All of my firearms are locked up and put away........ except one. My "shoot off the deck" coyote gun uses a detachable mag and the two pieces can be put together right quick if needed. I live in the country and I've used this rifle on several coyotes that didn't respect
my territory. When I first had kids, I was concerned about the gun being so accessible but after a few situations of running to three different corners of the house to get my gun ready to shoot the mangy visitors, I realized that wasn't reasonable. Fast forward a few years and now the gun is ready when I need it. It's neither loaded nor out in the open but it's handy.
I'm not one of those guys with the "zombie gun" just in the case the Dawn of the Dead scenario plays itself out. I get coyotes in the yard. I've had them come right up to the kids' trampoline which is about thirty feet from the house. And as surprising as it was to some friends that came over last week for a visit, I'll shoot the coyotes that come into my yard with the intention of putting them down.
I hope you and your wife find a compromise to the vacuuming dilemma. I'd bet one of those Roomba Robot vacuums wouldn't knock your scope out!
Predator control guns are useless locked up in the basement.