Now I know I've lost it!!

Everything of value is in the safe and the house protected by CCTV.

Amenhotep that's awful. Apart from losing precious possessions, it's the thought of someone going through your things that leaves you feeling violated. I'm so, so sorry.

We were burgled last week and the thieves looked in every place imaginable including all your suggested ones. All my jewellery has gone, my Mum's, Grandma's etc I now have nothing to leave to my daughter. Wherever you hide stuff they, if determined, will find it. They washed everything they touched with all my cleaning products so, no forensic. How mean can anyone be??

As I said before I have a safe but DH would hide cash all over the house. Since he died I have found cash in various places, inside coats, inside books, an envelope taped to the underside of a table and hidden inside the plinth of the kitchen cabinets.

Booked a holiday to Portugal years ago, knew exactly where my passport was as always kept it in file with other important papers.Stupidly didn't go to get it until the evening I was going - not there!! Ransacked the house in a very short time, didn't find it. Taxi arrived for airport, I had to send him away. Had to cancel holiday. 2 months later I found it by accident underneath my jewellery box on the chest of drawers. I have never ever put anything there before, I swear it was OH but he denied it of course.

In the freezer .

I have found things I had hidden in the freezer, fridge and microwave before!

Try laundry bin , amongst dirty things you didn't wash before going on holiday.

Oh this happens to me when I go on holiday. I find a safe place to hide my jewelry and when I return I can't remember where it is. I have also tried code words and then have no idea what they are. I liked the tip about taking a photo which is what I'm going to do this year.

I too totally forget my hiding places I thought I was the only dizzy person I have written coded clues, last year it just said pretty scarf I had NO idea what that was about and crossed it out in my diary until much later when I had given up looking and the penny dropped

It reminds me my ex used to keep me very short of money and was always nicking what bit I had, anyway one day fed up with having no food money I hid what I had in a tampax box in a plastic sealed bag in the cistern
.......Yes you ve guess it, it disappeared I swear that man could smell money

Perhaps as a present to yourselves you should have a safe somewhere in the house. It doeskin have to be particularly expensive or strong but at least you would remember where it is and if you always put everything in it would find them. We have one and its a blessing. As soon as I get back I put my passport in it with my health card and then take my keys & cards out and put them in my handbag.

Why don't you write down where you've hidden it in your diary And take taint with you. Xxx

Ha Chris cross I would know lol. I did Pitmans shorthand!!!People of a certain age could read it. Very unlikely though....good idea x (and as you know the cross is a full stop not a kiss) he he

What a great list of suggested hiding places, I would never have thought about most of these! Also the suggestion about taking a photo on your phone, so you can find that 'safe place' again.

I see the cards have now been found, but my first thought was ask a burglar where are the obvious hiding places!

Craftycat - this sounds like exactly the sort of thing that I would do. I have lost count of the times have hidden something in a 'safe place' only to forget,sometimes within hours where that place was! What I do now is keep a small notepad in my handbag and make a ' cryptic' note of where I have hidden something. But be reassured that it's highly unlikely a burglar has taken it. They wouldn't have the pin number to use it,plus if YOU can't find it in your own house,is it very likely that a thief would have had an inkling of where to look?!

My mum once hid her diamond ring before going away. Then forgot where, and she thought she had lost it. It was years before we found it in the bottom of the sugar jar, which had of course been topped up many times without ever being empty.

About 25 years ago we had £1000 in cash to pay a workman. Just couldn't find it when he came for payment. (It was in the ironing basket.) So embarrassing. We've given up hiding stuff now, as we so often forget on return home! As regards credit/debit cards, when we go to USA to see our family, we simply tell the bank what we're doing, so they can identify suspect activity on the accounts. As for the rest, we leave things as usual. I think it's a good idea to leave a small amount of cash (say £25, in an envelope) in an "obvious" place, like by the phone. If a burglar came, they'd certainly pocket it and they might then leave....
Oh, and last year I came home and found £100 in my knicker drawer - still can't remember when that was put there!

Many years ago, when the children were small, I used to hide my Family Allowance book when we went away. We then had some money to live on when we got back. One year I forgot where I had put it and we had to manage until next pay day. 6 months later I found it and was delighted at all the money due. Though I can't remember what we did with it.

After being burgled once, I am neurotic about hiding valuables. It drives my DH to despair when we get home and he sees me wandering from room to room with a perplexed look on my face. I did hide a bank book behind a very heavy full length curtain and had to go through all the rigmarole of getting a new one. I've also hidden things by putting everything in an old handbag on a shelf with lots of others. But having read this post, I've now got some new ideas for places to hide things and ways in which I can remember where I've left them. Hope there are no burglars on Gransnet or we'll all be doomed!!!

Love the tips for hiding places !! but like you, I have a head like a sieve and can't find things I have 'put somewhere safe' for weeks !! Maybe I should take everything with me ...! Great ideas thankyou !

Years ago, Mum hid her housekeeping money in the washing machine---yes, you've guessed. She couldn't think why the clothes were covered in bits of paper. The bank was very helpful and said to look for the silver strips from the notes, then they examined them and refunded most of the money!

We hid the silver somewhere several years ago, and still haven't found it. Keep thinking: if we go away again we might as well leave it wherever it is. I think we'd have noticed a burglary.

I have a false Heinz Baked Beans tin with a loose bottom which I fill with rings, keys and cards and keep with all the other tins in the larder. Trouble is, when I return home from 3 months in Oz, I can never remember that I have done this and go into panic mode until realisation dawns.....

I always hide my cards but one year could NOT remember where. Cards cancelled new library card and nectar card ordered. I found them at Christmas when I took out my box with my lists and the Christmas cards I had kept to reply to ( never did of course!). What a good idea to take a pic ,I'll do that this year definitely .