How to create a diversion safe

What’s a diversion safe? It’s a secret hiding place to divert would
be thieves.  It is usually in hollowed out container such as food jar, cleaning supplies etc… It works because it looks like the real deal and most thieves are not going to take the time to search for these hidden safe.

You can purchase these types of hiding places, but remember if it was massed produced thieves have probably seen them and know to be on the lookout. Just like vents and toilets used to be place to hide things, they have been shown in movies or described in books so frequently that anyone doing a search is likely to look there, just like looking for a wall safe behind a picture.

However, if you make your own DIY diversion safe, and do it well, that extra customization will help to keep all but the most dedicated of searchers from finding your hiding spot. We will give you five examples to get you started, but get creative and create you own.

DIY Diversion safe examples

• Hollowed out book. This diversion has been around a very long time. It requires a thick book and a sharp knife to cut out spaces in the center of the book. Make sure it isn’t a book will stand out or draw attention and you need to have a library of books for it to blend with. If there is nothing in your home that says you are a reader, having a large, thick book is going to draw attention.

• Lip balm container. This is a mini-diversion safe that would not look out of place in a purse, or in a bedside table. The easiest way is to take an old lip balm tube and simple remove the contents, give it a thorough cleaning, put in your rolled up cash or something else small that won’t rattle and cap it. However, if you want to take the stealth a bit further, remove and clean, then replace the screw in base again with a little bit of balm still in it.
  
• False drawer bottoms. This takes a bit more skill than the previous examples, and it is only good for holding flat objects and it needs to be completed in such a way that a wayward corner doesn’t tip up and give away your hiding spot.

• Potted plants. Again this works if you have several houseplants not just one. The concept is simple and the easiest way is to hide a sealed can in the center of a pot full of soil and then plant as would normally. The reason for not sealing off the bottom 1/3 or 1/4 of the pot is that should someone poke a something along the edges of the pot they would hear if is hit something, or at least notice it wasn’t going in as far as they were expecting. If the sealed can is beneath the plant they aren’t as likely to notice it being there.
  
• Toothpaste tube. No one is likely to grab a tube of toothpaste thinking that there is something hidden in there. This one is pretty simple. Take an empty or almost empty tube of toothpaste and roll it up tightly to get everything out. Then flatten it out, and just above the crimped end of the tube cut it open. You can cut the whole thing off, but for a little extra stealth, just cut one side of the tube so the crimping is still there. Clean the tube thoroughly – a bottle brush can work well for this. When it is dry you can stash cash, jewlery etc.. inside but do not over stuff. Then reroll the tube up like it is a mostly used tube of toothpaste. Let a little air out of the capped in, so it deflates like it is basically all used up.
  
• Hollow handles and spaces. This diversion safe involves looking at the tools and spaces. Brooms, dust pans, hammers, screw drivers…. there are a lot of different things that might have hollow handles for you to take advantage of. If you have angled walls, you might discover hollow wedge shaped spaces in the corners, especially in kitchen cabinets. All you need to figure out is the best way to hide your access to those spaces. These are often bigger spaces and area good space to hide food with a long shelf-life that you don’t need to rotate.

Diversion safes to avoid

There are some diversion safes that a prepper should avoid, and these will give you an idea of what not to buy or make.

• Avoid drink diversion safes. No doubt a thief would, in a
  world without rule of law, savor a Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper,
  Arizona or other beverage container. And no doubt would be
  pleasantly surprised to find your gold or silver coins for
  barter.

• Avoid Morton salt diversion safes. Salt will be extremely
  valuable!

• Avoid Pringles diversion safes. Obviously it’s food and will
  be wanted.

• Avoid candle diversion safes. While ordinarily this unusual
  safe would be a great place to hide valuables, in times of
  extreme crisis, a candle would be very valuable!

• Avoid lighter safes. We’ve seen commercially available
  diversion safes disguised as a lighter; however, a lighter will
  be an extremely prized firestarter, and for this reason it does
  not make a good diversion safe.

In short, when selecting a diversion safe, you’ll want to steer
clear from any safes which resembles foods or water! As during a
crisis food and water will be more valuable than gold.