hiding a house key (tank, stone, pipe, building)

[camrynh]

In our previous house, I hid a key to our shed in one of those magnetic boxes under the car. In the shed was a mounted combination lockbox, where the house keys were kept. We don't have a shed at the new house and haven't figured out where to put a spare key yet.

[Hopes]

Ages ago, we kept our key on a nail inside the door frame of our garage attic. You couldn't see it. You had to reach around to feel for it.

That didn't work out too well because I always forgot to put it back and it wouldn't be there when I was locked out.

For that reason, no hiding space would truly work for me!

We decided to go the neighbor route. We've had each other's keys for 14 years. Never had a problem.

There are many other conveniences to the neighbor having a key.

We will walk and feed each other's dogs we notice each other's families haven't returned home. Take the mail inside when on vacations.

Remember you left the stove on? A key in the flower pot isn't going to turn off the stove for you!

[oldhousegirl]

Put key in ziplock bag. Hide in earth, plants or somewhere naturey. Have extra house key in car, in change container - that may work.

[TFW46]

I have extra keys inside my locking gas cap. I really like it but, of course, you cant use it on newer cars that have a gas-cap-opener-lever inside the car.

I also have house keys inside what looks like a yard sprinkler head (available at ThinkGeek :: Stuff for Smart Masses and other places):


http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/texasfirewheel/sprinkler_hide_a_key.jpg (broken link)

[kodaka]

I just don't use my push-turn lock at all, and I haven't in years, so there's no in-grained habit that might lead me to accidentally lock myself out.

I rely on my deadbolt only. I've always had the 'jimmy proof' locks with interlocking cylinder action which is plenty of security. Anyone who can get past that deadbolt certainly isn't going to be stopped by a flimsy little push-turn lock on a doorknob. Since the deadbolt can only be activated by deliberate action, I don't have any risk of accidentally locking myself out.

I've always lived in apartments with indoor access, so an outdoor hiding space is never an option for me. But the best outdoor hiding space I've seen is along a lit pathway. The lights completely blinded the observer so they couldn't see the key at all. Of course the key was hidden such that it wasn't visible during the day either.

[NY Annie]

<sigh> going out to dig up the fake sprinkler head before the snow gets too deep

[aa6660]

When we first bought our house, the doors locked behind us a few times. Trust me, you get locked out one too many times in your pjs with no makeup on out in the country and you start taking action. (Thankfully I had given a key to my parents who were just 20 minutes away if I could locate someone with a phone.) First we changed all the locks on the house. Then we decided to stash a key outside. We hid it in the dog house. We have two large dogs that do not like strangers at all. If someone was so desperate to get in our house that they would enter our yard with the dogs and then go so far as to get down on their hands and knees to reach inside the dog box to grab the spare key, then I guess they would probably be the type that would be getting in no matter what.

[South Jersey Styx]

I kept a spare house key in my backyard-- in a tiny jar in a giant bowl of clam shells stacked among a bunch of other garden pots and equipment.
The other thing I've done as someone already mentioned, was a spare key hidden in my office.

[iamnoteddie]

Originally Posted by littlelou

Do you do it?

Can I get some suggestions?

I live in a small rental house that has 2 doors, and of course 2 different keys. the front door has the lock in the doorknob and a dead bolt and I went outside to put something in my trunk (so I had the keys in my hand) and locked the knob. I don't know why, never done that before when I run outside to check the mail, sweep the sidewalk, etc.

It scared the crap out of me, the thought of being locked out. The Realty Company I lease from has a pass key, but getting them afterhours would be close to impossible probably. I don't feel comfortable giving a neighbor a key, that's creepy to me, but a friend who lives about 1 hour away has one, as do my best friend and niece - both out of town.

Is it possible to get these two keys on a ring and keep them in your pocket? Is it possible to walk outside without having the door lock?

[Grainraiser]

Every since I locked myself out the house during a rain storm I have kept a hidden key. I keep mines in the backyard buried in the flower bed in a empty 35 mm film canister. I prefer to hide the front door in the backyard so when I retrieve it no one sees me. I also keep a copy of my car key in my wallet. It has save my bacon more than once.