Are you annoyed that your parents always manage to find your things? Do you want to hide your money, love letters, and other embarrassing items where no one else can find them? Hiding something from your parents takes preparation and a little ingenuity, but it's not impossible to keep your secrets safe. If you feel like you're not good at hiding things, this article will make you an expert at it!
Step
Part 1 of 3: Hiding Small Items
Step 1. Choose an unexpected hiding place
Places such as underwear drawers, under mattresses, or above closets are very common hiding locations. Parents will definitely start looking for it in places like that (they probably hid something in the same place when they were younger!) Use weird, more complicated hiding places to make it less likely to be found.
- Try hiding small objects in your brother/sister's room. This blatant hideout would be unthinkable if they were looking for your belongings. Know that this technique won't work if your parents regularly search the entire house for hidden secrets.
- Keep small items at the bottom of the drawer or inside the top drawer. You simply glue the object with tape. This way, the item will go unnoticed if the parents glance under the cupboard. Another idea you can try is to hide things in your school backpack or old bag because your parents won't suspect it at all!!
Step 2. Use multiple layers of defense
Wrap your belongings in a tissue or put them in a plastic bag (or both) and hide them in the shed, under a pile of old clothes. You have to disguise the object so that it looks like the thing that is supposed to "be" in that place.
- Make sure you use something your parents won't use, move or throw away.
- Storing items in plastic bags or wrapping them in plastic food wrap can open up some new opportunities for hiding places. For example, you can hide it under a plant pot for months without being caught, and proper plastic wrap will prevent the item from being damaged by water splashes.
Step 3. Make a secret box
There are lots of weird and clever ways to do it and they're often easy to implement. Use old utensils, bottles, jars or other items that are rarely used and allow small objects to be filled. This solution is perfect if your family doesn't use certain items such as remote controls or products that are rarely stored in their original packaging.
- Pull the plastic cap off the spray deodorant can and remove the lid from the deodorant container (very easy to do with the right tools). Put the plastic cap back on (now it works as a cover).
- Old food bottles or packaging make good hiding places and blend in perfectly with other items in the room. If the item is well packaged, you can store it in the refrigerator for better camouflage.
- Note that the items you can turn into secret boxes depend on the items you want to hide. Some items may not fit into a deodorant bottle or can.
Step 4. Always carry the things you want to hide from your parents
If you want to hide something small enough, just keep it in your pocket or purse. Don't forget to take it out of your pocket if you're going to throw your clothes in the laundry basket.
- You can be more inventive if you choose this option. If you wear the same jacket every day, make a secret pocket on the sleeve or at the collar. You can make a secret pouch by sewing/gluing/gluing the flaps where you want them.
- Glue the item you want to hide inside the shoe. The most suitable location is the pointed toe of the shoe, just beyond the reach of the toe.
- Flat items like paper or money can be hidden under the insole of the shoe.
- Some shoes have small compartments for storing items, such as at the back of the heel or under the tongue.
Step 5. Look for cavities in household appliances
TVs, video game consoles and DVD players have lids that can be opened or other compartments that can be used to hide things. You have to make sure the parents don't use or know of this hiding place.
These bays are sometimes used to store important parts of the device, such as the Ethernet jack or the reset button. Make sure you won't damage the device by hiding things there
Part 2 of 3: Hiding Bigger Stuff
Step 1. Take advantage of the attic
The attic is usually used for long-term storage and the elderly rarely enter there. Hide your belongings in a place that is easily accessible, but hidden from the view of others in case your parents need something stored in the attic. We often find valuables in the attic, and there's a reason behind it. The attic is rarely visited by people!
- Put things in a trash bag and cover them with old clothes you never wear again to better disguise them.
- Label the plastic bag to make the disguise more convincing. For example, you could write “Christmas decorations” on a plastic bag so your parents won't check it out until the Christmas holiday season arrives.
Step 2. Ask a friend for help
You can hide things at a friend's house if he has space he's not using, or it won't get him into trouble with his parents. For example, if your parents forbid you from eating nutrient-poor foods or soda, a friend's house can be an ideal hiding place.
Make sure items are well hidden or marked as your own so others won't take them
Step 3. Purchase a portable safe
Parents may not agree with this idea, especially if the safe is placed in a visible place. You can put the safe in the attic or somewhere your parents don't go often so they don't get suspicious.
- In-room mini-fridges can also function as safes and are less conspicuous than safes if placed in a visible place. Look for mini fridges that have locks to prevent anyone from opening the fridge door.
- Safes and mini-fridges can also be disguised. Glue cardboard sheets around the safe to create the illusion that it's just a regular cardboard box full of your belongings.
Step 4. Make a hollow book
This solution is a very fun and effective way to hide your secret stuff, especially if you read a lot. Make sure the book is in accordance with the books you usually read.
- Keep a copy of the same book as the one with the holes in it in case your parents or siblings want to borrow it.
- The same technique applies to items like old VHS tapes or DVD boxes. Put the item in a box containing old cassettes and other unused items to fool the parents.
- Some websites offer a service for creating blank books, and you can cut them according to what you want to store in them.
Step 5. Hide your things outside the house
Hiding items outside the home allows you to access a wider hiding place and makes it difficult for others to associate the item with you. Be careful when hiding items outside the house so that others cannot find and retrieve them. Parents aren't the only ones to worry about if you make this choice.
- Make sure you hide it somewhere hard to predict so no one will find it. A forest/garden can be a very good idea as it provides lots of nooks and crannies to hide things. You can hide some green shopping bags in the thorn bushes, but make sure they're not visible.
- A shed or garage can also be a good option for hiding larger items. This area is usually used to store items that are only used occasionally, such as lawn mowers or power tools. Make sure you wrap the items that will be hidden by putting them in a bag or box first.
- Dig a hole and hide your stuff there. Make sure you wrap it well so that it doesn't get damaged by the weather. Don't dig a hole where it's too predictable. For example, digging a hole in a grassy area can leave trails of lost grass or scattered excavated soil.
- A large partition under the house or terrace can also be a storage option that does not cause much suspicion. If large items like lawn mowers are also stored there, be prepared to move your belongings when it's time to mow the lawn.
Part 3 of 3: Hiding Information
Step 1. Delete your web browsing history
The web browser will by default save the history of the websites you visit. Parents can check this history window to see your activity on the internet during a certain period. Go to settings in a web browser to clear history. You can delete entries individually or delete the entire history at once if you want.
- For Google Chrome, go to Settings, then the History tab to access the History settings. You can also set Privacy settings here.
- For Microsoft Edge, go to Settings and click “Choose what to clear”. You can choose between different types of files to delete, including a history of the sites you've visited and the downloads you've made.
- While you can prevent the browser from saving browsing history, parents may see this setting when they try to access their own history. If the browser can be used by multiple users, make sure this setting is unique for each user. In this case, you should only delete certain entries in your browsing history.
Step 2. Hide files properly
Move files that you want to hide, such as chat logs or files containing passwords, to a folder that can only be accessed using a password. Move the file out of an easily visible place. You have to make the files hard to find or at least hard to see.
- Name the file something non-suspicious so it doesn't leak what's in the file. Avoid naming it “Password.txt” for example.
- You can also hide files in program folders that have nothing to do with your password, such as game application data folders.
- On Windows operating systems, you can make files invisible with the “hidden” property. You can find this option in the “Attributes” section of the file's Properties.
- Hiding files the same way on a Mac is a little more complicated. It might be easier to physically hide the file in this case.
- Cloud services such as DropBox or OneDrive can store files and are protected by passwords and additional access to help increase security.
Step 3. Lock your phone
Use a password on your phone to prevent your parents from accessing your text messages and call history. If you have to leave your phone for a while because you need to do some work, make sure you put it in sleep mode so you can activate the lock. It would be better if you take your phone with you as often as possible.
- Use a unique password that is difficult or not easy to guess.
- Use a combination of letters, numbers and special characters whenever possible.
- Consider unlocking your phone with your fingerprint if your phone provides this feature. This feature enhances the security of the phone.
- As an added security, consider an app like Snapchat to help automatically delete text and photos if you don't want others to see or read them.
Step 4. Increase online account security by selecting personal settings
Social networks like Facebook, Instagram and so on should but be private. This will prevent your parents (and others) from finding your account and freely accessing your messages and photos. You need to add them to your friends network in order to see your activity.
- Create another account for your family if you're worried that your family might want to see your activity, but you don't want to deny them being your friend.
- Adjust the privacy settings for your account. Facebook lets you choose who can see your publications, such as photos and e-mail posts, on your wall.
Step 5. Prepare an essay
If the item or chat log is found by the parent, provide a reasonable excuse. There's no guarantee that your parents will believe such a story, but you can try to come up with compelling reasons according to the file and the nature of the relationship between you and your friend. However, don't put all the blame on your friends!
- For example, you could tell them, “I saved it for my friend,” or “A friend took my phone and used it to take those photos.
- Use friends your parents don't know in your story. Don't let your parents call your friend's parents and expose your lies.
Tips
- Try to understand why you feel the need to hide certain items from your parents. If you feel the need to hide it, maybe you need to rethink whether it's really what you need. Items related to activities/sports that are prohibited by parents (because it is dangerous for example) do not need to be hidden. An open dialogue with parents would be better than hiding something from them.
- Don't hide all your stuff in one place. If found, you can lose everything.
- Be more inventive. The first place a parent will check is the sock drawer.
- Make a hideout in a hiding place. For example, a hollow book can be a great hiding place. If someone finds it, chances are he or she won't check under the cover or the spine.
- Don't hide things at home, unless you're willing to run the risk of being caught by your parents.
- Make sure your belongings are not blatantly visible. You should always hide it under or inside something.
- If you're not hiding something, there's no reason to be afraid of being found out!
- Try to hide your stuff under your belt. For larger items, hide under a sweater or shirt.
- Make sure the hiding place is not suspect. If you use a headset box to hide something, put it in the computer room, not in the gardening toolbox!
- You can hide things in your school bag when you go to school. Your parents won't be able to search it because you almost always carry it with you.
Warning
- No matter how smart you hide things, there is always a chance that your parents will find them. Be prepared to face it.
- Never hide your belongings in someone else's place without the owner's consent. This is an illegal act.
- Keep in mind that incognito can't stop information from getting into the hands of parents or internet service providers.
