My new nighttime strategy.

My pajama pants have pockets. I would grab my pistol, flashlight and put my phone in my pocket. I'd then sit in a dark corner, wait for them to come in, blind them with my flashlight and then take appropriate measures to correct the situation. The 911 call gets made after the smoke clears.

However, if you want to be uber prepared, leave your holster, knife, wallet, keys, cell phone and whatever else you carry daily in the pockets of your pants, then turn out those pants over a pair of wellington boots like a pair bunker pants.

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every day at work I have to move my fire brigade gear like that, and it never occured to me to use the same concept for "go-pants" at home.
Thanks, I'll give that a try!

I don't care about "unsecured weapons" because I don't let incompetent people in my home unsupervised.
For everyone else, I lock the front door.

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Yeah except it's not the ones you let in or not...It's the ones that might let themselves in. Personally, even though security is in layers, the last thing I want is to walk in to stare down the barrel of my own firearm in someone else's hand.

That's why I always secure mine beforehand when I leave and can't carry it.

While having such items available make sense, going out of one's way to not only leave them on the floor, but carefully arranging them to resemble laundry that just didn't make it to the hamper seems a bit odd.

It is not so much about being presentable as it is about feeling less vulnerable. Being naked or just wearing one's skives while having to meet up with who knows what does something to one's mental state, and it is a lot about the mental state, isn't it?

I sleep in a pair of cargo shorts or heavier gym shorts and a T-shirt. I have a pair of boat shoes that I can slip into easily. That, a pair of electronic ears, my 200 lumen light & 5906TSW w/TLR2 gives me a bit of comfort should things go bump in the night.

It's the ones that might let themselves in.

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I'm not responsible for the actions of criminals, my responsibility ends when I put the guns in a private residence.
Locking the door is a bonus
Having various layers of security is a bonus
Locking up the guns in a secure cabinet is a bonus

bigfatdave said:

I'm not responsible for the actions of criminals, my responsibility ends when I put the guns in a private residence.
Locking the door is a bonus
Having various layers of security is a bonus
Locking up the guns in a secure cabinet is a bonus

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Nevermind. It appears you missed my point.

Duble Naught Spy said:

Get a big dog.

Bump in the night, dog alerts, you stumble out 30 seconds later and the bad guys been gone for 29 seconds. Give the dog a bone and a pat on the head, go back to bed.

My Golden and Lab do their jobs well.

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+1.

Big isn't required, but attentive is important.

You are not getting in my house without everyone in the house being wide awake. And I mean wide awake. In fact, you aren't even going to walk around in my yard without me knowing.

He might be a yippy dog to my neighbors, but he's an integral part of the security system to us.

To the OP's question, getting some cargo shorts on doesn't fit in my plan at all. I wake up to a bump in the night, I have x number of seconds to be armed and at the front of the OODA loop. Mr. Mossberg and I will go hand-in-hand, naked, out that door. As long as my English Mastiff gives me the 5 seconds' notice I need to get armed (which I bet my life on every night, easily), I'll be ok. And I don't personally agree with filling my hands with many or even 2 items. I've been trained that a couple of things to do under stress is a couple too many. I have 1 thing to do, get the gun, and that's it, everything else is secondary. Flashlight stays on the gun, pants stay in the hamper.
Of course the stress of any actual incident along with the lower temperatures at night will probably also cause some sort of "pucker factor" embarrassment, but I don't think the intruder is coming in to take pictures of me, are they? :0

OptimusPrime's post brings to mind that the Minimum Reaction time needed is a consideration as to how you'll prepare yourself.

The layout of a house plays a large part in that reaction prep time. A person in a 2-story house with everyone sleeping upstairs has a little bit longer to prepare to react than someone with a 1-story and home entrances near their bedroom. A person in an apartment usually has only one entrance so reaction might be able to be more "scripted" especially if the bedroom is on a far end.

My 12 y.o. daughter suggested getting a cape for her dog. I imagine it'd be terrifying as a bad guy to see a one year old pissed off lab aggresively heading my way showing teeth and wearing a cape.

BG just might leave some DNA behind.

I go with the manpurse.

It just looks like a manpurse.
Equipped with the basics.
Just need to throw the strap over my shoulder, and commence to slicing the pie.

Clothing is optional.

Most of the time, the sound that woke me up is actually nothing, and my wife ends up catching me in the kitchen at zero-dark-thirty, eating the leftover pie, and wearing my manpurse.

Every good room-clearing exercise should end at the refrigerator.

You mean 5.11 doesn't make tactical jammies? Yet.

You mean 5.11 doesn't make tactical jammies? Yet.

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You jest...and yet, I can see it happening

And I can see myself buying some hahah.

Staging

I have called it 'staging' for a few decades and I am a firm believer that you should leave yourself 'staged' whenever you lay your head down - no matter where or when.

I generally wear 5:11's or such pants and they are ready to go with all that I need to leave the house for ANY reason.

And the tools that I might need are also staged to be grabbed in a second [ I wake up FAST,did so last night due to neighbor situation ] so I know my limitations.

I also have a few fire extinguishers around the house [ case its the smoke that wakes me ] and my car & house keys ready to grab.

And of course a few flashlights CLOSE by so I can see in a power off or darkened room.

W.E.G, you made me LOL. I am currently sitting, sans man purse (satchel, dammit!) sitting at the desk, wolfing down M&Ms cuz "I might have heard something..."

A burglar isn't the only thing that might wake you up. A fire is the other big thing. A pair of pants right there would be a good thing if there is a fire. I take off my clothes and leave them laying there handy. They go in the basket in the morning.

A burglar isn't the only thing that might wake you up. A fire is the other big thing. A pair of pants right there would be a good thing if there is a fire. I take off my clothes and leave them laying there handy. They go in the basket in the morning.

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Very true. That's one of the reason why I keep a 3-day pack in my vehicle with multiple changes of clothes/outer garments/toiletries/essentials at all times.

Ragnar Danneskjold said:

Very true. That's one of the reason why I keep a 3-day pack in my vehicle with multiple changes of clothes/outer garments/toiletries/essentials at all times.

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I like to think I have 3 days worth of clothes in the trunk of my Cobalt, but I'm pretty sure its just random laundry I took to a friends house that I'm too lazy to remove.

You mean 5.11 doesn't make tactical jammies? Yet.

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Behold!
Duluth trading cargo sweatpants (inator)
http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/product/mens-sweatpants-souped-up-sweatpants-56011.aspx

I guess the whole thing seems silly to me. Too many steps IMO. If awoken by an intruder the absolute LAST thing Im worried about is being "presentable". My firearm stays on me until bedtime then I put it in the bedside safe with the door unlocked so IF someone breaks in its literally 1-2 seconds tops with my gun in my hand. Plus if it really IS an intruder then Im not leaving the safety of my room as I can see the whole main hallway and kids' rooms while being strategically covered by a large heavy dresser (7' long of solid oak). Once the threat is gone by either fleeing or otherwise, then I can worry about being "presentable" when the cops show up.

I go with a flashlight in the nightstand... I used to have a pistol in there too, but sometimes I sleepwalk, and have scared the GF by dreaming that something is going down and jumping up and grabbing my handgun, all while asleep. I don't keep the phone within 5 feet of where I sleep, for health reasons, but it is on the dresser next to the closet where the shotgun is. Early warning is provided by a psychotic dachshund that goes crazy at the slightest noise. Kinda sucks for everyday life, but she is a good watchdog, I have to give her credit for that!

As for clothes, I don't need pants or a belt to run a shotgun and flashlight... I would have no problem taking care of business in sleep clothes or nekkid.