One of these days, an old thread just like this one will rise out of the Escapist forums grave, craving our tasty tasty flesh, and we'll all fall right into its gaping maw.
Anyway! One simple rule:
- Take only what you can carry and move with that is useful. Odds are you'll be walking, or running, for days (possibly even weeks). You might be climbing ladders, scooting through sewer drains or squeezing yourself through half-boarded up windows. That nifty-keen AK-47 or .50BMG sniper rifle you're so fond of won't seem so great when a) you find there's no ammunition for it for miles around, and b) it gets hung up on a stray nail by its shoulder strap and traps you while you're trying to get through a hole in the wall ahead of hungry zombies. A .38 revolver in a jacket pocket does you more good than an M4A1 you had to dump because you couldn't fit through that hatchway with it. Plus, what sort of ammunition are you more likely to find in everyday homes- .38cal handgun rounds or 5.56mm military ammunition?
This goes for potential melee weapons as well. Never carry two tools for two jobs if you can find one tool that does both. This puts idiot things like a katana right out, unless you want to snap the blade trying to wedge a locked door open. An entrenching tool [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrenching_tool], a crowbar, a large claw hammer- these are easily stowable and serve as both weapons and tools for smashing and prying.