Hmmmm, where to start?...

My BOB's are kept in the vehicles. I figure wherever I am, they'll be nearby. Also in each vehicle is a duffle bag with a change of clothing (pants, shirt, jacket, gloves, hats, socks, etc.) and an old pair of work boots and two sleeping bags. I also have a 'grab-and-go' bag, which sits on top of a second fridge at the bottom of my basement steps. It's like a BOB, just larger. It contains 2 or 3 changes of clothing (some old pants, shirts, t-shirts, underwear, socks, hats, scarves, gloves (leather and wool)), boots, a heavy coat, pullovers, etc. Most of the clothing/boots are old and pretty sad looking, but in an emergency, who cares? It also has a tent, some blankets, a few of those charcoal handwarmers & extra fuel rods, firestarting supplies (folding saw, tinder, matches/lighters, etc.), some food items (needs to be rotated every now and then). I'm sure I missed some things in there but you get the idea.

If you live by yourself, it just a matter of keeping your gear where you can find it quickly. A friend keeps his gear bag in the kitchen cabinet just next to their rear door.
My clothes (with a flashlight on my belt) lay on a chair next to my bed with my boots under it. I have an old camping flashlight hung from my bedpost on a cord. It'll be changed to an LED one soon. The flashlights get fresh batteries every time the clocks change, along with the smoke and CO detectors (You do have smoke detectors, don't you??). The older batteries go into a box to get used whenever needed.

I've heard of others keeping a small bag under their beds with flashlights, leather glovers, and a prybar for stuck doors. All the interior doors in my house are those flimsy doors I can punch through, but if you live in an apartment with heavy wood or steel doors, maybe a prybar (and a sledgehammer) would be a good idea. One of those headlight things with an elastic band would allow you use of both hands. Make sure your bedroom slippers have tough, puncture-resistant bottoms, so you can jump in them and go (and anchor your taller pieces of furniture to the wall so they won't be as likely to fall over). A long, thick (and warm!) bathrobe, especially nice if you like to sleep 'au natural' (Rappelling naked from your 5th floor apartment's bedroom window in the middle of a midnight fire would get you quite a few interesting looks, as well as a front page photo!! <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />) I keep a small flashlight in my bathrobe with spare keys to the vehicles and my mom's house tied to it. You might want spare keys to your car, spare prescription glasses, phone numbers of friends or family living nearby, etc.

If you have kids, try having monthly or quarterly evac drills. It teaches them to exit the house/building quickly and safely. You could keep it somewhat playful and lighthearted, as long as they learn what to do. If everyone does well, reward them with a pizza dinner that night. If the emergency is only your house or building and they get separated from you, teach them to go to a safe place like a friendly neighbor. If it's on a larger scale, a nearby corner/building/parking lot/etc. Just make sure they know that if they don't see mom or dad, they go to your 'chosen meeting place', wherever that may be and wait, not walk around looking for you and becoming lost. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure they have some form of ID on them either, especially if they're young. No idea how to do that consistently unless you tattoo your name and cell phone number on their butts. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />