8 Ideas on keeping packages safe till you get home.
Did you know that in 2023 roughly 119 million packages were stolen in the US? Depending on where you look the numbers are higher or lower. Also not everyone reports their packages stolen. So that number could be a whole lot higher. My guess would be the package wasn’t worth much. I still recommend you report it even if you can’t get you money back.
Every year thieves are getting smarter on how to take our packages. I recently watched a video of someone wearing a trash back over their body walking up to someone’s porch. All you could see was their feet and white sandals. Another one I saw was a women pulled up into a drive way of a home and took the package from the delivery driver cause he thought she lived there. She waited for him to go down the road then drove off. Even though these thieves see we have cameras they still try to get creative.
Know that even these ideas are not fully theft proof. These are just ideas that can hopefully slow them down till you can bring them in to your home. They are still a lot of ideas out there that we didn’t even list. With all of that being said let’s look at some ideas that can help you or someone you know out.
Ask a Neighbor
If you trust your neighbor ask them if they can keep an eye out and grab it for you. Or see if you could get it delivered to their house if they will be home all day.
Ask a Family Member
Just like the neighbor idea, maybe you can ship your packages to their house. Or ask them if they can hang out at your house for the day till the package can arrive. Of course if you trust them in your home.
Ask your Workplace
Now this one is a little tricky. Some workplaces can allow you to get your packages sent to work. But not all workplaces will allow this. If it’s like 3 smaller packages and not 30 they might allow that. It’s still worth asking .
During Lunch
While talking about work. This one is a bit of a hit and miss due to not everyone is able to. See if you can take your lunch early or later. Of course if you live close enough. Thus why this one may not work for a lot of people, but it is still a possibility.
Package lockers
There are package lockers that are available. You get a code or key to access your package. You will have to look around in your area to see what provider and locations are available. The bigger the town or city the more options you will have vs a small town. So definitely keep that in mind.
Delivery box
You can put these on your porch or in a place that is accessible for the delivery driver. There are a lot of options for these boxes from basic to wifi enabled ones. Weighted down by sandy bags or bolted into the ground.
Decorate your porch
You could totally decorate your porch to hide your packages behind. But keep in mind you want everything to blend in and not draw to much attention. As well as the delivery driver able to follow the directions as to where you want your package(s) placed. You could do simple things like fake planter pot, box table, small bushy plant(s) or tree. The possibilities are really endless and can be simple.
Get Creative
If none of these options above work for you that is totally ok. You just want to get creative enough that you packages are out of sight. Out of sight out of mind is a great rule of thumb to go by. Keep it simple to hide your package but still easy for the delivery drive to find and hide your packages behind. Really there is no right or completely wrong way. The main goal is to just hide the package(s) till you can bring them in.
Pro tip
Change things up! Don’t keep things the same way year after year. ( If you’re having your packages hidden behind things on your porch) If the thieves know the area well from scouting it often they will notice the change.
Example - You have a super cute decorative box that is up against your porch wall all the time. You get a delivery and now your decorative box is out away from the wall and its slightly turned. That will very likely catch their attention and will entice them to go check it out. If they know your area well from driving around often they can see the little changes. ( These are your very skilled thieves that have been doing this for a long time. Now your “beginners” thieves not so much.) Or they can see your package peaking out just enough. Every few months change your porch up. It doesn’t even have to be the whole porch.
Of course none of these ideas are fully theft proof. Sadly that is just the world we live in now a days. All we can do is try our best to get to our packages before they can.
Always report when a package is stolen off your porch with who you ordered from and the delivery provider with the shipping number. If they provide a tracking number it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go that way. Then you can see where it is in the delivery system. Yes some companies want you to pay more for that because it does cost more to ship it that way. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea if you can afford it.
What other ideas do you have for hiding your packages? Do you have to get creative in your area on hiding your packages? Let us know and maybe will will add them to our pro tips.