Top Ten Tips - Stocking And Organizing A Medicine Cabinet
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Tip Diva | May 07, 2008Categories: Bathroom, Behavior, Chores, Dentist, Doctor, Family, Health, Home, Household, Illness, Kitchen, Medical, Medicine, Organization, Prescriptions, Safety, Shopping, Sickness, Stores, Tips, Websites
Everyone should have a medicine cabinet in their homes in case of a sickness or an emergency. Here’s what to do to make sure you’re stocked and prepared:
- Avoid Putting The Cabinet In The Bathroom If You’re Going To Stock Medications Or Vitamins - Medication and vitamins are susceptible to heat, cold and moisture, so a bathroom is not an ideal place to stock those items. You may just want to use a kitchen cabinet or drawer somewhere - just make sure it’s dark and cool.
- Make Sure The Cabinet Is Accessible - You don’t want to be fumbling around trying to get to the cabinet if you need something in it. Make sure it’s in a place accessible to all family members, with the exception of young children.
- Install Proper Safety Features - If you have young children or pets, make sure your cabinet is secured with locks or other hardware that will prevent them from getting into the cabinet. Essortment.com has great ideas for securing your cabinet. And if you do have medication, make sure you have child-proof caps on them.
- Keep All Like Medicines Together - Group your medications and vitamins in a logical way - for instance, all pain medications in the same spot, or all of your daily pills in one spot. This will make it easier to locate what you need. For more, see Top Ten Tips - Organizing Vitamins And Medication.
- Toss Out Expired Medicine - If you have expired medication, get rid of it and determine whether you really need to buy again. If it’s a prescription and you only take it once in a while, ask your doctor to decrease your quantity. If it’s over-the-counter, buy a smaller size. You’ll save money in both instances.
- Keep A Paper And Pen Nearby To Note Low Inventory And Upcoming Refills - If you have only one Tylenol left, it may not be enough to subdue your next raging headache. When you’re down to three or four doses of a particular medication, write it down so you can purchase it or get it refilled as soon as possible.
- Put Together A First-Aid Kit - A first-aid kit is a must for any household. You can buy one already stocked at a drugstore, or follow Ready.gov’s tips to create a first-aid kit.
- Buy A First-Aid Book - You have your first-aid kit, but do you really know what to do if you sprain your ankle or slice your thumb open with a knife? Buy a first-aid book to see if you can take care of something yourself or know if you need to get to a doctor or hospital.
- Tape Up A Postcard With Important Emergency Numbers - Write down emergency numbers including, police, fire, ambulance, doctor, dentist, family contacts and any other important people you’d need to call in an emergency, and tape it to the inside of the cabinet or outside the drawer.
- Review Cabinet Monthly - Make sure you review your cabinet monthly to check if it needs restocking or spring cleaning.
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on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at 12:00 am by Tip Diva and is filed under Bathroom, Behavior, Chores, Dentist, Doctor, Family, Health, Home, Household, Illness, Kitchen, Medical, Medicine, Organization, Prescriptions, Safety, Shopping, Sickness, Stores, Tips, Websites.
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Thanks for participating in this week’s Carnival of Family Life, hosted at Write from Karen! Be sure to stop by on Monday, May 12, 2008, and peruse the other wonderful articles included in this week’s edition!
Came here via the family life carnival. Great list of tips - I have a bit of work to do to get mine properly organised!
BTW - I have a free e-book to download on my my site that you might be interested in called Planning With Kids Top 100 Tips.
Planning Queen - thanks, I’ll definitely take a look!
Thanks for your contribution to the Take Charge of Your Healthcare Carnival. My readers will certainly benefit from these helpful tips. The tips on keeping the medicine cabinet safe with small children aroumd are especially important.
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