This past weekend, we reorganized all of our drugs, bandages, ointments, vitamins and other similar items. We had been keeping these things in a small plastic container the size of a shoebox. When we outgrew that, we just bought another shoebox. I decided that it was time for something a bit larger, so we bought an organizer with three drawers to keep under our sink. We sorted through both of our boxes, and we threw away about 15 items that had either expired, or whose purpose was totally unclear. We also put like items together in Ziploc bags and labeled the bags. Hopefully this will make it easier to quickly find the pain relievers or the cold medicine, etc. when we are searching for it. Going through our medicine also gave me a sense for items that we have PLENTY of right now (Tylenol) and items that we are almost out of (Pepto Bismol).

Try to take a few minutes this week to go through your medicine cabinet, drawer, shoebox or whatever you use to store these items. The odds are really good that it could use some weeding out and organizing. Down the road when you are sick, you’ll be so glad that you didn’t have to dig around for 10 minutes, only to discover that you are all out of the medicine you need!

Please let me know if you tackle your medicines!