Safety deposit box or fire safe? And which one?
November 23, 2015 10:44 AM Subscribe
Like many people, I've accumulated a stash of documents that are important to me and my family in some way (deeds, birth certificates, marriage certificate, passports) and some are difficult/impossible to replace (immigration paperwork, ancestral information). Right now they all sit in a plastic Tupperware box on the bottom shelf of an IKEA bookshelf. I was thinking that maybe they should be a little better secured. Is a safety deposit box the right answer or a safe? I'm having a hard time choosing.
These aren't papers and things I'd need access to every day, if that's important. Passports--one of my family members has a non-US passport that's very difficult to replace so it would go in there--would be the most common need for access.
Safety deposit boxes are more secure but come with the inconvenience of access only during bank hours and I don't bank anywhere that rents them (oh, and annual fee). But I'm willing to go ask a nearby Chase for one if the consensus is that they're more suited.
As for a fire safe, if I go that route, which one? I live in (and own) a 2-story house with a basement so I can secure one pretty much wherever, but the basement is concrete with concrete walls so I'm not sure how that would work or whether putting valuables in the basement for the house to fall on them in an emergency is a wise idea. Then again, the safe could just as easily get trapped if it's on the other floors.
I keep going in circles over this relatively minor thing, so I thought I'd put it to the gurus here and see what you all think. There was a post in 2013 that had links to safe and deposit box comparisons but the links are all dead now.
These aren't papers and things I'd need access to every day, if that's important. Passports--one of my family members has a non-US passport that's very difficult to replace so it would go in there--would be the most common need for access.
Safety deposit boxes are more secure but come with the inconvenience of access only during bank hours and I don't bank anywhere that rents them (oh, and annual fee). But I'm willing to go ask a nearby Chase for one if the consensus is that they're more suited.
As for a fire safe, if I go that route, which one? I live in (and own) a 2-story house with a basement so I can secure one pretty much wherever, but the basement is concrete with concrete walls so I'm not sure how that would work or whether putting valuables in the basement for the house to fall on them in an emergency is a wise idea. Then again, the safe could just as easily get trapped if it's on the other floors.
I keep going in circles over this relatively minor thing, so I thought I'd put it to the gurus here and see what you all think. There was a post in 2013 that had links to safe and deposit box comparisons but the links are all dead now.
Since the emerging consensus seems to be on the side of a safe deposit box, I'll mention that many banks offer a free small safe deposit box with certain checking accounts, especially those intended for the over-50 crowd.
posted by DrGail at 11:45 AM on November 23, 2015
posted by DrGail at 11:45 AM on November 23, 2015
Just make sure you sign up for automatic payment for your safety deposit rental fee, and read the fine print as far as what they can do with the contents when you miss a payment(s). Also keep the key in a place where you will know to find it; this can be tough with stuff you need so rarely (and label it well).
posted by JenMarie at 11:48 AM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by JenMarie at 11:48 AM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
fireoyster: " the basement is concrete with concrete walls so I'm not sure how that would work or whether putting valuables in the basement for the house to fall on them in an emergency is a wise idea. Then again, the safe could just as easily get trapped if it's on the other floors."
You can use a floor safe in this situation. Installation is as simple as cutting an appropriate size hole in the floor, removing enough dirt to set the safe in, and then grouting the safe in place.
posted by Mitheral at 11:56 AM on November 23, 2015
You can use a floor safe in this situation. Installation is as simple as cutting an appropriate size hole in the floor, removing enough dirt to set the safe in, and then grouting the safe in place.
posted by Mitheral at 11:56 AM on November 23, 2015
You can use a floor safe in this situation
I like this suggestion; having lost very important items due to a late payment* at a storage facility my inclination would be to keep the items within my own control.
*not blaming anyone but myself but sometimes life goes this way and there can be unforeseen consequences
posted by JenMarie at 12:03 PM on November 23, 2015
I like this suggestion; having lost very important items due to a late payment* at a storage facility my inclination would be to keep the items within my own control.
*not blaming anyone but myself but sometimes life goes this way and there can be unforeseen consequences
posted by JenMarie at 12:03 PM on November 23, 2015
I agree with a safe deposit box. Our documents were stored in a smallish fireproof lockbox, and when our house was robbed, it was one of the things the thieves took, because a lightweight locked box is enticing and easy and obviously protects something valuable. I am certain they would have ignored our documents were they out in the open and not kept in a lockbox (similar, more accessible financial documents were totally undisturbed - these guys were solely interested in goods to pawn for easy cash).
If you keep your documents at home, get a heavy floor safe that thieves can't easily walk off with, for that reason.
posted by castlebravo at 12:49 PM on November 23, 2015
If you keep your documents at home, get a heavy floor safe that thieves can't easily walk off with, for that reason.
posted by castlebravo at 12:49 PM on November 23, 2015
Another vote here for a safe deposit box.
The only thing is, do not keep your Last Will & Testament (or directions for your funeral/burial!) in there: usually when someone dies, the safe deposit box is legally sealed until after your estate is probated --- which is kinda hard to do if the Will is unavailable.
posted by easily confused at 12:53 PM on November 23, 2015 [7 favorites]
The only thing is, do not keep your Last Will & Testament (or directions for your funeral/burial!) in there: usually when someone dies, the safe deposit box is legally sealed until after your estate is probated --- which is kinda hard to do if the Will is unavailable.
posted by easily confused at 12:53 PM on November 23, 2015 [7 favorites]
Best answer: The best solution is one that you will use. If you can easily imagine taking a document out of safety deposit, and then letting it sit on your "to-do" pile for a month, and then misplacing it and/or spilling coffee on it before you go back to the bank, then a fireproof box is probably a better solution for you. Also consider, how likely are you to have a sudden need for the documents and how annoyed will you be to have to drop everything and go to the bank tomorrow, and delay your current legal project or whatever requires those docs? A fireproof box is a huge step up from a tupperware on the bookcase.
posted by aimedwander at 1:11 PM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by aimedwander at 1:11 PM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
One thing I would do is scan and upload all documents to the Cloud. Then I'd get a fireproof safe to keep these on hand.
If the documents had intrinsic value, I might consider a safety deposit box.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:35 PM on November 23, 2015
If the documents had intrinsic value, I might consider a safety deposit box.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:35 PM on November 23, 2015
I use a decent size fire safe. I fit way more than a safe deposit box, it is accessible, it provides protection and after the one time expense, way less costly.
I do agree that both options are much better than current situation. Also don't have to be mutually exclusive. Can do a little of both.
posted by AugustWest at 2:17 PM on November 23, 2015
I do agree that both options are much better than current situation. Also don't have to be mutually exclusive. Can do a little of both.
posted by AugustWest at 2:17 PM on November 23, 2015
I agree with scanning to a cloud store somewhere, even if it's a series of saved emails. You could also burn a CD and add it to the stash of paper in the safe deposit box-- it'll survive a flood, and that's a catastrophe that can be man-made as easily as natural. Sure, having a scan of a birth certificate will never count the same as having the physical piece of paper, but it'll go a long way towards helping you obtain a new legal copy. You can fill the remaining space up with pictures.
(CDs may degrade over the decades, but they do it less in a climate-controlled dark box somewhere. It will also be a long time before CDs are so obsolete as to be unreadable-- because they're so dang cheap!)
I really like the idea of the fire-safe in the basement floor. Maybe that's because of John Wick, though.
posted by Sunburnt at 3:35 PM on November 23, 2015
(CDs may degrade over the decades, but they do it less in a climate-controlled dark box somewhere. It will also be a long time before CDs are so obsolete as to be unreadable-- because they're so dang cheap!)
I really like the idea of the fire-safe in the basement floor. Maybe that's because of John Wick, though.
posted by Sunburnt at 3:35 PM on November 23, 2015
I use both. Things that are either irreplaceable or fairly valuable go in the safe deposit box. Other stuff--things like birth and death certificates, passports, etc., go in the fire safe. And while I keep the fire safe locked, I leave the key in the lock, for the reason castlebravo mentions--so would-be thieves can easily see that there's nothing monetarily valuable in there.
posted by bricoleur at 5:08 PM on November 23, 2015
posted by bricoleur at 5:08 PM on November 23, 2015
I really like the idea of the fire-safe in the basement floor.
Maybe water-proof (most basements I've known were flooded at some point).
posted by Rash at 10:26 PM on November 23, 2015
Maybe water-proof (most basements I've known were flooded at some point).
posted by Rash at 10:26 PM on November 23, 2015
Whichever way you decide to go, please put your papers in something waterproof before storing them. Ziploc bags are fine. Home safes aren't waterproof, and even bank vaults can be flooded.
posted by Marky at 11:04 PM on November 23, 2015
posted by Marky at 11:04 PM on November 23, 2015
Best answer: Another consideration in favor of a safe deposit box is that a fire that burns down your house (or a tornado that blows away your house) is probably not also going to destroy your bank several miles away. In other words, it's a hedge against losing everything in a catastrophe.
Also, I would caution against storing important papers in a ziploc bag for long periods of time, as they can develop mold. I learned this the hard way when I decided to forego converting a few Euro notes after I came back from vacation. I figured I'd put the bills in a ziploc bag in my closet (alongside with my foreign power adapter), since I was going back to Europe 10 months later. Unfortunately, after six months in that bag, I found that the bills were completely covered with mold! If you do this, at least put a bag or two of silica gel (those little packets that say "do not eat") in there and check on it every month or so.
posted by tomwheeler at 11:15 AM on November 24, 2015
Also, I would caution against storing important papers in a ziploc bag for long periods of time, as they can develop mold. I learned this the hard way when I decided to forego converting a few Euro notes after I came back from vacation. I figured I'd put the bills in a ziploc bag in my closet (alongside with my foreign power adapter), since I was going back to Europe 10 months later. Unfortunately, after six months in that bag, I found that the bills were completely covered with mold! If you do this, at least put a bag or two of silica gel (those little packets that say "do not eat") in there and check on it every month or so.
posted by tomwheeler at 11:15 AM on November 24, 2015
Response by poster: Thanks for all of the advice. Even though the consensus was a safe deposit box, I didn't choose it for these reasons:
telegraph: "Consider that this is one of those classic dilemmas where no matter which option you choose, they are both significantly better than spending any more time deciding (while your documents remain unsecured)."
aimedwander: "The best solution is one that you will use. If you can easily imagine taking a document out of safety deposit, and then letting it sit on your "to-do" pile for a month, and then misplacing it and/or spilling coffee on it before you go back to the bank, then a fireproof box is probably a better solution for you."
In the end, I bought a ~60 pound fireproof and waterproof chest that came rather well-reviewed on Amazon and elsewhere and was on sale. Both telegraph and aimedwander hit the nose on the head: I can very much see myself going to the bank to fetch a document from the safe deposit box then leaving it on my desk at home for two weeks and it getting accidentally destroyed (or, worse, my tossing it onto a random shelf somewhere or, even more worse, the document getting lost or destroyed in my backpack while on the bus to take it back to the bank). Getting them out of the plastic box and into something safer right now is better than continuing to dither.
The chest itself isn't a safe—it has a key but the lock isn't advertised as "secure"—but I do have somewhere to hide it and it should sit there for a long while even if the house does come crashing down around it in a major fire or flood. That it takes A4- and legal-sized documents laying completely flat was also a big plus.
On tomwheeler's advice, I bought a reusable silica gel desiccant that can be baked in the oven to restore its dehumidifying properties and am getting some of the small packets to put inside the plastic bags the documents will be in.
posted by fireoyster at 7:54 PM on November 26, 2015
telegraph: "Consider that this is one of those classic dilemmas where no matter which option you choose, they are both significantly better than spending any more time deciding (while your documents remain unsecured)."
aimedwander: "The best solution is one that you will use. If you can easily imagine taking a document out of safety deposit, and then letting it sit on your "to-do" pile for a month, and then misplacing it and/or spilling coffee on it before you go back to the bank, then a fireproof box is probably a better solution for you."
In the end, I bought a ~60 pound fireproof and waterproof chest that came rather well-reviewed on Amazon and elsewhere and was on sale. Both telegraph and aimedwander hit the nose on the head: I can very much see myself going to the bank to fetch a document from the safe deposit box then leaving it on my desk at home for two weeks and it getting accidentally destroyed (or, worse, my tossing it onto a random shelf somewhere or, even more worse, the document getting lost or destroyed in my backpack while on the bus to take it back to the bank). Getting them out of the plastic box and into something safer right now is better than continuing to dither.
The chest itself isn't a safe—it has a key but the lock isn't advertised as "secure"—but I do have somewhere to hide it and it should sit there for a long while even if the house does come crashing down around it in a major fire or flood. That it takes A4- and legal-sized documents laying completely flat was also a big plus.
On tomwheeler's advice, I bought a reusable silica gel desiccant that can be baked in the oven to restore its dehumidifying properties and am getting some of the small packets to put inside the plastic bags the documents will be in.
posted by fireoyster at 7:54 PM on November 26, 2015
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posted by telegraph at 11:40 AM on November 23, 2015