DH has and hidden something valuable "for safety"

[Beebopwasthebest]

Light hearted...sort of, because this is getting worse.

He has form for this, despite us having two secure safes in the house. He is quite anxious about being burgled.

He has hidden his watch somewhere in the house. We've been looking for two days. I am very tidy and organised. He is tidy but not as organised and has a lot of stuff.

This is driving me mad. My mum has said a prayer to St.Anthony for me😂

He chooses really weird places..I once found the (only) set of keys to our safe inside the cardboard box of a light bulb...which he had forgotten about! And he hid my car keys between the beach towels in the airing cupboard..We have an agreed spot for my keys now.

Can any one think of a weird place we haven't looked?

This would drive me insane. Why are you looking, let him get on with it!

Bathroom cupboard is my suggestion!

Not your problem? Tell him to look up his arse.

Long term, I would suggest therapy. I know you've presented it in a light hearted way but this level of control and anxiety isn't healthy.

have you ever been burgled?

Ee my granda used to do this all the time, he also had a safe and yet was adamant that his hidey places were far more secure because “if someone breaks in they will go straight for the safe” (can see the logic but if you don’t trust the safe I’m not sure what the point is in having one!)

Some of his strangest ones incase you haven’t checked these locations includes hiding his wedding ring inside the pot of sugar (yes, literally buried in the sugar), hiding his gold watch in the middle of a rolled up sleeping bag in the garage, hiding his passport under the kitchen cupboards behind the plinth and hiding his money inside books on the bookshelf!

In a fish fingers box, in the freezer

His watch? Let him get on with it.

My DH is similar and always losing things. I just leave him to it.

I have slight form for doing this when I am rushing. I don't do it with other peoples stuff though.

Inside a shoe or a pair of socks?

Where does he usually keep his watch when he's not wearing it? What's within a few feet of there if he suddenly decided to shove it somewhere before going out?

Did he take it on holiday?

Has he always done this? This was one of the first signs of dementia in my gran - she hid fivers in the folded bedding to trick would be burglars.

This may save you from a repeat. When we hide things we whatsapp each other to say what it is and where it is hidden. Try to introduce this to save you from the next instance.

My in-laws hid their passports in the pressure cooker once, only realised when their veg came out a funny colour. They no longer use that hiding place...

Keep a list of where things are hidden. Have that list virtually or on paper with you. Mother used to do this, it worked

My DH has form for this. He's 'lost' an expensive bracelet that he inherited from his nan. It's in the house somewhere but no idea where.

He's also obsessed with hiding car keys. Despite me trying to reassure him that nobody in their right mind would want to steal our shitty little car ffs.

Also hidden important paperwork relating to probate/inheritance "in case someone breaks in and reads it" 🙄

Say your own prayer to St Anthony and let your DH look for his watch. As my Mum used to say, “It’s where you last left it.” I lose things all the time and have 4 cheap watches so I can usually find one. A watch only needs to tell the time. He can buy a cheap one and the other one will turn up eventually.

Fridge in a plastic box. Food container in the kitchen cupboards. A pocket of a suit in the wardrobe, I frequently find jewellery I’ve hidden over the years this way.
I once hid a large quantity of M&S vouchers under the cutlery insert in the drawer when we went on holiday. Forgot about them and it took nearly 12 mnths for the lightbulb moment.
Found £60 in my camera case 3 yrs after putting it in there, not to hide but to avoid taking my handbag and camera case on a day out.
Does he have a gym bag he never uses or a washing bag reserved for holidays? Maybe in a shoe or trainer?

What he says technically makes sense.

But clearly has some practical implications !

I say the list someone else mentioned is the solution.

And making sure he doesn't hide your stuff.

Of course then you have to hide the list. And remember where you hid it.

Have you got a tower computer?
Friend unscrewed panel and put passports inside before screwing back.

Also could he text/email/message himself with location when hiding something?

I echo the others who say don't make it your problem - let him look on his own.

Have you told him stuff will just get lost or binned?
You can tell him a client I know put his car key in a bag of teabags for safekeeping
His wife had a clear out while he was on holiday
Car keys got binned and they had no spare. It was extortionate to replace and the car had to be recovered

Why are you looking or thinking about this though? It’s for him to look for and find.

I knew a woman whose husband was like this. He was completely irrational with it. On Christmas eve he'd sleep on the sofa in case someone broke in and stole the gifts. I pointed out that the gifts would remain in the house after that but he couldn't rationalise it.
He'd hide money, jewellery, kids iPads, even her handbag before he went to bed. I couldn't have lived with that level of paranoia personally.

My gran was like this, when she died we ended up taking up floorboards as they found a loose one with a bunch of money stashed underneath (we were clearing out the house and pulled up the grotty carpets to replace). We found jewellery and all sorts in the end

As it's his watch that's missing I wouldn't be helping to look any more tbh.

If he wants to do the decoy hiding place thing he should decide on one or two places for it, make sure you know them then stick to them. No point changing it around, it's not like the burglar will know if that's his main concern!

ummm thats really weird...