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backandbeyond

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The first thing I ever buried was a 4 foot long polypipe at a depth of about 2 feet in a narrow walk-through area under a house. A year later it took me an hour to find it, I dug all around it but missed it every time. Unbelievable! Another time I had hidden one in the bush beside a concrete slab, again it was in a very small area but I used a metal detector to locate it easily. To my surprise there was another one buried a foot away that I had forgotten all about.

If you are going to bury anything then take the advice of someone who has made most of the mistakes. Don't leave anything to chance. Take detailed measurements from immovable objects and write it all up in a pad and make two copies. You can easily hide these, don't be paranoid about someone finding them. You can make a detailed drawing and then make it look like a plumbing plan by adding pipes here and there in a different color. Hide these small pieces of paper say one in the back of an old novel in a dusty junk box you never touch, one slid into a crevice in a ceiling or whatever takes your fancy. Not in a safe through, in a safe it means "Important document". You could even take the outer skin off an old toaster and put it in there, or inside a patched tube, inside a tire, off a cheapo fridge trolley. There are innumerable safe places, the only limit is your imagination.

Measure accurately and make a map, don't assume just because you are standing there you will remember it as easily as you do at the moment of burial, you wont. I followed the directions of dying man to what was supposed to be 2 caches laid down 18 years before. I even went with a metal detector and believe it or not, his brother-in law who had helped him dig the holes. We found nothing, but I will admit I am no expert with metal detectors. No the brother-in-law hadn't ratted them, he had no motivation, it wasn't something that interested him. They were there alright, we just couldn't find them. We were looking for 3 gum trees in a triangle 100 steps directly east from a big tree at the end of the clearing, yeah whatever...

We can learn from our mistakes, but the smart people in this life learn from "Other people's mistakes"
 
You never know what you might find when you start digging around...

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around here you either do a vertical burial of a poly pipe cache or accept the fact that you have a half year cache >> it'll take half a garage full of digging tools and a day of chopping during the winter ....
 
I did not but should have buried my stuff. Water pipe valves are usually buried to prevent freezing and I have dug up a few, and missed, and missed like backandbeyond is describing. Finally, I marked it with a plastic rope and little flag on the surface. You might not want such an obvious "flag" for your cashe but you could devise something you will recognize.
 
small burial place not too deep but disguised as the daily dump for the dung from the pigpen and corral. Smells good and cannot be lost anytime...WWII trick from my own wifes family in old Yugoslavia to keep something to eat from the partisans coming home after the war and plundering and the occupation troops before the end of the war.
 
Finally, I marked it with a plastic rope and little flag on the surface. You might not want such an obvious "flag" for your cashe but you could devise something you will recognize.
Perhaps a layer of rusty steel and broken glass. Make it look like an old dumping spot? If you are going to all the trouble to bury something I don't think you can be too paranoid about it :D
I often see stories in the press about the cops doing a raid on some home and turning up hidden stuff in the most unusual places, even underground. I think if you were suspected of something they would bring out the metal detector and dogs no problem.

Wasn't there a thing back in the civil war where soldiers went from farm to farm, digging in the ground with their bayonets in search of hidden barrels of grain? The best idea is to keep off the radar I think.
 
Because of bedrock close to the surface, I have to think of alternatives.

Blown in attic insulation is ideal for lighter items that ceiling drywall will support.

Well hidden access points to the foundation area of the house

Boxing in underside lofts of the barn with some heavy duty plywood.

And a few others I don’t want to mention, but you can catch my train of thought.
 
My wife had a cousin once who was a gold miner. He buried jars of gold nuggets all around his property. Then one day he died unexpectedly. His wife found a few of the jars but she figured there were a couple dozen more she couldn't find. Always let someone know where you bury your valuables.
Back in the 60's my grandfather dug up a large chest of silver and gold that was buried in the 1880's. Most likely from a bank robbery. The chest would have been way to heavy to haul off too far so it was buried. No doubt they had plans to dig it up later.
 
I did not but should have buried my stuff. Water pipe valves are usually buried to prevent freezing and I have dug up a few, and missed, and missed like backandbeyond is describing. Finally, I marked it with a plastic rope and little flag on the surface. You might not want such an obvious "flag" for your cashe but you could devise something you will recognize.

I saw a gardening tip today that would apply to this. It was for marking bulbs.

It was a glass bead/rock glued to a golf tee. Simple, cheap and easy to spot if you know what to look for..
 
I suppose if you were really creative you could put a fire ant nest on top. That would certainly dissuade searchers. Or a dead animal carcass?
 
when looking for eazy "ready to go" home interior cache ideas >>> many of us have ducted HVAC systems - some like me have 2 story tall register runs ....

you can simply remove a return duct grill or a floor register and hope any seekers are incompetent >>> better off checking over that basement/crawlspace sheetmetal duct runs - look for an end cap - could have FEET of clear run of 8/10/12" X 24" >>30" open cache space >>>

PREP IT BEFORE THINKING ABOUT USING - it was constructed to carry itself and nothing more - exactly copy the support strapping/fasteners you currently have and add more - install cut 1/2" CDX support "flooring" that spans over the 60" flexy areas between the duct joints - make sure your new support straps tie in with the flooring >>> you now have a disguised sheet metal covered shelf - just like the support strapping, the removable end cap can't be tamper noticeable ...

PS >>> nobody is talking about caching 100s lbs of canned goods or cramming in your 300lb funny uncle - be creative - remember to have goods for the seekers to readily find - cache the prepper goods the average homeowner don't have ...
 
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if you are going to bury something be sure you can find it,,,, I have the goats and lots of fence I use corner post of various fences,,, even if I forget which one I only have so many of them
 
if you are going to bury something be sure you can find it,,,, I have the goats and lots of fence I use corner post of various fences,,, even if I forget which one I only have so many of them

memory is a funny thing - and when it comes to preps it's probably not a laughable situation ....

a few years ago I landed up digging all over a small plot of my yard looking for a buried electric line - the route I was positive initially that I knew for sure >>> make notes - take pictures - make sure to document in your "Prep Bible" for the occurrence you're aren't there for the family ....
 

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