It’s week 20 of my Declutter 52 Things in 52 Weeks Challenge. If you haven’t signed up yet, join me today as I help you remove all those things in your home you no longer need or use.
It’s surprising how medicine expires and we often don’t realise it – or we do realise it, but only at 2 am in the morning when we have a pounding headache or the kids are running a fever, and we reach for that bottle of medicine only to realise it’s out of date. Oh no!
Don’t be left high and dry at the eleventh hour with a sick child and no in-date medicine to alleviate their pain. This week’s declutter task will ensure you’re well prepared for the coming cold and flu season.
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Decluttering Task #20
Medicine Cabinet
As winter is approaching, now is a good opportunity to go through your supply and safely dispose of expired medicines, and restock in preparation for the cold and flu season.
TODAY’S TASK: PURGE AS MANY EXPIRED MEDICINES AS YOU CAN
Note: My definition of purge – sell, donate, repurpose or throw away items as you see fit
- Remove everything from the medicine cabinet or first aid kit, checking the expiry date on all items (including scripts) as you go.
- Note the medications and scripts that are out of date, so these can be replaced when next visiting the doctor and pharmacy.
- Throw out all scripts and medications that are out of date (it’s a good idea to hand expired medications into the pharmacy so they can be destroyed in the right manner).
- Look at your medicine cabinet and see what storage solutions aren’t working.
- Group like items together.
- Determine what items you haven’t used in over 12 months and consider purging them if they no longer fit your family’s needs (e.g. medicine for babies).
- Add any new and/or your current storage products in your medicine cabinet to help you keep it organised (I use four separate boxes – one for scripts, one for kid’s medication, one for adult medication, and one for bandaids/bandages).
- Place items you don’t use often towards the back.
I recently reorganised my medicine boxes. I purchased these plastic drawers from Bunnings – the bigger drawers are good for storing bottles standing up, whilst the longer thinner drawers are great for boxed medicines and bandages. I keep our medicine boxes in the top shelf of the pantry. I labelled them, ‘Mum Vitamins’, ‘Kids Vitamins’, ‘Bandaids’, and ‘Medicines’. You’ll also see I have an ice cream container above labelled ‘the bucket’, this is for when we feel ill on the couch or in bed. It is the go-to vomit bucket and is purely used for this purpose only.
I also got these divided containers from Bunnings to tidily organise all my bandaid strips and bandages. I’m loving these Patch Bamboo Strips! My eldest has terrible eczema at the moment and uses these to cover up open wounds. They are made from 100% organic bamboo fibre and free from irritating chemicals, so they are great for giving protection and soft support for sensitive skin types.
