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What Are the Best and Worst Things to Keep in a Home Safe?
See whether birth certificates, cash and other items should be locked away
Not everything belongs behind lock and key. Learn which valuables, documents and keepsakes are worth storing in a home safe and which should stay elsewhere.
Pete Ryan
Key takeaways
- Home safes can protect valuables and important documents from theft and natural disasters, depending on their features.
- Good candidates for a home safe include hard-to-replace documents, emergency cash and family heirlooms.
- Large amounts of cash, pearls, perishables and frequently used items generally should not be stored in a home safe.
In the past, many Americans stored their valuables in safe-deposit boxes. My dad’s safe-deposit box, for example, contained some old coins, his birth certificate, his Army discharge papers and a distant relative’s gold fillings. But with many banks shuttering their brick-and-mortar locations, safe-deposit boxes are becoming harder to find.
Increasingly, people are opting for home safes to protect their valuables and important documents from theft and natural disasters. Home safes are more convenient than bank safe-deposit boxes because they offer around-the-clock access. They also offer a range of features and come in a variety of sizes, styles and prices.
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But not everything deserves a spot in a home safe. Here’s a look at the things you generally should and should not store in one.
The best items to store in a home safe
Documents that are difficult to replace. If lost or stolen, original birth certificates, property deeds or insurance policies could take weeks or even months to replace.
Digital storage devices. USB drives, external hard drives and even old smartphones may contain important personal data or digital documents that make them worth keeping under lock and key. Home safe manufacturers recommend putting silica gel packets inside the safe to reduce humidity, which can damage such devices.
Emergency cash. If a natural disaster shuts down ATMs and credit card payment systems, you’ll want to have cash on hand to pay for necessities. Cash sealed in a safe is also useful if your wallet is stolen and you need money for food or other essentials.
Valuable jewelry. Rings, necklaces, watches, gemstones and other valuable jewelry are often among the first things burglars seek out. Consider storing them in a home safe with a strong security rating to reduce the risk of theft.
Family heirlooms. Photo albums, yearbooks, letters, military medals and other family heirlooms may not be coveted by thieves, but if they have sentimental value, you’ll want to protect them from fires, floods and other disasters. One way to shield them is to store them in a fireproof, waterproof home safe.
The worst items to store in a home safe
A large amount of cash. While keeping some cash for emergencies in your home safe is a good idea, you probably shouldn’t store more than $1,000, because cash stored in a safe is not insured. That means if a burglar cracks your safe or a natural disaster destroys it, the money is gone for good. Funds kept in an FDIC-insured bank account, by contrast, are protected up to $250,000.
Pearls. Many home safes are humidity-controlled to protect papers and electronics, but pearls need moisture to maintain their quality, so storing them in a dry environment could cause them to deteriorate.
Perishables. While it’s a good idea to keep an emergency supply of food and water in your home, a safe’s sealed environment accelerates spoilage.
Frequently used items. Your work laptop, wallet or other things you use throughout the day are poor candidates for storing in a home safe, since frequently opening and closing a safe can wear down its mechanisms.
How to choose the right home safe
Once you’ve determined the items you want to store, identify the home safe features you need, such as fire resistance, water resistance or burglary protection. Do you prefer a freestanding safe you can take with you to a future home or one that can be installed in a wall? Are you looking for a safe with an open space or one with shelving, drawers and specialized compartments? How much storage capacity do you need?
Pay particular attention to the type of lock. The mechanical combination locks we grew up with — the ones with a rotating dial — are still in use today, but there are also key-based locks, digital keypads, biometric locks (such as fingerprint scanners) and dual-lock systems.
Ultimately, the right safe provides enough room for your valuables while offering the level of security and disaster protection that best matches your needs.
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