashed money or other valuables in places long forgotten.
Be careful of active heating ducts – anything you place in there could be cooked during the heating season.
Otherwise soem good, basic ideas. Of course, snoops might now be looking for the “smiley faces” on those off-color bins full of suits 😉
Yes, Karl, you certainly wouldn’t want to store perishables in a heat duct. I guess I assumed a little bit of common sense would prevail upon those who chose to explore that option as a hiding place for goodies.
Awesome.had no clue to several of them
Manufactured homes, park models and RV’s often have significant hidden space below and beside drawers and cupboards.
An excellent article, and good suggestions! we bought several large tubs to clean up a storage room, which the cats took over and now have a lot of fun playing in. we also used some shelves in another back room to store extra pantry items and storage foods.
– i do use my stock, so whatever is about to expire, gets used first in meals. i add to my stock each week when i do my shopping. so not only do i stock, but i have foods we actually like and eat! I rotate what i buy for variety in our meals, and i dive into the $1 sales shelf and the clearance area at the Dollar General store!
– we bought a large shelf for our dining room, to utilize the extra space we aren’t using, and i was able to take 99% of the kitchen clutter away. there were appliance hidden, and even one broken, but i wasn’t aware due to the clutter!
– we found several space in our mobile home for hiding things, including a small safe! the safe is fire proof, and i love having things tucked away!
That pvc tube cache idea is awesome, great also if your area frequently floods as with tight washers/end caps it should be both air and water tight.
I have friends who were remodeling their bathroom when the honest contractors brought them a handful of gold coins that had been taped to the underside of the sink. The previous owners had no idea where they came from, either. So don’t forget your stash 😉
Consider remodeling your stairs into drawers. There is a ton of wasted space.
I keep jars of coins in a hollow tree stump. Just no fo
large diameter PVC pipe sealed at both ends in the crawl space or basement of a house at an angle from floor to ceiling can be a storage area for firearms, ammo or silver coins.
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I put two buckets in a corner,covered with a pretty piece of material from a garage sale and put a nice plant on top.No one’s the wiser. Huge bookcase placed at angle in a corner hides bucket of 3 wks worth of food.We recently rented an old house and are still finding wonderful hiding places.My son stepped on a board in his bedroom only to find it loose,pulled it up and found that a 9mm and a box of ammo fit perfectly in there.Cash behind picture frames.Painted old bottles to look like they have colored water in them to hide “surprise defense objects”.Velcro under desks hold up knives.Stuffed animals from garage sale hold small handgun and ammo.
Mounting a mirror on the wall will gain lots of storage space. Cut a section of drywall out smaller than the mirror – add some small blocking(shims are fine) for mounting the mirror to this. Using a french cleat system you can make the mirror cover piece easy to remove but nobody will know it’s covering your stash. In the open space between the studs you can put shelves to stack items or you can make pvc pipe containers with strings attached & looped over hooks near the opening. This way you can drop items all the way to the base plate, just don’t make your pvc tubes bigger than what will fit in & out of the opening! Any container that will fit in the opening can be stashed here. Sealed food containers for cash, medicine, personal protection items, etc.
Using the space in/under your stairs, be careful what you put here! You still want to be safe, nothing that may combust! Stairs are required by building codes to have the underside covered in drywall in case of fires. This is to protect the stairs so you can use them to get out!
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