Minding Your Medicine CabinetMinding Your Medicine Cabinet Clutter in our closets, cabinets and storage areas can cause hassles as we look for important items amidst piles of junk or cope with sudden avalanches of poorly-stored stuff. When it comes to your family medicine cabinet or first aid kit, on the other hand, clutter can actually be dangerous. Expired medicines, hidden or missing emergency supplies, and poor storage conditions could result in you or a loved one not getting proper treatment in a moment of need. To avoid this scenario, just follow a few simple tips from an expert.
As a professional organizer and the founder and president of ATS Consulting, Ann Sullivan organizes businesses, homes, and personal environments based on the most effective and orderly methods available. Here she offers some expert tips for cleaning out and organizing your medicine cabinet:
- Twice a year.
Sullivan recommends thoroughly cleaning out your medicine cabinet at least twice a year.
- Expiration dates.
Take everything out of the cabinet and check the expiration dates. Products like insect repellant and sunscreen can lose their effectiveness past a certain date, and many medicines can become toxic over time. Items that are out of date should be discarded.
- Emergency supplies.
Keep all of your important medicines and first aid supplies in one central location so that people will know just where to go in case of an emergency. the American Academy of Pediatrics (see link below) supplies a list of items essential for coping with household emergencies.
- Ventilation.
High humidity can effect the potency of certain drugs. If your bathroom has poor ventilation, consider moving your medicine cabinet to another location.
- Seldom used items.
To avoid medicine cabinet clutter, move seldom used items or items not needed for emergencies, to another storage space, like your linen closet. This will help keep your more important items well organized and visible.
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