When it comes to storing your jewelry at home, you want to make sure that it is safe and secure from people who want to take what you have.
If you don’t take the necessary precautions, your jewelry could be damaged or stolen by people you would never suspect.
Burglars look for jewelry in common locations, such as dressers, nightstands, and jewelry boxes. If you store your jewelry in these locations, it is more likely that it will be stolen.
The best way to protect your jewelry is to store it in a safe place where burglars are not likely to look for it, such as a diversion safe.
In this blog post, we will discuss some of the safest ways to store your jewelry at home.
So, if you’re looking for some peace of mind when it comes to your jewelry, read on!
Table of Contents
Where Burglars Look For Jewelry First
We’ve been around for a while and have been the victim of a few different types of burglaries.
The worst type of burglary is the “inside job,” where someone you know has knowledge of where you keep your valuables and gives access to a third party so they can take what you have with surgical precision.
The second worst type of burglary is the “smash and grab.”
This is where a burglar breaks into your home, usually through a window or door, and grabs whatever they can get their hands on before running away.
Both of these types of burglaries are terrible, and while we can’t speak for all burglars, we can tell you where the second type look for jewelry first.
The most common places that burglars look for jewelry are:
Dressers
Hello jewelry box on top of the dresser.
Most people keep their valuables in their bedroom because it is the most personal and private space in the house.
Unfortunately, this is also one of the first places that a burglar will look. Burglars will often take the entire jewelry box and make off with whatever they can get their hands on.
Nightstands
Another classic location for a jewelry box.
Nightstands are often located next to the bed, which makes them an easy target for a burglar. If you keep your jewelry in a nightstand, use one with a hidden compartment.
A better solution would be to keep FAKE jewelry here so that burglars will grab a bunch of nothing.
Under The Underwear
Please. Everyone does this.
There are so many movies showing thieves rummaging through underwear and dresser drawers, and for a good reason. A thief is not likely going to carefully open the drawers and gently lift each pile of underwear up to see if there is anything under it.
Nope. Not even close.
They will rip the drawer out and turn it upside down to expose what is in it and then toss it all across the room.
Why would they respect your belongings when they are breaking into your house and violating your privacy in the first place?
You’d be better off just leaving your jewelry on top of the dresser, but they will still look in the underwear drawer, so don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Freezer
In the freezer tucked inside a package of veggies or inside a box of Eggo’s? Sure, like no one does that right? Everyone thinks of the freezer to hide cash, jewelry and drugs in, and a thief who plans to ransack your abode knows it.
Shoes, Boots and Coat Pockets
Shoes, boots and coat pockets.
Well, at least that could keep them busy long enough to get caught if you happen to be a fashionista with a lot of shoes.
A thief is going to go through your things quickly and efficiently and will not take the time to put everything back the way they found it. They are looking for easy targets like jewelry boxes and dressers, so don’t make it easy for them!
Where You Should Not Hide Jewelry
Burglars make it their primary business to know the different areas where people will hide their valuables.
After all, the longer they’ve done it the more experienced they become, and over time they get to see the same mistakes being repeated over and over by their different victims.
Here is the thing. Your valuables are only as safe as the amount of time that a burglar feels they have to find them. The longer they can stay in your house without detection, the more likely they will find your stuff.
Someone know whos you’re going on a trip and wont be back for a few days is the time when your home is the most vulnerable, because thieves will be quite comfortable taking their time to look for things.
You should never hide jewelry in:
- Under the mattress
- In a sock drawer
- In a shoe box
- In a laundry basket
- Behind a picture frame
- On top of a high bookshelf or in soffits
- Inside throw pillows or sofa cushions
- Everyone knows about the toilet tank trick
- Garage tool boxes/garden shed
- And don’t bother with wall safes hidden behind a picture.
How To Store Jewelry At Home Yourself
Unfortunately, once we publicly advertise safe places to hide your jewelry we are now arming someone who has nothing better to do than to sit in their underwear at their computer and research the best hiding places that home owners use.
Many great ideas have been thrown out there over the years, but we have yet to find the perfect solution.
Here are the places that are often suggested to hide your stuff:
- Inside of a Closet
- In a Hollowed Door
- Air Vents
- Inside a Soccer Ball
- Loose Bricks Surrounding a Fireplace
- Wall Outlet Storage
- Wall Baseboards (our favorite)
- Pillows, Clothing, Shoes
- Bathroom Storage (runner up)
All of these ideas are creative and very doable, however, most of them render the actual wearing of your jewelry too much of a hassle to get to.
If you have an expensive jewelry collection, chances are that you want to wear it daily, or at least most of the time.
Getting out your jewelry to do this, in most of these hiding places, would be quite the hassle, and usually people who wear jewelry are putting it on just before they leave the house on a tight schedule.
We love the baseboard trick, because that appears to be the fastest way to retrieve and store your jewelry with only one downfall.
Fire.
If you leave your jewelry in a hidden baseboard compartment and forget to remove it during a house fire then you will likely lose your entire collection. Fire will destroy all jewelry except for perhaps, what is put into a safe for a time.
But hey, no situation is going to be perfect.
This is why we suggest the following:
Diversion Safes
  | ✅ Affordable ✅ Likely to go unnoticed ✅ Available on Amazon ❌ Not Secure ❌ Not Fire/Waterproof |
One of the best ways to protect your jewelry at home is to purchase a diversion safe (Amazon).
A diversion safe is an everyday object that has been hollowed out and can be used to store small valuables.
Diversion safes come in all shapes and sizes and can be anything from a book, to a candle, to a coffee mug.
And the best ones to use will be what thieves value least, such as cleaning materials, a bible, or a history/career book.
Another great thing about diversion safes is that they can be placed anywhere in your house, because they look like any other everyday object. And if a burglar does come across one, chances are they won’t think to open it up and check the contents.
You will have to get creative, because now that this information is out there, it won’t be long before every home has a diversion safe.
Decoy Smart Safe w/ GPS
  | ✅ Affordable ✅ Companion app ✅ Tamper alerts ✅ Available on Amazon ❌ Needs separate GPS ❌ Not Fire/Waterproof |
A decoy safe is one that is not too heavy to move, is locked, and has a bunch of stuff to rattle around inside of it.
The idea of this may work if you don’t tell everyone that you have one.
The burglar will remove the safe to open at a later time thinking they hit the jackpot, and your hidden valuables will have gone untouched.
What we like about Smart Safes is that they connect to your Wifi and will notify you if they are disconnected or opened. Place a GPS device inside, such as the MiniFinder, and voila!
If it is stolen, the police can track it down and send them to Con-College should they still be interested in doing their jobs anymore.
Hopefully you will have had a camera system on during the heist.
Bolted Safe
  | ✅ Fire/water proof ✅ Bolts to floor/concrete ✅ Available on Amazon ❌ Not inconspicuous ❌ Main target for theft |
A bolted safe is the best way to protect your jewelry at home without making it too difficult for you to access.
You can purchase a small, medium, or large sized safe and bolt it down to the floor in a closet or on the concrete slab in your garage.
The only problem with this is that if someone really wants your stuff bad enough they will find a way to get it, but at least they will have to work for it.
Make sure it has at least an hour of fire resistance.
Small Burial Tube
  | ✅ Can be buried in wet environments ✅ Only accessed via excavation ✅ Available on Amazon ❌ Difficult to access ❌ For long-term storage |
Burial tubes come in all sizes and most people like to put their weapons in them. You can buy one of these tubes to bury in your garden area on your property and your jewelry will be safe.
Fire would not be an issue.
Neither would theft.
Just bury it and then put a garden stepping stone on top so you don’t forget where it is. Rotate your jewelry once in awhile.
Oh, and let a trusted relative know where it is just in case you die, or put that location in your living trust.
FAQ’s About Storing Jewelry At Home
Can you store jewelry in plastic bags?
You can store jewelry in plastic bags. However, it is important to make sure that the bag is airtight and that the jewelry is wrapped in something soft so it does not get scratched.
How do you store jewelry without tarnishing?
The best way to store jewelry without tarnishing is to keep it in a cool, dry place. It is also important to keep it away from chemicals, such as hairspray or perfume, and away from humid environments.
Where should you keep your jewelry safe?
You jewelry safe should be kept in a cool, dry place that is out of reach of children and pets. It is also important to make sure that the safe is fireproof, waterproof and that you can get to it in case of an emergency.
Many people put their safes in a locked drawer or closet, or in a hidden location. If you store your jewelry safe in the garage, your neighbors may eventually notice it every time you open the door to get something out of your car.
However, your garage may be the best place to bolt your safe to the concrete so it is more difficult for a burglar to take it with them if they break into your home.
Is it safe to keep jewelry in a bank safety deposit box?
While a safety deposit box is one of the most secure places away from the common criminal, your assets would be at risk from a different type of criminal – the government, and the bank itself.
Should the government decide to confiscate gold again like they did during the Great Depression, your assets would be at their mercy.
So while a safety deposit box is a great option for many people, it may not be the best option for storing precious metals during periods of economic uncertainty.
Safety deposit boxes are also a very inconvenient place to keep your valuables since you have to go to the bank during business hours to access them, if the bank even lets you have access to your things in the first place.
Many banks have been known to close safety deposit boxes during times of financial instability and economic crisis, and refuse access to them even to the rightful owners.
Read the fine print when signing up for one. You will be blown away by what’s in there.
Final Thoughts
The best way to store your jewelry at home is in a bolted safe, or a diversion safe that is disguised as something else. You can also bury your jewelry in a small burial tube on your property for long term storage.
While burglaries are always a concern, the best way to protect your jewelry is to have insurance so that you can replace it if it is ever stolen.
Safes are a great way to protect your valuables from thieves, but they are not foolproof.