No one likes to come home to find their house has been robbed. No one. Recently a good friend had hour house robbed three times in a two month period. Yes, she needs to move. However, the police are fairly certain it is the same robber(s) and, with any luck, they will be arrested. This has gotten me thinking about just how I can protect the things that insurance just cannot replace. Small valuables and heirlooms that, if stolen, would break my heart. TV's and such can be replaced, but my Mother's Ring and my pearls are precious to me. Short of wearing them all the time or carrying them with me, there will always be the risk that some nefarious intruder will help him/herself to them while I am away. This got me thinking about security of a rural property and just how to prevent my most precious of things from being taken even if my TV and such are.Frequently in catalogs and online stores you will find everyday product packaging converted into small safes. These are known as diversion safes. The idea is that you hide small valuables inside the replicas of everyday household objects and then place the can in among other every-day items. Thieves typically don't like to spend more then 5 - 10 minutes in a place and, hopefully, will skim by your valuables without even noticing them. The cans and containers are weighted so if you pick them up they feel like the real product. I found shaving cream cans, cleaning product cans, fruits and vegetable cans, a hairspray can, and even a hairbrush that opens up to reveal a hollow hidy-hole. All of those are great, but here is one that really caught my eye!
Yes! That is a canning jar safe! It is described as looking like preserves. You unscrew the lid to find a cavity inside where you can hide small valuables. If you are like me, you have a large pantry for "putting by" and this would blend right in. This is just $14.95 on Amazon (click here if you would like to buy one. Yes, this is a shameless plug for my Amazon store so I can make a few pennies for the holidays).
So what would you put in such a limited space? Well, I keep copies of important documents scanned and saved in digital form on a flash drive. I would drop a few flash drives that hold important files in there as a backup plan. I would keep jewelry that I don't wear normally such as grandma's wedding ring and my good pearls. You get the picture. With the amount of "puttin' by" I do, I know this jar would disappear into the crowd. I challenge a thief to go through all my canned goods on the hopes of finding a secret stash.
What do you think? Do you think these diversion safes work or are they just a waste of money?
