Protecting the objects with the most financial or emotional value to us can be very easy if done wisely. With crime statistics showing a dramatic increase of burglaries in the UK, it is vital to be cautious and take extra care of our valuables. Whether you are afraid of becoming a victim of burglary or you want the sneaky hands of your children (or spouse) away from the Christmas gifts, these are some of the best hiding spots:

 1. Hollowed-out books

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Most of the time criminals don’t have enough time to have a reading break while going through your home. Make sure that your library contains a vast number of books, otherwise they may take the time to flicker through them to make sure you don’t use a 20 quid note as a bookmark. A full library will seem like a waste of time and they will look for faster ways of finding valuable items.

2. Buried in the “soil” of a fake plant

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Why would burglars care about your ficus plant, when you have a beautiful jewellery box displayed on your beauty table? You can hide valuable items such as jewellery or money by burying them into the ‘soil’ of a fake plant, and keep the least expensive items in the more obvious places. If you want to use a real plant, it is wise to put the items you’re hiding in a waterproof container, to assure they don’t get damaged.

3. False containers in the kitchen cupboard, under the sink, or in the bathroom

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These can be fake food cans or false cleaning product bottles. It is extremely rare that a criminal would look under the sink cupboard to find items of value, and if they do, a bottle of bleach won’t look very appealing.

4. Wrapped in plastic and aluminium foil and stored in the back of the freezer.

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This is a brilliant way of hiding documents or money as the vast majority of people won’t think of checking the fridge when they are stealing from you, except if what they are looking for is food. This will also provide safety for the documents in case of a house fire.

5. Children’s Room

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One of the most avoided rooms by burglars is the children’s room. For them is just full of useless clutter, therefore they prefer to keep the distance and search the rooms that will usually contain all the valuable items, such as the master bedroom and the living room. You can hide your valuables inside stuffed toys, fake plants, or children’s books. This will become an issue if the children’s room contains more potential value than one of an adult, such as flat screen TV’s, video game consoles and high-tech computers.

Where NOT to hide your valuables

Although they might not seem obvious to you, some hiding spots popularised over the years have become go-to places for burglars to look for. These are some of the worse hiding places that should be avoided at all cost:

1. The underwear drawer

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The popularity of using the underwear drawers as a hiding place for items of value has led to it becoming the worse place to do so. Burglars don’t know the concept of personal space, so they won’t feel any remorse when going through such an intimate area.

2. Under the mattress

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Popularised by films featuring bank robbers, the mattress has been used as a hiding place for money. Today, it is one of the most popular places to search under, in the manual for burglars.

3. In areas that can damage your valuables

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While it might sound like a good idea to use the water tank of a toilet or the inside of a marmite jar (still containing marmite), this could lead to unrepairable damage to your valuables. Make sure to protect the items by putting them into waterproof containers or bags.

4. Purse/Handbag

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The handbag is gold in the eyes of a criminal as it can either contain a wallet, or the resale value of the bag itself can make it a valuable item, thus, it is smart to avoid leaving expensive items inside it.