Bearing in mind I have different legal rules down here South of the Border...
My personal practice is that all of my firearms are ALWAYS loaded. My sidearm, I keep multiple spare mags in multiple different locations: coat pocket, pajama pocket, briefcases, dresser, taped to the side of the toilet tank, taped to the side of the fridge, attached to the back sides of partitions at hand height... pretty much if I'm home I've got multiple loaded spare magazines staged within arm's reach no matter where in the apartment I am. If a rifle or AR pistol's not staged Ready for Home D duty, its bolt carrier assembly is removed--but all have at least one full-capacity (30+-rd) magazine in an on-board carrier along with one up the well--and while not as generously salted around, it doesn't take me long to get to an additional reload from anywhere.
The important thing is pick a system, stick to it, and drill on it 'til you can move from stash to stash and put hands on mags blindfolded. And make sure anyone else in the house knows not to futz with your arrangements--all it takes is one Anal Retentive Neat Freak who's decided their organization system trumps yours to ruin even the best laid of plans. (Mothers-in-law are particularly notorious for this in the crowds I run with down here.)
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