October is for Organizing…

If you’ve ever rummaged through your bathroom medicine cabinet searching for relief from an aching head or a runny nose, only to find expired bottles of cough syrup and half-empty prescription bottles — you know how important it is to keep that space organized! Here’s how:

 

Prevention

The best cure for a disorganized medicine cabinet is prevention. To avoid being caught unprepared for the flu or minor injuries, clean out and organize your medicine cabinet at least once a year, safely discarding all old or unused prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, ointments and medicated creams. If there’s no expiration date, take a look at the condition of the container. If it looks old or damaged, discard it.  Due to moisture, it is not recommended to store prescription and OTC items like ibuprofen and acetaminophen in the bathroom.  Anything in a pill, capsule or caplet form can be affected by moisture – these items should be kept in a (locked) closet or container away from heat, light and moisture.

 

Examination

For medicine cabinets that are in need of an organization treatment, start by examining contents thoroughly. Determine if there are personal toiletries — such as shampoo, shaving cream, make-up and toothpaste — that might be stored better elsewhere in the bathroom. These items can be stored in baskets under the sink, in a drawer or on a shelf to free up valuable space in the medicine cabinet.

 

Diagnosis & Prescription

Once the medicine cabinet’s contents have been pared down to healthcare and first-aid essentials, make a list of products needed to stock the medicine cabinet as well as the size and type of containers needed to keep first-aid supplies and medicine bottles organized. Look for narrow organizer trays to fit this limited space and choose acrylic organizer trays and containers to keep medicine bottle labels and other supplies in view.

 

Short on organizational and storage space in the bathroom?  Try these tips:

 

• Clear plastic shoe boxes labeled with a label maker are an inexpensive solution.  These can stored on the top shelf out of reach from the kids.

Divide the medicine with the following categories:
1)Children’s Meds
2) Vitamins & Pain Relief
3) Cold, Flu, Miscellaneous
4) First Aid
At the beginning of flu season, pull out each box and throw away any expired medicine and make a list of anything needed.  It’s so nice to know exactly where everything is and to be able to find it quickly.

 

If you have a lot of medicines and first-aid items – and no little ones who should not be able to reach these items – use a 24 pocket “overdoor” shoe bag to organize them. A clear pocket bag is recommended for easy visibility. However, if some other type of pocket is used, consider adding a label to the outside of each pocket to quickly identify the stored contents.