Once, in the middle of the night, I quickly needed a flashlight to check on one of my cats. (Who turned out to be fine.) And, didn’t have immediate access to any of my flashlights.
Since then, I have flashlights stashed about the house. I don’t mean sitting in a junk drawer or closet. I mean strategically placed and fully ready for instant use.
Yep! On a specific edge on top of a small table in a central area. In the event of a power outage I can walk to it in pitch blackness and grab it and turn it on.
Yes, I always have at least 1 flashlight with me (D4K or TS10), with a few other lights left around the house and within reach of anywhere I might be, and a thrower near the window to check on whatever the dogs might be barking at.
I also keep almost all of my lights with batteries (Li-ion, lithium primary, or Ni-MH) in them even when put away in a drawer or closet and mechanically locked out, so that if I needed to use them it’s simple enough to turn on.
I keep one by each door, in the kitchen, each nightstand and on tables in the living and family room. They aren’t big ol honking lights, just little AA or penlights. Kids got a few in their nightstands/drawers. I usually have a headlamp nearby. Nobody here will wear them. They think it makes them look silly, whatever. We have power outages probably a half a dozen times a year during stormy weather. I have a small case with some LED lanterns and I always have plenty of batteries charged up.
Everyone is pretty use to having a light close by wherever they are. Amazing how many times they get used around the house. Looking through closets and drawers seems a little easier with some well aimed light.
There are also ones in everyone’s car, along with a knife/multitool. a first aid kit and a flat tire repair kit. A small case with odds and ends in it are in the trunk. I don’t think they know it but, if one day they call with a small emergency I can point them to that black case in the trunk.
I hope for the best but expect the worst so, I kind of prepare for that. I am not one of those preppers or nothing but I won’t be left out in the cold if we need to leave the house for a bit.
Yes, i used to have about one per room but that became unwieldy so now i have some in strategic places and most in one place.
I also have several set in places i can find blindfolded for power outages at night. That happened once so far though the power came back 30 secs later.
In my coat, or in my back pocket, depending on the outside temperature.
Beside my bed. Two in the car. The rest is stashed in my man-cave (for a reason )
I’ve generally got a flashlight on each keychain and the phone on me, otherwise the flashlights live in but a handful of places (gloveboxes, some shelves/cabinets).
Absolutely. I usually (when I am awake) have my TS10 in a pocket and a Fenix E01 V2 on my keys on the other side. But for night use, I have a light on the lamp table by the bed. One on the table next to the recliner in the living room. One in the kitchen on the counter. One downstairs in the laundry room. Half dozen on my dresser in the bedroom (one an LT1S). One in each of the other bedrooms on dressers. Two or three on my workbench in the shop. 4 in the car. A few more scattered around the garage. A couple on my desk in my office… I probably forgot some.
And lots in drawers here and there. Obviously I have too many lights…
There are two different schools of thought, the centralized vs decentralized system. I am for the centralized system as I like to know where all my lights are as opposed to decentralized where you have to remember and keep track of where they are.
Two completely different management systems.
I can write a War and Piece type novel on the subject.
For years, and more so now… i have flashlights (and a lantern of some sort :P) in every room of my house. I have them in every coat pocket, every vechicle, every room, every shed & outbuilding, every tool box & tool bag, every napsack, and at least one on my person or in my pants pocket every day.
Partly. There is always a flashlight and a headlamp next to the front door. There is always a flashlight with a good moonlight on my nightstand. There is always a flashlight in my work backpack and another in my car door pocket.
Those lights are dedicated to their locations. The rest have one common storage location so I don’t have to go searching when I want a specific light.
Pretty much, stashed around, although I could do better.
EDIT: While reading the replys on this thread I have realized I fit more into the centralized location category. Then I have lights scattered around in other rooms but with no rhyme, reason, or plan.
I definitely can, and need; to do better at stashing lights in dedicated, easy to locate places in different rooms.
I have a kind of hybrid approach, i have a light on my keychain, about 5 in the car, and course the cell phone has a built in light, and three in strategic places (two float) but in general most are in one spot.
This way i always have a light nearby but not the logistical headache of losing track of any.
For those that have lights in many places, how do you keep track of battery charging so you don’t have a dead light when you need it?