Light up the night

My Dad (the only male in the house) had this thing about safety.

Here are a few things he stamped into our brains:

1. To check all doors, windows, and sliding doors before going to bed.
2. To park near a lamp post if you are out at night (so we can see under and into the vehicle).
3. To carry keys in our hands when we walk to our vehicle or to our house (to be used as a weapon or to get IN quickly).
4. To lock our doors as soon as we get into a vehicle (as both a passenger and as a driver). This was WAY before carjacking became an issue.

He also taught us to always have a flashlight (with extra batteries) in the house.

And you know what? I have FIVE of them in my house. One miniature one in the top drawer of my bedstand in the event the lights go out in the middle of the night and I need to get to the kids. The other four are in a kitchen cabinet next to half a dozen candles and matches. I've got 2 regular sized ones and 2 jumbo sized ones (the kind that can light up a room).

The Hubs laughed at me once when he saw my stash of flashlights. He laughed until we had a couple blackouts at night. The time when he was in the shower. Yeah...he stopped laughing at me after that. I took one of the big lights into the bathroom and stood it up so that it shined on the ceiling. It cast a nice glow into the room as it reflected off the ceiling and the walls. The Hubs was able to finish his shower in leisure, while I had the other big flashlight in the family room.

And now thinking of flashlights. I do have to restock this house with safety gear. I've got my handy first aid kit in that same cabinet with the flashlights. I do need to get a couple new fire extinguishers (one for upstairs and one for downstairs).

Now do you have your safety gear all in one spot? What have you got?