Do you have a spare key in or around your home?

[OhioOhioOhio]

Where do you hide it?

We have one cunningly hidden in the garden.Its only been needed once when DD left the house before me but forgot her key.Its not under a plant pot!

Same as Billy and Elephant. Got an outside key safe for when we had carers coming in and out for FiL. It has been very handy for when the hopeless young adults find themselves keyless at the end of a big night out.

Adult children each have one.
Cleaners have one.
One is hidden outside the house.
Neighbours have one.

It's in the locked garage.

The keys to which are in the unlocked, unalarmed kitchen.

The kitchen contains the dog.

The dog is huge and scares people.

He's soft as a brush but we don't let on that he is!

We also have spares with a friend, parents and brother!

We have a key safe so in theory can't log ourselves out, except we did in the summer. DH shut the front door but the key was still on the inside. Door locks automatically when you pull it, key was in key safe but no use as the key was in the other side. I had to climb on the wheelie bin and post 4yo DD through the lounge window so she could open it from inside. We now keep keys for both our front doors in it (we have two, but never use one so there is no way we'd accidentally leave a key in it).

My cleaner has one and my mum has one as well as DH and I

We all have keys, stbexh has keys too (and I have his) when kids were young neighbours had one

Ours are just hanging up -ready for visitors

I like the idea of key safes but there’s a part of me can’t help wondering if it could be broken into. Are they really a safe place to store keys?

We have a key safe as it came with the house. The DC use it a fair amount 🙄

We have a spare set if we need for tradespeople, or for MIL to feed the cat if we’re away - they just sit on the key hooks though. There’s another set in my desk at work, where in dire straits there is 24 hour security who could let me in outside working hours.

AlphaJuliet it's obviously possible but highly unlikely we will get burgled.

a) they would have to find us first, given we live down a 4 mile private track that doesn't show up on most sat navs) , in the middle of nowhere.

b) If they did find us it's rare the property isn't occupied by someone or someone nearby during the day. During the night/ early morning there's probably around 4 hours total where someone isn't awake, less at certain times of year like lambing.

c) they would have to get past the (loose and noisy) farm dogs. Friendly during the day, protective and suspicious at night. The first clunk of the cattlegrid into the yard no matter what time of day and you have a baying mob at your heels.

d) if they are coming for us they are after the quad bikes, the tools, and the oil/ red diesel in the tanks. They won't bother with the house.

DM has a key and loves 10 mins away and NDN also

Ndn & best mate both have spare keys (& I have for their houses too). There’s also one in the shed. If someone wants to break in they’ll find a way so although keys aren’t kept right by doors they’re not hidden.

Yes, after my husband not once but twice left for work at 6am, locking up behind him, not realising he had both sets of keys and we were in bed oblivious. I'm in a terraced house with no way out other than the front door. It's actually a feeling of panic once you realise you are stuck in. I keep a spare somewhere safe now.

Hidden in the shed in the back garden.

Actually, there are downsides to burglars being able to let themselves out. If they break in through a window and can only get out the same way, it makes it much harder to steal larger items. And given that they want to be in and out as quickly and quietly as possible, it can significantly reduce the amount they steal if they can't use a door.

There’s one in the shed. Good luck to any burglar finding it!

We have a key in the combination lock key safe, where we also keep a tenner in case we ever need to get a taxi home! We haven't used either for at least 12 months.

We have a key safe but only leave a key in it if we know it will be needed (eg if the cleaner is coming and I’m going out).
We have a spare key on a hook for last minute I need to leave and can’t find my key panics and a couple of near by family have spares.

everyone has their own keys and we have a set in a keysafe, although now thinking about it I am not sure if there is a front door key in there, I'll check tomorrow
...those keys are NOT ALLOWED to cross the threshold, if you use them you must unlock the door and go directly and put them straight back into the keysafe before you enter the house, on pain of death if I find out the spare keys are in the house!!

prior to that ...and having a new back door the old back door, where the key was stuck in the lock on the inside was never locked but we had two large hairy dogs as a security option...two large hairy barky dogs that scared delivery people!

In tin box, under a few inches of gravel in garden. Never had to resort to it yet, but comforting knowing its there. If I come home late, on a cold, wet night - sans keys - I can get in.

I've thought about hiding one in the extremely untidy garage and then have a key to the garage concealed in a rock safe .

Well hidden outside because the numpty I live with keeps leaving the house without their keys......

We don’t anymore. Our pet sitter used to have one but then she gave up her job so now we are just careful.. I would love a key safe but our insurance told us it would invalidate our household insurance - is this not the case for others?

The key is kept on the key hook, not visible from outside, but visible inside so if burglars get in they can let themselves out without needing to come looking for us...