Outside storage for spare house key?

[razz]

Having moved into a new house, I am concerned about having a spare key stored outside somewhere inconspicuous.

What has worked for you over the years? l have always had neighbours with whom I exchanged keys but did get locked the one holiday when all were away. Only time I locked myself out, of course.

[meri]

We have the key in a little plastic box under a rock in nearby park. Additionally there couple of knick-knacks and copy of the official form stating that ... the box you have found is a Geo-cache ... blah blah ... of course it's not registered as a geo-cache but just in case someone would actually look under that rock for whatever reason ... . Fortunately we never needed the key from there.

[lmerullo]

They make fake things to store a key - my friend has hers in a sprinkler head. I have seen rocks, too. My only thought there is that if they make them for the public, then a thief would know about it and be looking for the hiding places.

My dh has used a magnetic key box to put our spare house keys into the gutter of the garage (a separate building).

My mom has an electronic keypad on her garage door, and then the house key is hidden on a shelf in the garage in a fake can of oil.

[Miss Cellane]

One place I lived had an aluminum storm door. I used a piece of duct tape, which was the same color as the door, to stick a spare key on part of the closing mechanism for the door. Worked so well that several months later I went to check on the key and thought it and the duct tape were gone! Then I realized the duct tape was still there, it was just the same color as the metal piece it was on. And if anyone noticed it, it looked like a cheap repair job, not a key hiding place.

[ctg492]

My son has a combo lock on his hitch with the key stored in it. I put one in a zip lock bag and bury it in the back yard.

[awakenedsoul]

I usually climb through the front window. (They are the old schoolhouse windows from the 40's.) I can't tell you how many times I've done it...at least seven. (usually in my pajamas!) The boy across the street, (who has spent time in jail) has seen me do it, too. I figure with two German shepherds, no one else is going to try and break into my cottage.

My parents used to keep a hide a key in their backyard. My brother's ex girlfriend knew about it, and one day she let herself into the home . She went upstairs to my dad's dresser, wrote herself a check for $2,000. and cashed it. She ended up going to jail. I'm very cautious about hide a keys.

[Miss Cellane]

When I was in grad school, I housesat for a lot of professors as a way to save money. I also pet-sat on the weekends for still more professors. At one time, I realized I knew where the spare keys were for at least 10 professors at the university. And since many of them lived in small clusters around the campus, and were friends, and stored spare keys for still other professors who were their neighbors, I could have probably broken into the homes of 5-10 more.

The hiding places I remember were:

Hanging on a hook inside the wooden bin that held the trash cans next to the driveway
Under an empty flower pot in the garage
At the bottom of a box of ratty old towels used for the dogs, stored in the garage
A front door key hanging on a hook inside the storm door of the back door
In a fake rock, one of many rocks bordering the driveway
Under the door mat of a neighbor's house. The neighbor's key was under the professor's door mat.
Hanging on a hook inside the dog house. The dog was a huge Irish wolfhound--few people would mess with her.
Underneath a garden gnome.

It's a good thing I'm honest.

[Reyes]

I have an electronic code to get in my front door so no key needed.

[Tradd]

You can get one of those key lock boxes.that realtors use. You just have to remember the combo. Put the lockbox somewhere hidden.

[ToomuchStuff]

Ones I have known or done. Those plastic spare keys in the wallet. Spare key in the change carrier. On block walls in a crawl space (caveat make sure the wall is filled, those keys fell down in the wall and when the house is no more will eventually be found). Behind the mailbox (pull it off and remove the key). Left at a family members.

[Gardenarian]

I use one of the key lock boxes that tradd describes. It's very simple to use, and easy to pass on the combination to another person if you need to.

[CathyA]

I know this sounds too simple but I think you just need to pick out a spot that isn't close to the door and no one would probably find, except you. And if you're visible from the street/other homes, don't make it obvious when you go to get it.

[Aqua Blue]

Reminds me of my Mom and her brother. She got to his house before he got home from work. He had told her the spare key was in a coffee can in the garage. When she stepped into the garage she was confronted with hundreds of coffee cans, she went out sat on the front steps and waited for him to come home from work.

[razz]

I was talking to one of my new neighbours and she advised that with her family, they installed a lock with a numerical code that also opens with a key if the numerical lock's batteries die. That way my family can use the keys and I have peace of mind. Seemed like a good solution to me. Some friends have my new key as well as a backup.

[reader99]

I've wondered about that, as I live in a condo with no storm door, no outbuildings that would be undisturbed, no rocks, etc. I thought about buying a doorbell that has an unusually large face surrounding the button, big enough to put a key behind it. I could carry a tiny screwdriver in my purse, or anyone could lend me one.

[Teacher Terry]

We use the electronic door pad so no need for a key. YOu can program more then one code for someone to gain access to your house & then change it. They are not very expensive either.

[Blackdog Lin]

I am the type of person to find perfectly wonderful places to hide valuables around the house.....and then I forget that I hid the whatever. This last spring I was furbishing a rustic plant holder on the front porch, placing new flowers on it and cleaning it up.....and out fell my spare house key that I had completely forgotten about. Because we never have a use for it as we have a garage door with a programmable numbered keypad. But I still would like to have a spare key to the front door.

(I also, this last year, in doing some decluttering, found some valuables I had hidden in the house. And forgot all about. Because I had hidden them so well?)

No more. My spare front door key is now taped securely to the back of a decorative plaque that hangs on the front porch. By the front door. I won't forget this one. Too obvious? Maybe. But I gotta do what I gotta do. :)

[early morning]

I have a rusty spare key in a tin can of junk in the shed. If someone found it, I doubt they'd think it was a useable door key. And it only works if you jiggle it just right. When we had hunting dogs, we always had a spare key in the dog run in a dog house. If you could get to the key unscathed, you were most likely family. :~)

[befree]

I thought this was a good idea when I read it....haven't done it yet....hot glue or use liquid adhesive to glue the top of an old prescription bottle to a real rock (because the fake rocks look....well, fake) Drop your key in the bottle, screw the cap on, and dig a little depression in the ground where you want to place your rock.

[Packy]

Well, you can use a cup hook screwed into a tree or shrub in an inconspicuous place. Or even a piece of wire around a branch. Even though it's off the ground and shielded from rain,You might put a thin coat of oil on the key, just to keep it good.