Protecting Gold and Other Valuables

If you have important documents, cash or jewelry to keep safe, you can invest in a metal safe, hide it in a closet and bolt it to the floor. However, if time and cash prohibit that, there are ways to make your own safe. Here are a few simple safes anyone can make.

Although they aren't foolproof, all of these options hide your loot, providing you with a bit of extra security.

1. Marker Safe

To turn a thick marker such as a dry erase marker into a safe hiding spot, use a flathead screwdriver to pry off the end of the marker.

Then, shake out the ink pad or pull it out with a plier. Finally, roll your cash into a thin cylinder shape, slip it into the body of the marker and replace the cap on the back of the marker.

Whether you store this cash-filled marker in your desk drawer, the center console of your car or any other spot, no one is likely to suspect it holds cash, and as just a bit of ink is likely to remain in the tip of the marker, this "safe" will actually write if someone tests it.

Unless you get robbed by a starving artist, this marker keeps your stash safe.

2. Mayo Container Safe

If a marker doesn't offer you the space you need, grab a can of mayonnaise and turn that into a safe. Start by washing out the container and letting it fully dry. Buy cream coloured spray paint, and make sure that it is designed to work on plastic.

Tape a piece of newsprint around the outside of your mayo container to protect it from paint splatters, and then, holding your can of spray paint about ten centimetres from your mayo container, gently coat the inside of the container with a layer of paint. Let it dry and repeat these steps until you have applied several layers.

At this point, your container of mayo should look like full from the outside, but it is empty and ready to hold your jewels or other items on the inside. If you are worried about a thief making a sandwich, empty a small tin of cat food, securely fit the can into the top of the mayo container and fill the can with mayo.

Now, even if someone peeps beneath the lid of your mayo container, they will still only see mayo. If you add actual mayo to the top of the safe, remember to change it out once a month, so it doesn't go off.

3. Hollow Book

If you don't want to keep your valuables in your fridge, embrace the classic idea of a hollow book safe. Just buy a thick book, and make sure it matches the rest of your collection – If your thief is a bibliophile, he or she will immediately know that a thick tome by Joyce is out of place among shelves of paperback true crime novels.

Once you have a book that isn't likely to raise suspicions, grab a knife and start cutting. Leave the edges of the book intact, and cut out the center. When you close the book, it should look completely normal, but when you open it, it contains cash, documents, a pistol or other items.

4. Outlet Safe

To make an outlet safe, find a small patch of wall that doesn't currently have an outlet but where an outlet would make sense and be believable. Make sure there is no stud behind the wall, and cut a rectangular hole in it.

Purchase one of the small metal boxes that electricians use to hold electrical components behind light switches or outlets, and slip that into the space you created in your wall.

Whatever you want to keep safe can be slid into this box. Then, cover the box with a regular outlet plate. Screw it closed, and no one will ever find your valuables.

If you are looking for more ways to keep your valuables hidden and protected from burglars, then contact a company like Safes Warehouse.