apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Im always afraid of keeping a weapon near the bed. Too many opportunities for things to go wrong (i.e. the boyfriend almost clobbering me when he came home and didnt know I was in the basement.

The foghorn sounds brilliant! And if you don't have a chance to call the police your neighbors certainly will.

Living in a fairly dense neighborhood I worry somewhat about break-ins. The fear is always more psychological than real - we live on the second floor and there are single co-eds both above, and below us. We figure they are easier targets than the boys apartment.

lol. this is kinda funny. when my hubby was in iraq i did keep an old bat under the bed... even though i lived literally 2 houses away from the police station. if anything ever did happen i dont know if i would have even remembered to grab it.. im a spaz. but i felt i was keeping my baby safer by having it.

i want to be that football player that unscrewed his bedpost and clobbered the guy with it.

i used to have a t-ball bat. those things are solid, yet so light you could really swing the crap out of it.

My Boyfriend and I both keep a baseball bat on both sides of our bed. It's sort of our old school way of feeling safe. Neither of us feels safe with a gun in the house and who knows if we would even think to grab them in case of emergency but it's nice to know their there!

My husband is a former baseball player and actually does keep a bat under the bed (and next to the front door, back door etc).

Someone did try to break in through our bedroom door (while I was home alone) and my best weapon was my mouth. I screamed "Get the F out of here" with all of my might and really startled the intruder. He ran down our back door stairs and kept on running. Lucky fo rme, I live about 3 blocks from the police station and the helicopter & officers were there within minutes.

If the intruder wasn't startled by my voice though, the bat was my next move. He (she) was trying to pick the lock on our bedroom door (which also has entry to backyard) and I figured a blow from the bat while he was fumbling with opening the door also would have worked rather well. My adrenaline was so high, I had no fear getting in a good surprise swing.

I have a Mickey Mantle model little league bat near my bed. You don't want a bat that's too big or you might not have enough room to swing!

I keep a bat under my side of the bed & my boyfriend keeps a big hunting knife under his. Whenever the dogs hear something outside, they go nuts & we go investigate with our weapons! It sure makes me feel safer knowing I have some protection.

I took kung fu for a few years, and I learned a couple weapons. I have 2 practice swords, and a long bamboo pole near my bed. Just in case...

when i lived in a rough neighborhood w/ 28 break-ins in 1 month, i slept w/ a really scary looking, long bread knife by my bed. i figured it would scare most people away. lol

My stuffed penguin is fiercely protective. I have no fears.

Absolutely nothing. I live on the second floor of an apartment which itself is situated on the third floor of a building with a beeper entrance (it's not a key, just a chunk of gray plastic with a chip inside. No idea what it's called). With our mazelike corridors and rows of absolutely same doors, there's really not much of a chance someone would be breaking into our apartment. I've gone away several times while leaving the door unlocked (not on purpose, had lost my key) and nothing ever happened.

This may sound weird or extreme...but my husband keeps a katana sword next to his side of the bed. He's no master swordfighter, but he does have a basic knowledge from studying a bit of martial arts stick-fighting (really, it's essentally the same as a bat, but with a sharp edge and slightly more intimidating).
We are on the second floor of a duplex so it's unlikely anyone would actually break into our apartment. But he figures that if someone does come into the house and he comes out wielding a sword, that the intruder will hopefully get freaked out and run off before he actually has to use it.

My fiancee is a federal officer and because of his job we live close to the Mexican border. Even though our neighborhood is safe, there are still lots of drug runners. We keep 2 guns next to the bed just in case one doesn't work.

Do hand held weights count? Probably only if I've been using them and can swing them with enough strength!

My brother, who always investigates noises outside and has even chased down some teenage boys who kicked in a neighbor's mail box, keeps a hunting knife tucked under his bed and a hand gun in his night stand. He doesn't keep it loaded and has never had to use either. He's in the army and is well-trained so the few months we lived with him, I felt very safe.

I'm not sure if I'd be able to use a bat if I kept one under the bed. The idea of using violence against other people is difficult for me, though I must say that I feel fortunate to live in a place where it's unlikely to become an issue.

Being in New York, you'd think I'd be more cautious about break ins. No bat under the bed. However, when I was a kid my sister sometime's kept the bat on hand, and I can remember my dad grabbing it to go check out a noise.

Maybe i should get a bat. I'd feel far more comfortable with that than a knife or fun.

Mace would also be good!

Nothing here. It never occurred to me. It's probably naive, but I rarely feel unsafe anywhere.

when we lived in west oakland, we had an "upstairs" bat (aluminum) and a "downstairs" bat (wood)... each to mesh with the surrounding interiors as they were kept in the open for fairly easy access. both got "use"... needless to say, this is one of the reasons we decided to leave west oakland.

the link above is busted, but it shows the runaway van full of porno that crashed into our house on christmas night, 2004... good times.

I keep a large knife under the bed, although I live in a small, safe town and I'm not too worried about intruders here.

I did have a few scary experiences in the past. My first apartment was a second-floor flat in a bad neighbourhood, and we had a home invasion in broad daylight. The front door was unlocked, and 5 guys came up the stairs with ski masks and baseball bats- I guess they thought we had something worth taking! My then-bf and his friend were playing video games on the couch, and the guys surrounded them. I was in the kitchen cutting up apples- they didn't notice me until I came out of the kitchen with two big knives and started screaming like a banshee for them to get out. One guy told his friend to hit me with his bat, and the friend hesitated, not wanting to hit a girl. In the confusion, my ex-bf and his buddy jumped up and each grabbed a bat away from the dudes and we managed to chase them out. A week or two later, my ex-bf recognised one of the guys in the street, and started chasing him. The guy ran to a nearby car, turned around with a gun, and started chasing my ex- he ended up shooting him in the butt cheek (he survived- no permanent damage)! THAT was quite an experience.

Another weird experience was when I lived in Montreal as a student in a basement flat. One morning I tried to leave the flat, and couldn't get the door to open. Upon closer inspection, I realised that someone had screwed my door shut, from the outside, with massive huge screws that went right through the door and it's frame. It was very freaky- I had to call the fire department to free me. To this day, I haven't the foggiest idea who could have done that and why. And how they did it without waking me up- these were monster screws through a metal door!

Oops, that turned into a novel, sorry. Point is, there are lots of weirdos out there- arm yourselves, people!

I keep a baseball uniform, jock and a cup next to the bed.

i keep a cricket bat underneath my bed. easier to wield than a baseball bat, and it delivers quite a blow.

redneckmodern--

Oh my GOD THAT is HILARIOUS.

we have a sword in our room! hahaha

That's hot, Other Patrick.

Eh, I don't worry about it. If robbers actually bothered to bust into our place, they would get a pretty pathetic haul. It would probably end up funny in the long run.

As for the scarier damage that insane people can do, I sorta figure an earthquake will get us first.

I just moved into my one bedroom apartment last week - my first time living alone after having roommates for the past 10 years.

As a single female, I definitely would feel safer with something to protect me. I've suggested getting a taser gun (more so as a joke!) - boyfriend sent me this link: http://www.stunningpink.com/ which I am seriously considering! I'm in an upstairs unit but I don't have neighbors right next door to me. I have thought about a baseball bat too!

The only time my apartment was broken into was my second year of college. The complex consisted of college students only. It always dreadfully hot in the summer (Cali), and our living room windows were open. My roommates and I went out, arrived late (around 2 a.m.) and went to sleep. Around 3 a.m., a young man slashed our window screens, and had the audacity to go inside our bedrooms. YES, this really did happen. My roommate at the far end of the hallway woke up with him crouched in the corner of her room, going through her backpack. We have no idea why he broke in and didn't steal a thing. When she awoke in a confused state, he ran out the front door. My roommates slept with baseball bats for the rest of the semester until they could move out.

When I lived with my sister (roommate too), she went away for an internship out of state for a couple months. This was a downstairs apartment, nearby our university, but not in the safest neighborhood. Again, it was a hot summer, so I slept with the window open at night for ventilation. I started having nightmares of strange men breathing at my window. This freaked me out! I decided to sleep with the sharpest butcher knife under my bedroom pillow for the rest of the summer. My brother thought I was psycho. But I've seen enough murder mysteries to know that its not that uncommon.

I hate sounding cynical, but it never hurts to take extra precautions and be prepared "just in case."

A few months into living in my very first apartment, I had gone over to my mom's house to scrounge up some stuff I could take, and decided to grab the baseball bats that were in the basement. I know it sounds made up perfect timing, but that night, I had an intruder try to break in my window where I lived on the first floor, and I had left the bats out in the car.

It's been about 14 years, and I still keep a bat in the closet. It says "Big Stick" right on it. I live on the third floor, no balcony, it's probably an easy break-in if anyone got in the building and really wanted to, but I guess I don't think about it as much anymore. I think they will break their neck on the mess if they come in.

I have mace in my bedside table. I also grab it if I take the dog out late.

She's large, loud, and has great ears, so she'd probably scare anyone away.

But my ex slept with a bat under his bed, and I always thought it was a good idea.

used a good heavy ended putter one time. I had had the window smashed out on my car the previous week and heard glass break outside so i grabbed my putter and went to look, idiots throwing beer bottles off of a balcony, but it would have worked.

My Dad keeps an old baseball bat under his bed.

Mostly we rely on the dog to sound the alarm. And being that she barks at, well, everything, someone sneaking in unnoticed is unlikely.

I count on being able to heave one of my hardcover books at an intruder's head. Or to be able to hide in my bedroom closet's crawlspace (which is REALLY not apparent when you open the closet, AT ALL, you have to know where it is to get in it), and call 911 from my cell phone (which is always on my bedside table).

I've grabbed a wine bottle from the the top of the fridge on my way to investigate a noise. Not sure how effective that would have been but luckily the person making the noise left. I did keep that bottle by my bed for a few weeks though. Now there's a marble rolling pin on the fridge which is almost too heavy to be a weapon.

I usually do have a shotgun or rifle in my bedroom closet but since they aren't mine I generally don't have ammo for them.

Well, we have a bat-type of object: a shotgun, actually.

I have the same bat under my bed that I have had under every bed since I was 12. That and a maglite in case I really want to defend myself :) Every night before falling asleep I usually come up with an exit strategy just in case someone breaks in. Living alone screws with your head!

I wouldn't keep an actual weapon weapon near my bed because I'm too likely to just hurt myself. I do, however, have several soft and hardcover books on a table beside my bed, and if I need a weapon, those do nicely.

I have a sweet-as-anything but terrifying-looking pit bull who lives in my apartment. Truthfully, he'd probably lead a burglar right to the stereo while wagging his tail and wanting pets, but he barks when people come near the front door and looks rather menacing. I don't need a baseball bat. :)

I don't have an under the bed, so no. But I do have knives hanging on the door separating the kitchen and the main room of my studio. :)

He has a shotgun on his side of the bed, I have an old club (the kind for the steering wheel) that I lost the key to (and another one in my trunk).

We live in South Africa and under a permanent threat of very real and violent crime... we keep no "weapons" in our home (armed robbery is common), in our car (hi jacks are common) or on my self (kidnapping and violent personal attacks are a real threat) - for fear that they would be used against us... we also keep no obvious treasures in view lessening temptation. We have our telephone permanently ready with a hot key to a security firm. Sounds charming when I read it! but that is pretty much how South African's live, we put our heads down and get on with our lives as best we can - You get used to the stress and living with a certain level of fear and paranoia! Really you do!!!

Great Thread! I am a firm believer in keeping a large 4 battery maglite by the bed. I live in earthquake country so a flashlight by the bed is important for emergencies. It is also a large club with a really bright light. If I hear a noise I can investigate and if there was an intruder blind them and knock them upside the head! I highly recomend these to all of my friends. Also great for the car (where I keep a 9 iron).

I actually live in an apartment not in Los Angeles, but in Fairbanks, Alaska (I just love this blog)...so I have a can of bear spray by my bed that I carry in the summer to go hiking. As back up, my mother gave me a big flash light, a nice heavy one so if I ever see anything looking back at me then I can clobber them with it.

Er, no. And one night I even forgot to shut the door all the way, though it looked it. :P I suppose if I needed to I could grab my girlfriend's ornamental (but very sharp) dagger from the bookcase, but I'm not too worried. We live in Finland and I don't feel unsafe.

I have a guinea pig under my bed. She takes no prisoners.

Sounds like a lot of you are watching far too much television!

I've enjoyed reading all of your comments, the scary and funny alike... perhaps even learned a few things from some of you.

I am one of the unfortunate who had an attempted break in at my apartment while sleeping on the couch in the room the burglar was trying to break into. I forcefully asked him to leave (yes, asked) and he left back over the fence and out the building. I did call the cops, they came 45-60 minutes later and said I was lucky because several burglars will still come in even if someone is inside...scary to think that might be some incentive too for those of us that live may live alone.

They suggested that I look into a firearm (which I just can't get myself to do - I wouldn't want it to be turned on me if I'm caught off guard or overpowered), get a dog (wish I could, not enough space and lifestyle not conducive for taking care of one), and to put deterrents in front of where one could break in, like rose bushes (they're pretty, yet still hurt to climb through), or things that will tell you that there's someone there like motion sensor lights and alarms, things to blind them temporarily like a strong mag light and self defense classes too. Oddly they had cautioned me on the use of pepper spray because if it's used in a small space like my bedroom (or if the wind blows in your direction outside), the likelihood of it getting in your eyes/face is a possibility too... which sort of defeats the purpose of it's use but some are better than others in so far as the distance they shoot though.

I happened to do a combination of many of those things, nails sticking up on the fence where the burglar climbed over next to a wall partition with a rose bush on the wall (it's not the kind of fence an animal could walk on... nor are there animals on the roof of a tall building), an inexpensive small alarm on the door to the patio (I just needed something to wake me up to defend myself), changed the door's lock to a double barrel lock (has to have a key to be opened on both sides -- key is close by in case of a fire for me though!), mag light next to the bed and of course, the baseball bat! But I'm liking the fog horn idea!!

Thank you all for your inspiring and reassuring comments!

I keep a maglite close by. More out of habit since electricity here in New Zealand used to go out regularly. Those days are fortunately over, yet the maglite's still there...

The Zombie Basher is in the hall closet
the .45 is under the bed

I used to have a fish-bonker under the bed, does that count?

These days, we have an alarm system (which we never turn on), as well as a panic button connected directly to the police... almost embarrassing, because the community we live in has a very low crime rate, although there are break-ins. Since they target empty homes, and I am home most of the time with kids, we are at low risk, although the lack of neighbours does make me uncomfortable.

I keep a fire extinghuiser under my bed. That will serve the same purpose as a baseball bat and will put out a fire aswell.

We have a Bokken in our room by the door, we have never had any problems in our neighborhood though. It's my husband, he does martial arts. The only reason it's in our room is to keep it away from our kids and keep my lamps safe.

I have a large Maglite I keep beside the bed in case of power outages. I've always envisioned it as my weapon. I think it could do some damage if swung at a head.

After my neighbour on the lower level was broken into 2 times my partner brought me a meter long piece of rebar. I keep this under the bed within easy reach. The building manager has now installed bars on the lower level windows. Not too attractive or inviting but no break-ins since.
Its interesting - I live in a well-to-do residential area of downtown with my apartment above a shop on the main street. I had taken this place knowing it was a 'good' area - safe and populated. All my past apartments were in more questionable areas but not one break in - go figure!

I had an ex-boyfriend who worried about me and so made me a weapon by taking a bat and studding it with nails. It looked very scary, but it was also too heavy to wield with any kind of control. I found screaming a far more effective deterrent when someone tried to break into my place. They ran like hell.

I actually have a wooden rolling pin in between my bed and my nightstand. It's been there for years and has moved with me from place to place. I've never had to use it, thank goodness!

I have a bat under the bed. I had an insane neighbor once who tried to get into my apartment by impersonating my boyfriend. When I didn't let him in he began sobbing that he just wanted to see my eyes I threatened him with a mop because it was the scariest thing I had! I moved, and got a bat, immediately thereafter.

I had just moved in and didn't have a phone hooked up then, and this was just before cell phones.

When I lived alone in college I lived in a rough area. My mom bought be a door stop that has a piercing beep when pushed down. She thought that would at least scare some intruder away or alert me to call the police!

The bat sits by our bedroom door...my fiance keeps a wooden cane in the guest room for if he's in there if someone broke in...and in other areas there are strategically places knives and/or heavy objects that could be thrown/used to hit with.

I wouldn't have a problem using violence if someone broke in - at that point, I have no idea if they have a weapon and I would rather not use my life. My cell phone sits on our headboard every night too.

I have two cats who freak out very very loudly if someone comes up on the porch, which serves as my advance warning system, not that I've ever needed it. That and keeping my cell phone by my bed are all I need to feel safe. It doesn't hurt that my upstairs neighbors are four 20-year-old construction guys, or the boyfriend of one of my next-door neighbors is a state cop.

I grew up in a neighborhood on the edge, and my dad always kept a bat by the bed and had a few occasions to grab it on his way to check out strange goings-on. The only time the house was broken into, none of heard it or noticed until we were up and getting ready for school, hours after the fact.

I live on the third floor and lock my door. The only accessible window is barred.

Now that I think of it, though, my in-laws gave us a bunch of safety stuff their company gave them that they didn't use, which included a little Xscream personal alarm... might as well put that by the bed.

My parents live in a little border town which is infamous for drug running and they have a gun. Have never used it, but got it out once or twice when a business next door was burglarized.

First line of defense is the doormen to my building, but that doesn't always work. We had some drunken party guests from another apartment cause some issues in the past.

After the doormen I have a Shiba-powered alert system. If anyone is rattling my door my dog will raise hell.

If anyone is still causing issues at that point there's the phone, and while I have the phone I also have an expandable baton and a very bright LED flashlight in the bedside table. The general idea is to shine the light in the douchebag's eyes and then clock him with the baton.

I grew up with a mom who put a bat and a collapsible ladder stashed under my bed. Funnily enough, we never discussed any escape routes in the advent of an emergency... When I moved to NYC, I never even considered putting a weapon under my bed--I need all the storage I can get. I suppose the random clutter on my floor could double as booby traps around my apartment.

i have a sword under my bed and am not afraid to use it! some1 tried to get in through my bedroom window once, i grabbed it, opened the curtains, and yelled "come on then!", they ran pretty quickly.

My husband has one of those huge Maglites by the bed too, which has never been used as a weapon but is often used for its intended purpose. I do like the idea of an airhorn, though.

i have a miniature louisville slugger signed by the members of the local united way. hahaha.
i just recently put it by my bed, after a psyco ex tried to break down my door with a golf club. i had him arrested though.

I have a friend who keeps a Maglite in his night table. Oh, wait, I don't think it was a MAGlite. I think it is the Fleshlite. Never mind.

Sidenote: Disturbing to hear from so many firearm owners.

I have a mag-lite as well next to my on the ground contemporary bed. But id love to see who's going to bust in through my heavy metal door that has literally 5 different locks on it (apartment had them when I moved in) I will be purchasing a gun in the future though, at the end of the day this is New York...

This may sound a little medieval, but I have a sword within easy reaching if I ever need it. I doubt I'd ever have the guts to use it, but it would at least intimidate an intruder. Especially if I wear my knights helmet along with it ;-)

I never thought of keeping a bat by my bed. Instead I keep my cell by my bed and take kickboxing. I don't want to have any weapon that could be used against me.

antimatt--

The idea of beating the tar out of an intruder with a United Way bat is HILARIOUS. Oh my god that made me laugh out loud.

Moved into my apt before renovations were complete and I before I got the locks changed, so I kept an utility knife under my pillow. Might keep do that again after reading all these comments.

Someone did break into my house last year. They walked right past all my CDs and DVDs and a wireless router system to steal my laptop. Happened during broad daylight, too. They pushed in a screen on the back side of the house, which of course no one saw because both neighbors have wooden privacy fences. The cop thought it was some kids who just wanted the laptop and maybe any easy cash (they definitely checked out my dresser drawers). And how sad were they when they discovered that laptop was 6 years old and really only good for surfing the Internet!! Punks.

After that I kept a crowbar by the front door. When I got home I would search the house with the crowbar held up and in front of me, curved end up. I figured if I encountered anyone, I would only have to drop it with a little forward momentum to cause a nice head injury.

That and I would call my mom (who never fails to answer her phone) and keep her on speaker phone with me while I walked through. If anything happened, she would use their land line to call the cops. I've used this trick a lot.

i feel safe in my place (on the second floor of a building with a security gate)
however my new neighborhood has a different vibe than past places (why do beachside areas have so many weirdos?) , so i've actually been thinking about getting a thing of mace for my keychain, which would also be a good bedside weapon!

we keep the box of toys (A.K.A. Pandora) under the bed, does this count?
;0)

Golf club near the front door.

A maglite is good, and useful if the power goes out. I miss my maglite and should probably replace it. I think the fire extinguisher idea was good for a heavy dull object, but how often does a small enough fire ignite while you are in your bed unless you smoke in bed (which you shouldn't) or arrange candles such that they might catch fire on a curtain or tip over?

A great option against intruders is a large adjustable crescent wrench. That's got a pointy end and it lays flat to store under a mattress, and you'll always know where your wrench is.

I like this poll. I never realized so many "normal" people had enough sense of fear or probability to prepare themselves at the bed for an intruder, and the types of common household items (books) or uncommon weaponry (swords) people imagine using to clobber the bad guys. Like someone above, in the end, my intruder was effectively discouraged before making it all the way through my window by a nice blood-curdling scream. My mom taught me that scream while I was quite young, having read many a tragic story of women who were attacked or abducted and violated, who later state they were "too scared to scream." "You scream your f'ing head off if anyone tries to take you," she insisted. Definitely scream, yeah.

My husband and I both have Maglites beside us by the bed. 6D batteries inside each make them just as effective as a bat and good for earthquakes.

I don't have a bat, but I keep my mid-size Maglite by my bed at all times. It's multipurpose for sure, and it has just enough heft to smack someone in the head...if necessary...

I had nothing, relied on the 911, until I found evidence that someone had tried to break in my back door and got a little freaked out. Now I've got pepper spray & a big maglite by the bed, and a bat behind the bedroom door. A woman living alone is a target, need to be ready to fight back, you know?

Why disturbing to hear from firearm owners? I keep a gun under the bed - though not out of fear of anything happening to my property but out of fear that something might happen to me. I would never use it unless an intruder came near my bedroom after a clear warning from me that I had a gun and they should get the hell out. Anyone with a decent amount of strength could wrestle a bat (or anything at close range) away from me, and I'm not about to risk my body or my life. Maybe it's different for women?

we don't keep anything, but we don't really need to. aside from living in a neighbourhood where the worst thing is 12 yr olds stealing CDs out of an unlocked vehicle and littering like crazy, my hubby is 6'5" and broad and muscular. It's funny cos he looks really fierce but, as one bank teller said, has 'a nice gentle voice'... but when he's scared/mad that nice-gentle thing vanishes. lol. Plus our neighbour is a retired firefighter, and HIS neighbour is a CURRENT firefighter. So it's a pretty safe neighbourhood.
once at his old place i heard screaming outside and what sounded like a shot, we peeked out and there was a woman running away screaming and a man yelling at her and waving a gun. So my husband ran outside to intervene, hopping in his truck and picking the woman up. Then the guy drove up and started threatening my husband with the gun, and my husband was like, "What are you going to do? You're going to shoot me? Either you don't shoot me at all, or you make it a good one. Trust me, just leave." then they heard police sirens and the guy took off. But he got arrested anyways b/c it was a case of domestic abuse and so his girlfriend tried to leave him and he went batshit. But since he didn't shoot her and just in the air my hubby figured he wouldn't shoot a complete stranger looking him in the face, either.
Scared the shit out of me, a) sitting scared shitless waiting for him to come home and b) hearing the story afterwards and telling him he was an idiot. But he used to live in the bad area of town and was like, 'trust me, if he looked like he would have actually shot me, i wouldn't have said that.'
idiot, regardless...

My husband used to keep a -- get this -- samurai sword under our bed. One night, I thought I heard something in our backyard and made him go out to check it out. I'll never forget how ridiculous he looked outside at 2am in his boxers with that samurai sword over his shoulder...just in case. As it turned out, the noise I heard was just a stray cat!

oh and i love the cellphone as a defense mechanism too, when i was in my late teens some creep started following me so i got on my phone and let somebody know right away that somebody was following me and asked them to stay on the line in case something happened they'd know right away, and where i was when it happened. Thinking about it now it would have been more effective if it was 911 on the line... anyways, then an SUV started following me slowly too and i was like HOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHIT but then it was a woman and she yelled "Hey, do you know there's a guy following you?!" and i was like "Yeah, i just called somebody to come get me!" so the guy probably heard us cos he took off.
So if you ever think you see somebody following somebody else keep an eye out and let them know! I think I would have been ok regardless cos my dad showed up a minute later, but he definitely took off because of the woman in the SUV pulling up to me.

Why disturbing???

Without espousing my own views on gun control, I guess it just never occured to me that the AT community of knitters and vegans and Etsy-bird-print lovers was packing heat.

A shotgun and a 9mm. And a lot of moxie.

The "ch-clack" of the shotgun being pumped is enough to scare most would-be burglars away.

Patrick (the other one): why is it any more disturbing than clobbering someone with a Louisville Slugger? Hopefully it's not that you're disturbed that gun owners like Apartment Therapy too. :-)

after reading all these posts about home invasions, if i were in the US i would definitely get a handgun, get the proper safety training and own it like a responsible adult

because with a gun, the thing is, you don't even have to use it. you just have to show it or let them know that you have it

or even if you have to use it, you don't have to aim at your intruder

and being a gunowner doesn't always mean thinking with the mindset die you dirty scumbag' all the time. a gun is just piece of tool, neither glorious, nor evil

and flashlights (and batteries that fill them) have advanced so much beyond maglites (so last century, so warehouse security). FENIX and SUREFIRE make handheld tactical flashlights that will put out 200 lumens strobelights that will literally knock you out. good for camping and photography too...

be safe america!

Etsy-buying, knitting vegans are fierce. :-)

I look at it this way, some burglars are armed, and theres a high probability that they dont give a crap about anyone but themselves. If someone were to break into my home, try to steal my stuff and I dont know who they are and I can make the right judgement call that its not a friend, relative or anyone else other than a burglar, then he's getting shot no questions asked.

Look at these:
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/13621816/detail.html
http://www.kc3.com/self_defense/lasvegas.htm
http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2009/01/06/sns010609shooting.html

I barely had to do a search on these...

My husband keeps a decorative katana sword by his bed. It was a wedding gift from one of his groomsmen because he loves all things Japanese. It's by the bed because we didn't know where to put it and we figured, "Why not?"

We plan to eventually hang it on the wall....

Shotgun in the corner

muirne81--

Can you seriously look at the state of crime in the United States and say, "Damn baseball bats!"?

Hope none of you with guns have kids in your house. Or neighbor kids who come over and have access to your stash.

Patrick (the other one),

Nope. But I can seriously look at the state of crime in the United States and say "Damn criminals."

Guns are a tool, just like knives (ask anyone in Japan), baseball bats, Japanese swords, a Shamwow, a garden spade, etc. Criminals acquire guns illegally and use them (as you indicated) in pursuit of said crimes. That is legally and morally reprehensible. I (and I am assuming all of the gun owners here at AT) acquired my guns legally by registering with the state and attending voluntary safety training, and I use them on a regular basis at a licensed range to stay proficient. My possession of a gun doesn't make me a criminal. It does make me a twenty-something woman who won't get raped.

I don't want to start an argument on AT because I know we both feel very strongly about our respective positions. I will say though that I take my responsibility as a gun owner quite seriously. They are locked securely and stored unloaded. And in the case of the 9 mm, the magazine is nowhere near the gun itself. I do not take offense to your position on gun control. I do take offense to you implying that because I own a gun I make it available or otherwise easily accessible to children.

Gah.

I didn't think there were a lot of gun-owners in the list, certainly not enough to associate it with a certain kind of AT poster. KEEP CALM AND CARRY A GUN!

No baseball bat. But I do have mace on my nightstand. It will paralyze the f'er until the cops arrive. I feel very safe!

Wow, you Americans live in an incredible amount of fear! If you asked this question to any person on the street in Canada the response would be "a bat? in case I want to play baseball in my bedroom?"

I have a bat on one side, and a duct tape wrapped cane on the other. It's a his and hers arrangement. We have had to grab them. We always live in horrible neighborhoods. I'm not sure I could not have a bat or something handy because of my poor neighborly experiences.

My grandmother gave me a baseball bat over 12 years ago when I moved into my first apartment. To this day I still have it. Now I live in a new condo with a a security system and dog but he would most likely lick and jump all over the intruder rather than scare him or her away. I still have my bat but I have now upgraded to a retractable police baton. It's small enough to keep in a drawer and small enough to carry in my pocket when I walk my dog.

Just making a point, muirne81, not implying SPECIFICALLY, that YOU were making your gun accessible to the neighborhood toddlers at storytime.

If people on here can get their undies in a wad over things like reindeer rugs, Sara Palin's office decor and the cost of sofas, CERTAINLY I am entitled to make an observation (which is the only way this started) about something that A) surprised me and B) I am passionate about.

Gah yourself.

muirne81, well stated.

Young lady with a gun, thats great!

My firearm is easily available within reach (not loaded of course) but then my apartment is there to sleep and occasional company (no kids...EVER). Nobody enters my room, or attempts to go through my drawers either so I dont have to worry about that.

Too bad my Florida concealed weapons license is not valid in the state of New York...

Yeah, too bad.

Yikes.

Louisville Slugger by the bed, check. Bought it after a break-in.

No bat under my bed, but every room in my house has at least one item that can double as a weapon in a pinch.

Sewing room? Dressmaking shears and huge pattern-making shears, both razor sharp.

Kitchen? Heavy cast-iron frying pan, sharp knives.

Living room? Solid brass music stand; utility knife.

Bathroom? Large, heavy ceramic wastebasket.

Bedroom? Pepper spray and pocket knife in my handbag, stiletto heels in my closet (higher-quality stilettos are reinforced with steel or titanium; you do NOT want a frightened, angry person to stab you with one).

Also, I have security lights and can scream louder than the tsunami siren.

I keep a hammer underneath my bed (the whole tool box is stored under the bed, simply for practical reasons, but the hammer's not in it, it's right where my hand would be if I were sleeping). When I first moved in to my current apartment, my neighbors had a lot of parties on their balcony where their voices really sounded like they were coming from INSIDE my bedroom, and it freaked me out (it was also my first time living alone).

my husband has a loaded handgun in the nightstand. (he's a police officer.)

i'm thinking a maglite on my side might be a good idea.

Shotgun. Loaded.

Screw the bat.

KiraArts--
our husband's have the same taste in protection. we have a katana sword under his side of the bed and one at the bottom of the stairs to the den. we also have a collection of paintball guns to protect us at a distance; we live on 1.5 acres and have a lot of creatures roaming the yard in rural va. i figure threatening an intruder with either weapon should freak them out more than us having to hurt them, but both of know how to wield either.
personally, i do like the yelling a threat as a first line of defense, but don't forget to call 911 in real danger.

No, I've never thought to keep anything like that around. My husband, however, will position whatever seems available and convenient near his side. In the past, this has included things like kaleidoscopes. I had a hard time imagining him fending off an intruder with a kaleidoscope. He thought it was better than nothing.

I had a stun gun. It was stolen during a break-in that occurred during the day while I was at work. Arming the robbers - awesome.

I want all of you to know that I read all of these responses before going to bed last night. I had to leave the light on as well as my tv and went to sleep scared for the first time in the two years I have lived alone. Thanks apartment therapy. Now I need real therapy.

I have seven-inch Army bowie knife in my nightstand. I'm giving it to my brother when I move out of the country next year because I'm fond of it but can't figure out how to make it unobtrusive luggage.

I'll get something else when I'm settled.

I'm very fond of 12-gauges but that doesn't look like it will be logistically feasible.

I live in a relatively safe neighborhood now, but it's still LA. It's not really just paranoia or been watching too many movies/tv when it's live and beyond hd on your lawn. When helicopters announce to stay inside and close and lock all windows and doors. And they're shining their spotlight into your windows. (it does look like the movies when that happens)

Or when stepping out for a sandwich but you've got the swat team who closed down your entire street with guns drawn and shields up telling you go back inside because there's a suspect with a gun holed up in the house across the street. (Lucky our neighbors weren't home.)

Or when one of our neighbor's child was found in a trunk of a car way out in East LA.

It's not to live in fear but to be prepared. Like if you were to prepare for an earthquake in prone areas or hurricanes in prone areas. I've got the multipurpose maglite by the bed.

Our dog is pretty good at alerting us to any noises. She's a very placid dog, but I do like to think she would attack anyone who tried to get in. We're lucky that we live in a nice quiet cul-de-sac, at the far end, and there is a neighborhood watch scheme.

I myself would be reluctant to attack any intruders, there was a court case a few years ago, not far from here, in which a farmer whose house was being burgled, shot the burglar in self-defense, and consequently got sued!!

Utterly ridiculous that one can get sued for protecting your own home. In my opinion, if your committing a crime and get injured in the process, you lose your right to sue.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2074077.stm

Danielle223 -- No one here was intentionally trying to scare you into therapy - but having a small bit of fear can be healthy. You can live in the best neighborhood and your house still be broken into. Don't freak out and buy a gun or anything - but it wouldn't hurt to keep a bat or knife nearby. If you're very not into violence, invest in an extremely bright flashlight - that would scare most away simply because then they are going to be blind for a few minutes.

What ever you have make sure you know how to respond in moments of fear or panic. A simple razor blade or box cutter can cut through upper arms arteries and disable some one immediately. I am a woman who lives alone in a rural area in Texas where basically you are really on your own. I have a shot gun that will put a hole through anyone. However, I feel more confident with a simple box cutter near my bed. Originally from a dangerous neighborhood in NYC, I learned early how to look out for danger and vulnerable parts of the home. Don't just have a bat or a gun, have the wits to know how to use them in an emergency with always a plan b to escape.

With a razor or box cutter, you will literally have to be two inches from the person - which at that point the robber probably can go ahead and take your life.

First of all, you need to have the Louisville Slugger up there. Everyone knows that is the bat of bats. Secondly, I like guns myself :)

This is the same bat as displayed above, with a person holding it. Please note the scale, and review the comments for more effective options.

I keep a big Maglite near my bed. The light is probably more useful against intruders than the melee action, though.

I live in Orlando, FL. I keep a Smith & Wesson .357 magnum revolver by the bed.

It surprises me how many commenters don't keep any sort of weapon for self defense. Personally, I'd rather have a firearm at a distance than any object that requires close personal contact (knife, bat, rolling pin, golf club, maglite). You are not likely to knock out a person with one swing of these objects, so they're still coming after you. But they're better than nothing, I suppose.

And the police don't protect you. They only come to clean up the situation. Think about that. Even the fastest response time is probably two minutes...and that's if you manage to make the call.

Just sayin'...

I love bird-prints and etsy and cute owls and shotguns

I should probably keep something by or under the bed as my apartment opens directly into my bedroom and my front door is about 4 feet in front of my bed. I haven't heard of any break ins in my neighborhood, but it is Brooklyn. The 3rd floor would be a really dumb floor to rob in my building, though, because it involves the most work leaving. I have to stop, but I forget to lock my door all the time when I'm home and leave it unlocked if I run to the store or walk the dog.

Wow. Wow and wow to all this talk of shotguns under the bed. This is when we AT-internationals realise that although we can admire your interior design blogs, we'll never *really* understand America. God bless you, anyhow.

Duucfho - With a bat, it can and will knock someone out if it is swung hard enough. I played a couple years of softball - so I admit I'm pretty confident the person will be seeing stars while I dial the phone. A gun is insane - unless you live in the worst neighborhood, it's not necessary. It's also a danger if you keep it loaded - you never know who might get a hold of it or if the trigger decided to go off and then you just hurt yourself or someone you love. And again, with the trigger locks or leaving it unloaded, by the time you get it off, might as well have shot yourself since the robber will have. I feel very safe with my bat and my cell phone sitting in my bedroom - I know neither will hurt me because I can be to the bat by the time I hear the door being broken open.

This post becomes VERY amusing if you cross-reference it with the Living Single post about ladders and lightbulbs...

Loaded gun under the pillow next to me (a birthday present from my boyfriend). As a young woman living alone, it makes me feel secure. (Yes, I know how to shoot a gun) After having to pull it out a few times over some strange noises and calling 911 one night because I thought I heard gun shots right outside my house, I don't think a baseball bat would make me feel 100% safe. My best security is when my ex-Special Forces boyfriend is at home with me. I never feel safer when he's around for sure.

And to the naysayers about guns, please read this article in my hometown, Tucson.

http://www.fox11az.com/news/topstories/stories/KMSB_20081016_dc_jh_invasion.11dba083c.html

That is why I own a gun.

A birthday present from your boyfriend.

And they say romance is dead.

An article won't convince any "naysayers" about guns. Guns are idiotic to have unless you are completely trained with it...and then you shouldn't have it under a pillow where anyone could get ahold of it. Point being the only safe gun at home is an unloaded one - and that doesn't really help much against intruders. My bat is very heavy - it would take an adult to swing it and if it's in my room I'll get to it before the robber and I'll swing it with full force. Then I just ended the situation without taking a life.

No guns or knives or swords. My bedside lamp has a six-inch square two-inch thick glass base (the lamp itself weighs 10 kilos) so my best bet would be to swing the lamp like a bat, aiming the base at the intruder's head.

Oh, and I could probably scream pretty loudly given half the chance.

I'm female, I've always lived alone, and I sleep with books beside my bed. Although I suppose Of Grammatology could do some damage if hurled with sufficient force. and have somehow managed to survive into my mid-40s, all the while living in major cities -- Toronto, Vancouver, London, Paris and NYC. Either I'm scary lucky or far too many of you are paranoid.

Of course I've been broken into, a few times, but it's usually kids looking for drug money.

If I were to buy a house in the worst neighborhood in the town where I now live (and I've thought about it, 'cuz they're cheap) I'd get myself a couple of honkin' big dumb lovable doggies. Although I love the foghorn idea!

Years ago, someone broke into my grandparents' house in Queens while they were home. When the intruder saw that people were there, he took off. My father decided that they should have some sort of protection, so he brought them a sawed-off shotgun. When he presented it to them, my grandfather waved him off and told him 'no' and walked away.

My grandmother said, "Show me how to use it."

Someone earlier said "with a gun, you don't have to use it, you just have to show it" Nope, sorry. If you have a gun and pull it out, you have to be ready to use it. Cause if they have a gun too, they are going to try to neutralize the situation (aka- shoot you before you shoot them.) Good luck.

His-and-Hers bokkens by the bed, baseball bat by the front door, machete by the back door, my husband is a Judo instructor and I'm currently working on my third black belt.

My husband grew up in a Central American military dictatorship where you had to worry about the cops as much as the bad guys. A serial killer came to my hometown in the States when I was about eleven or twelve and butchered some people, some in second story apartments no less. Those experiences have altered the way we approach safety to put it mildly.

While our part of the world is pretty tranquil, we don't take our safety for granted. It's not about fear. It's about mindfulness.

Machete in the bedroom, and our 15 lb cat Mr Higgins :)

Read the Gift of Fear. Best book ever, I swear! Very informative and it's primarily geared to women, and it's written by Gavin de Becker. Right now just a flash light by the bed, no bat or fog horn. Love the idea of a hog horn, very cleaver. I live in a small college town and all my neighbors are female college students so I feel relatively safe.