Introduction: Hide Valuables in Plain Sight

About: I'm a husband, a parent and an 8th grade science teacher.

*** There are bonuses at the end, enjoy. ***

Hiding things in plain sight can be a fun and secure way to protect your valuables from evil. There are hundreds of places to hide your stuff in your home without spending any money. We all have seen hide-a-safes, can safes, and decoy safes on instructibles before, but I feel that some of them are a bit complicated. I assume that if the thief picks up or moves the can safe then the jig is up, so a homemade one is just as good as a $15 fake Ajax can. There are many items in the home that people may see but not disturb, I used a mayonnaise jar. Unless the perp has a hankering for sandwich, I think it will do just fine.

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Step 1:


Materials:

Jar (from recycling bin)

Shopping bag

Knife

Painters tape

Paint (color matching original contents)

Step 2:

First, clean the inside of the jar with soapy water to breakdown the oils in the jar. This will ensure that the paint will adhere to the plastic. When washing the jar, keep the label as dry as possible.

Next, you must dry the jar and place it into the bag upside down. Then, tape the bag around the jar.

Step 3:

Cut the bag at the opening of the jar, then push the jar through the opening by sliding the bag down.

Step 4:


Tape the opening where you don’t want paint to reach. I wanted the threads to be free of paint as well as the inside lip. The lid covers the inside lip.

Step 5:

Following the paint's directions, cover the inside with a thin layer of paint. Repeat several times until you are unable to see through the jar. Depending on the paint, it will take a few days before if completely dries to the point that it can withstand heavy use. To remove the bag and tape, just pull the bag off like you would a sock, it should come off without a problem.

Step 6:

The one on the left is mine, as you can see when compared to a full jar of mayo the color is very close. The depth of color is hard to match but it is much closer than the peanut butter I tried in the past. Peanut butter is hard due to the slight specks of red from the peanuts papery covering. 

This can be kept in a pantry or a fridge. 

Step 7: Other Ideas

A sprinkler head makes a great place to hide you keys. This is surprisingly easy and would make for a boring instructable, just remove the lid, take out the spring and slide in your keys. It can fit a janitors amount of keys. Just step on it to insert into the ground.  

 Vaseline makes for a great container because it does not need to be painted, it is not a clear jar. The product its self is a deterrent due to the fact that most criminals wouldn't want to touch it. 

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