How to Organize Your Medicine Cabinet
/When sinus pain and pressure hit, will you rummage through your medicine cabinet only to find the cold meds expired six months ago? Your kiddo comes down with a midnight fever; will you discover you’re out of Tylenol? We’ve all been there. No one wants to make those last-minute runs to the drugstore. When illness hits, you’re going to want to be prepared.
1. Edit
Start by removing everything from the medicine cabinet onto a table or counter, giving yourself plenty of room to work. Throw out any unnecessary packaging materials, like the boxes and plastic wrappers medicine bottles are packaged within—just make sure you retain dosage information. Removing bulky packaging material will free up some storage space and make your medicine more accessible.
Set aside any medications that are expired or you no longer need. Most large chain pharmacies offer a dropbox to properly dispose of medications. Google search ‘medication disposal near me’ to find a convenient location in your area.
Make a note of any medications you need to restock. You can pick up the items you need and properly dispose of expired medications with one trip to the pharmacy.
2. Sort
There are several ways you can go about organizing your medication. Group items in a way that makes the most sense for your family. Because we don’t have a large supply of medicine, I separate ours by adult, children, first aid, and daily vitamins. You may wish to organize your items by the symptoms they treat—allergy, cold and cough, pain and fever, etc.
However you choose to organize, keep these things in mind:
It’s best to keep medication in its original container. This prevents any cross-contamination, keeps medication easily identifiable, and assures you have accurate dosing information.
Keeping your adult dosages stored separately from children’s medication makes it extra quick and simple to find the right medicine for the job.
3. Organize
Use small containers to separate your categories of medication. While one large bin might look nicer on a shelf, small containers help keep the items organized, upright, and prevents the need to rummage through countless bottles.
Clear storage containers keep medication visible, making it easier to find just what you need, when you need it. Stackable containers are a great way to maximize your shelf space.
Assess the amount of medication you have, the number of categories you’ve created, and your storage space to find the best containers for your needs.
4. Label
To further ensure your medications are easy to find, label your bins by category. I use chalk marker to write directly on my bins— it easily wipes off with a damp cloth if I decide to swap out containers or switch up my categories. If you’d like a more permanent label, vinyl stickers work well on plastic or acrylic containers. Gift tags or bin label clips are both good options for wicker baskets or wire bins.
5. Repeat
To maintain an organized and clutter-free medicine cabinet, repeat the process of sorting and weeding out expired and unwanted medications with each change of season.
