I like to sleep au naturel, but I keep the following within easy reach: rugged clothing, sturdy shoes, flashlight, cell phone and charger, pepper spray, hand gun and ammunition, glasses, keys.

 

I agree.

I do the same.

 

My apartment had a fire last year. I went from nothing but boxers to being ready for the winter weather (tshirt, thermal, long John's, pants, socks, shoes, beanie and gloves) in under a minute. You'd be surprised what you can do when adrenaline kicks in. I have weather appropriate outfits hanging and ready to go. typically I just rlwear boxers and a tshirt now. Itd take me 45 seconds to get on pants socks and shoes and go if needed. So i go for comfort over tacticalness

 

Adrenaline does work wonders.
My kid woke me up late night/early morning and told me someone was outside his bedroom window, I was walking out my front door with my M&P and my maglite in less than 60 seconds. The look on my kid's face tripped an alarm in my mind.

I keep them within arm's reach at night and sneakers, shorts and a t-shirt at my bedside.

 

G23 with TRL1 on night stand.

pants with holster on belt next to bed.
Boots prepped with pants.

I may not have sox, underwear, or a shirt, but in a couple seconds I can have pants, boots, gun, holster, and pocket items (from magazines, to money)
I've been fully dressed and in the truck (moving) 2 minutes after getting toned out for a fire.

Or I could just walk out to my airstream that is far enough from my house not to burn and look through the drawers.


You can also bury a bunch of stuff vacuum sealed in a 5 gal bucket with the top few inches sticking out the ground.
A dog house makes a good easy to move "cover"

Lots of options.

Eta: in winter artic weight overalls and other kit live in the truck.

 

After the earthquake we had a few years back, there was a news update on preparedness and a lady said she wore her shoes to bed for a month....... she was ready to run!

 

Haha I have a confesion to make, I tried that ones with super soft shoes, I was surprised how incredibly uncomfortable it was. I suspect it's not healthy because of how it restricts much needed bloodflow and makes it more difficult for the skin to breath

 

Black pajamas worked great for the Viet Cong. Just saying.

It's not like I gear up to lay down. Instead I have a one of those fishing vests with a lot of pockets on a hook near my bed.

I drop my wallet, glasses, and keys in one pocket before I lit the hay. Other pockets have other useful gear that stays there. Knife, flare, good flashlight, less common keys, burner phone, J-Frame 38, spare garage door remote, etc.

Jump out of bed at a noise I don't like, jam feet into some slip on athletic shoes, sling on my vest, and grab the Mossberg.

Maybe 15 seconds or so and I'm ready for most things.

The vest is my tactical sleeping rig. It's already made up and waiting.

 

clothes go in the BOB. Including some cheap sneakers and socks. Because of floods I might wind up on the roof for a day or so. So I have a kit set up for that.

It is all that quick dry stuff so there is not much in weight or space.

 

I sleep in my unmentionables, PJ bottoms are at the foot of the bed and the dresser is right there, open two drawers and grab socks and shirt, boots are kept close to the door, plus a few pair in the bdrm closet I can grab if we had to go out the window, I can get dressed outside.

 

I don't worry about myself, but my husband just sleeps in underwear. He is very slow moving so I guess the neighbors are getting a show.

 

Precedent has been set in Afghanistan

.

 

The second most terrifying thing after the muzzle of a loaded handgun is seeing me in my underwear...

 

I read the title and thought some humorous joke was afoot.
Well, when i take my shorts or pants off, at night with my wallet, belt, knife, ect i lay that nearby the side of the bed that i sleep on. Then in the mornin I'll get a clean pair of say shorts and put my others in the hamper. Along with my pants ive a pair of shoes and shirt by the bed. If something happens i can grab my "pants/shorts" if i need to, and or get out. I learned that in the army, and i sleep in shorts mostly with firearm nearby. if i need to grab my shirt or a jacket and i got out the house ive both in the vehicle outside..

 

Best defense is to mitigate the risk of fire.

* Do not live in common dwellings, apartments, etc. You are subject to the bad decisions of others.

* Unplug unneeded appliances, and dubious appliances/electrical cords avoided or used only under strict supervision.

* Limit your open flame use and monitor carefully. Don't leave candles or fires or open flames unattended. Nothing flammable should ever be near or above an open flame. And the best candles are ones in glass jars so that they don't tip over and if they burn out, they cannot start a fire. Store flammable liquids and such away from the home as much as possible.

* Do not allow smoking in the house, and if it is, never in bed.

* Have multiple fire extinguishers available in all rooms.

* Ensure smoke detectors with good batteries in ALL rooms.

* If you have vegetation around the home, keep it wet and alive. Cut back dead vegetation. Have outdoor hoses ready to fight a small fire if it presents itself (like over Independence day celebrations with fireworks, for instance).

* When shopping for a home, a nearby fire hydrant and fire department are two key items to look for. These are a benefit of course if you have a fire. The fire department response will be faster and greater chance of saving your home and property.

Fires spread fast, but a working smoke detector should catch if relatively early and give you hopefully time to put it out.

We had a fire at Christmas one year. Some taped up plastic decoration fell upon open candle flames in the bathroom. The fire spread pretty fast, all up a wall and on a bathroom oak vanity. My mother smelled smoke, and I was the first to respond to find the large flame, probably about 3' x 3' in size. It doubled in size every few seconds. I yelled for 911 and a fire extinguisher.

The fire extinguisher was empty. We collectively swatted at it with blankets and hit it with water filled pots and pans. We barely managed to extinguish it before giving up and losing the house. In the approximately 1 minute from discovery, scramble to fight the fire with dead fire extinguisher, pots of water and blankets, the fire had consumed much of the bathroom wall and did a lot of smoke damage. But we (barely) saved the home from consumption, and were probably moments away from giving up. It was very scary.

The lesson is that no smoke detector alerted (to my memory) and no fire extinguisher was available. I'm confident that a smoke detector would have given us more time, and a fire extinguisher would have made quick work of the task.

I'm no expert, but from "detection" in most homes, you probably have no more than 1-2 minutes to realistically put out a fire before evacuation is necessary. But you must have the right tools.

If you do live in a risky area for fire, a go bag becomes a necessity.

 

Best defense is to mitigate the risk of fire.
....

* Ensure smoke detectors with good batteries in ALL rooms.

...

Fires spread fast, but a working smoke detector should catch if relatively early and give you hopefully time to put it out.
...
I'm no expert, but from "detection" in most homes, you probably have no more than 1-2 minutes to realistically put out a fire before evacuation is necessary. But you must have the right tools.
.

Good points - Consider that Hardwire interconnect smoke detectors have been required in new construction by the National Elec Code for more than 20yrs. This generally is a very good thing until the SHTF/teotwawki electric grid goes out and eventually the backup battery is going to die. What then?

We can now buy smoke detector with 10yr life and 10yr battery included. This is the rated life of smoke detectors (check the date on the detectors you have installed and replace those that are 10yr old/out dated; Change batteries if appropriate/twice a year).

One detector per sleeping area plus one per level. (what are the additional sleeping areas when new "guests" arrive. Guests who are more likely to do dumb thinks than you (such as using freaking candles). Your survival will depend the early detection of a fire and the fire dept will not be showing up, The overall fire hazard likely will be higher than it is today - more people, more congested, use of open flame.

PRESSURIVZE WATER FIRE EXTINGUISERS are GREAT. and they can be refilled at home

I will admit my planning window doesn't see past 10yr.

 

This.

 

cpap mask only

 

Also: practice makes perfect. I personally have my pack rigged with my guns and knives. Once my pants and shoes are on all I do is throw my pack on and grab my long gun. For others this may not be doable but you should try. Also, maybe do a few practice runs. Set an alarm for a weird time at night and jump up and clothe yourself. and do it again and again and again and again. Until you have it down to under 2 minutes (ideally under 1)

Unless the fire is more of a fireball explosion, you should have a good few minutes to gear up. Outside that, in the case of general unrest, minutes should be able to be had. Worst case is a break in. You can kill a baddy in the nude even. Just keep your long gun ready. As well as your rifle [emoji23]

 

Naked with bayonet on a 590a1 and a glock 20 in a drop leg holster

 

I'll bet you look funny sleeping naked wearing a glock in a drop leg holster. Be careful where you put that bayonet :

 

Fire doubles in size every 6-7 seconds

 

For the fire load in an occupied private dwelling ,it’s 60 seconds to,double . Large non compartmented open floors like found in warehouses , with lots of air supply it can get down to 15 seconds .

Back to sleepin wear, for close to thirty years on the job, I slept in boxers, socks and a T shirt . Just like everyone else , we could jump,up into,uniform pants, run to rig, into bunkers and out the door in well under one minute . In fact if it took that long I’d be ****ed . Most likely it would as under ten seconds to get up and into pants and out bunk room door .

Today I sleep in boxers and T shirt , pants on floor along with shoes I can slip into fast, bag next to door .

 

The most important thing is to preserve OPSEC and remain hidden from potential threats and be ready to act. Blending in with the environment is key. Also, always sleep with one eye open.

 

May not matter, but i do also have a sharp Machete and a Ball Bat by my side of the bed and currently my Fixed bladed shrade walden maybe early 60s hunter bowie knife and a couple folder knifes as well, and a led mag light. A little bolted down firearm safe with some ammo, a secondary pistol and a few mags.

 

Kinky Bastard

 

My shotgun sits in the corner near my side of the bed kind of behind my nightstand. Its loaded but not chambered and the safety is on. On a coat rack near my side of the bed are my ontario sp1 and machete. In a few spots throughout the room I have baseball bats. I have a weapon within arms reach at all times

 

I guess im not alone about keeping a mechete close. Ive used one outside enough imo to use it like a sword for defense. Thinking as i wright. It would be nightmareish walking in a home at dark, setting off an alarm, then come around a corner hearing a berserker Cry out. Then seeing a Long blade or axe swing your way.
I have a Fiskars Axe by my recliner i take outside to use, then bring back in to set it by my chair.
Late at night if i cant sleep i just might come to my recliner, read the bible or a library book, or I might sharpen up any edges on my blades or kitchen knifes, or I may strip and clean firearms and put them back together... unload mags cleaning the spring area and follower and reload up.

 

It is almost 100 degrees, as I write this. This time of year, I wear a pair of shorts to bed and have my flip flops a couple feet away and a T-shirt on a hook in about the same spot.
As "winter" sets in, I keep a pair of RedKap autoshop pants and a medium weight chamois button down on the hooks. Sleep in my UA boxer briefs and have a nice pair of flannel lined slippers

If there is a situation at zerodarkthirty, say, some one decides my stuff should be their stuff. The P30 and whatever I have on my body when I get out of bed. No time for clothes...threat neutralization doesnt demand clothing, just a show of extreme force.

 

I sleep in my birthday suit even in the dead of winter with just a sheet over me unless it is down below 40. However, I have my 'turnouts' right beside the bed with full EDC in the pockets and on the belt.

When the garage was on fire, it took me less than a minute to be fully clothed at 2:30 AM with flashlight keys and everything that I needed. I even let one of the firemen borrow my knife to cut something at one point in time.

I also have my M&P .40 tucked into the side of the bed where I can easily grab it.

 

Just run out naked. That will scare the bejeezus out of them.

 

No, Palmetto's the kinky one.

I got quite the visual off of that one.

 

Nomad maybe you need both. Throw the axe and shoot such intruder before the axe hits them in the chest!