Keeping Your Medicine Cabinet Healthy

Tips for Tuesday

Keeping  your medicine cabinet stocked is important to your well-being.  Just as important is keeping an eye on the contents.  If your medicine is out-dated, it can be life-threatening rather than life-saving.  Perform the following checks on your medicine cabinet every six months.

• Discard expired medications.  Take them to your city's hazardous waste collection or ask your local pharmacy if they accept expired meds.  Never put them in the garbage or down the sink.
•  If you can't find an expiration date, but you've had the medicine for at least two years, discard it.  Chemical changes over time can change the effectiveness of medications.
• Discard any prescription medications you have not taken in over a year.  These also have a limited shelf life and can undergo chemical changes.
• Discard any medication without a label.
• Discard old toothbrushes
• Discard rusty nail clippers, tweezers, etc.
• Place often-used items near the bottom of the cabinet, and less-used items at the top. 
• Place bottles and boxes with labels facing outward so you can easily locate what you need.
• If more than one person uses the medicine cabinet, store each person's prescription items on a different shelf.  With prescription bottles from the same pharmacy all looking the same, one can easily grab the wrong bottle in the middle of the night and take the wrong tablets if they look similar to their own.
• Call your pharmacy for refills of prescription items when you notice you are down to about five pills.  The pharmacy will have it ready for you on time, even if they have to order it from their supplier or call your physician for refills.  Never wait until you take the last pill.  Something may come up that day which will prevent you from picking up your prescription when you need it.
• Use plastic cups or containers to hold small items such as ointment tubes, cotton swabs and nail clippers. 
• Store like items together--hair care, skin care, etc.
• Discard any cosmetics over a year old.

A Well-Stocked Medicine Cabinet

Tips for Tuesday

No matter what the time of year, it seems you're always rummaging through your medicine cabinet looking for relief from a headache, toothache or insect bite.  Whether it's cold/flu season over the winter, or allergy season over the spring/summer, you want relief as soon as possible.  The last thing you want to do is drive to the drug store when you are bleeding or in pain.  You won't have to if your medicine cabinet is well stocked.

Have the following items on hand at all times:

• Analgesic
• Antacid
• Antibiotic ointment
• Anti-diarrhea medicine
• Antihistamines (both topical and internal) for allergic reactions
• Aspirin and/or non-aspirin pain reliever
• Bandages
• Cold/flu medication
• Cold sore medication if anyone in the family is prone to them
• Cortisone cream
• Cotton swabs
• Cough syrup/drops
• Decongestant
• Deodorant
• First-aid supplies
• Floss
• Hand lotion
• Ibuprofen or other pain reliever/anti-inflammatory
• Laxative or stool softener
• Lip balm
• Mouthwash
• Nail clippers/scissors/file
• Nasal spray
• Prescription medications as needed
• Razor blades (refills)
• Shaving cream
• Toothbrush/toothpaste
• Vitamin supplements
• Thermometer
• Dosing cup or spoon

Next week:  Keeping Your Medicine Cabinet Healthy

Maximizing Space in Your Bathroom

Tips for Tuesday

Do you have a small bathroom? Or maybe yo have only one bathroom for the entire family? I was raised in a family of eight, with only one bathroom in the house. I was one of five sisters with one brother. If that wasn't a bathroom challenge, I don't know what was!

But we somehow survived. We had schedules, and everyone pitched in to help keep it clean and tidy. As soon as there was a pile of towels, they were tossed in the wash, then returned to the linen closet. There was a family shampoo that everyone used, rather than six favorites lining the shower. If you used up the toilet paper, you'd better go downstairs and get more to replenish the stock. We made it work because we had to.

If you have a small bathroom, there are ways to maximize the space and make it functional for the entire family.

• If floor space allows, have a hamper in the bathroom to collect dirty clothes and towels.
• If you have a pedestal sink, hang a curtain on the outside of the bowl and hide supplies behind it.
• If you have a cabinet sink, install a two-tier slide-out drawer for storing toiletries.
• Store cleaning items behind the toilet on the floor.
• Collect bath toys in a mesh bag or dish drainer.
• If you need a seat in the bathroom, install a fold-down seat so you won't use up floor space with a chair.
• Use the corners in the shower stall for corner shelves or tension rod storage for your shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc.
• Group toiletries together in like categories to find them easily.
• Store bulk items like toilet paper in another room.
• Utilize wall space by installing a cabinet or shelving in empty space.

Store Items Where You Use Them--Bed and Bath

Tips for Tuesday

Although this makes perfect sense, many people, for whatever reason, don't store items near where they use them. Maybe whoever helped them move in decided where things should go. Maybe the space is better designed elsewhere for what you want to store. Maybe you were pressed for time and just put things wherever they would fit. However, your life will run more smoothly if you follow this simple rule--store items near where you use them. Here are some tips for the bedroom and bathroom:

• If you have several bathrooms, keep towels and toiletries for each bathroom in that space.
• Keep linens for each bedroom near that bedroom. Designate a space in your linen closet for each bedroom.
• Store hair care items in the bathroom where you style your hair.
• Store jewelry near your bedroom mirror.
• Shoes are the last thing you put on when dressing, and the first thing you take off when you come home. Store them near the front of your closet.
• Place clothes you wear less often near the back of your closet, or farthest in from the door.
• Keep accessories such as belts and scarves near the front of the closet.
• You will be accessing your underwear and sock drawers every day. Keep these items in drawers that are higher up and easily accessed. Keep pajamas and workout clothes in lower drawers since you don't need them every day.

Keep Like Items Together--Bed and Bath

Tips for Tuesday

This is one of the basics of organizing--Keep like items together. But what does that mean? How can you implement this practice in your home? Here are some tips for your bedroom and bathroom.

• Keep linens for each bed in their own closet or on their own shelf in a closet.
• Keep towels for each bathroom together.
• Sort toiletries according to type--hair care, oral care, first aid, etc.
• Sort items in your medicine cabinet according to type--pain relievers, oral care, vitamins, etc.
• Have a basket for each person's toiletries so they can easily find what they use.