What to Include in Your Wall Safe Checklist

Hopefully you considered what you were going to put in your wall safe before you purchased it to make sure that you got the one that suits you best. But now that your wall safe is smartly installed behind your favorite painting, it is time to get serious. Here is a checklist of possible things that you may want to keep secure from theft or damage, regardless of your original purpose behind the purchase.

First, important documents. Not only is it vital to keep such documents safe, but it is nice to know where to look for them. Types of documents might include birth certificates, marriage and death certificates, deeds and titles, insurance policy information, investment portfolios or information, passports, social security cards, wills and trusts, appraisals, mortgage documents, health records, home inventory, copy of receipts for major purchases, or anything else you may want to keep secure or out of other peoples hands.

Most wall safes are smaller than a full size safe, so rifles may not fit (though there are closet sized wall safes that would work) but hand guns should be kept secure. Keeping a pistol in a safe keeps them out of small hands and possible tragedy. You should also include ammunition or other related items in your safe.

A back up of any important digital media should be kept in your wall safe. What you keep on this external hard drive, CD's or thumb drive will vary from individual to individual but may include the following: digital pictures, financial information, your music, work related documents, personal correspondence, internet book marks, password information etc. You may also want to keep a back up of important computer programs that you use. You do not have to back up your entire computer (unless you really want to), but just things that you would really need or miss. There are plenty of things I am loathe to throw away from my hard drive, but if my computer was destroyed I probably wouldn't even miss! Be aware that if you have a lot of media that you want to protect that it does damage at lower temperatures than paper so you will want a wall safe with higher fire ratings.

Any valuables that you have, such as jewelry. This would also include heirloom items which may have a monetary or sentimental value. This may include collectible items such coins or baseball cards or any other small items you collect. Also, any one of a kind items such as autographed pictures. Basically, whatever is valuable to you that you would not want destroyed in a fire or other natural disaster should be put in your wall safe.

I also like to put a bit of emergency cash in my safe. It doesn't have to be a lot, that is obviously what a bank is for, but knowing that you have some cash in the house that you can access at any time for any reason can bring a lot of peace of mind.

I have tried to be thorough, and though you probably don't have everything I've listed, hopefully it has gotten you thinking as to what is important to you that you need to protect. A wall safe is an important purchase, to keep your valuables and important information safe from theft or damage, so make sure you use it wisely.