For the past 2 months I’ve been on a mission of cleaning things out, re-organizing, and downsizing the items that we have. We’re empty nesters and it’s time to get things in order and make our lives easier. Every month I’ve been tackling a new project. Last month I posted about my project of cleaning out and organizing our small linen closet. You can check out that post to learn more about it.
Earlier this month I tackled our medicine and first-aid cabinet in the kitchen. It’s an upper cabinet where I house OTC medications, bandaids, thermometers, blood pressure cuffs, ace bandages, burn gel, anti-itch creams, disposable heat and ice packs, and Stop the Bleed kits.
This first thing that I did was to remove EVERYTHING out of the cabinet. Once everything was out I gave it a good overall cleaning. I wiped down everything with a non-toxic, all-purpose cleaner and then left it to air dry. Make sure you leave the doors open so that the air can get in there and circulate to speed up that drying time.
Since I knew I was going to be working on this project I picked up two wire shelves the week before at my local Big Lots store. The cabinet holds two of them perfectly and expands my storage space. I can see everything in clear view without digging! There’s no installation, just sit them in your cabinet and you’re done.
I went through everything that used to be in that cabinet. I bagged up all expired medications and dropped them off at our local pharmacy who disposes them for us. I recommend you get a magnifying glass so that you can find the expiration date on the packages, it’s usually in very small print. Anything that is out of date…got removed.
As I was tossing the expired stuff…I made a list of items that I need to replace. There are certain OTC Medications that I like to keep on hand. You know, things like fever reducer, pain reliever, anti-itch cream, Benadryl, heart burn medication, band aids, guaze, etc A few days later I went to the store and got new products to replace the old ones. Done!
We use a lot of ace bandages, slings, knee & back wraps, etc. Instead of those items flopping around in the cabinet I placed them in zipper closure bags. I purged out the air (to save space) and labeled the contents. This keeps them clean and organized. I can also grab them quickly & easily to toss into a travel bag.
You’ll want to place things back into the cabinet according to most-used items placed on the bottom shelf and in clear view and your least-used items on the top shelf. Stack boxes one on top of the other making sure you can see labels which identify each item. I like my thermometers in plain sight so I used double-sided tape to adhere it to the side of the cabinet as shown in the one photograph.
If you’re going to be using a cabinet like this you always want to make sure that it’s not easily accessible to children. We have grandchildren who spend a lot of time in our home. This is one cabinet they can’t get to until they pull a chair over or grab my step-stool. If you have really young children in your home I would recommend adding a child-proof cabinet lock onto the doors. You can never be too careful.
I do deep cleanings in my home 4 times a year…every new season. So, as each season changes I’ll be checking out my cabinet to see what needs to be tossed and/or replaced. It’s so nice having everything neat, clean, and organized. Onto my next project…stay tuned for that.
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I like the double sided tape for the thermometers. It is very important to check the dates and dispose of the expired items. I need to check out my medicine cabinet again.
This is a great idea for organization and safety! I keep the things we use regularly out in the open but the first aid items are in a box.
During the bad weather, this is the kind of project that I like to do around the house. Good hint to put the most used items on the bottom shelf where they are easy to see and find. I also have a magnifying glass that I use to see expiration dates.
I have also been cleaning out and getting rid of. I try to take one drawer or cabinet ever day. I also use the wire racks in my cabinets. I have found that stuff gets forget in the back of the cabinets. So I found rubber bins that fit under and on the the wire racks. I just place stuff in the bins and label them. Just pull a bin out and there is what I need. And looking at the picture you are also are Salonpas user. Maybe some day you could do a salonpas giveaway.
We’ve done several Salonpas giveaways over the years!
My medicine cabinet is a big shoe box. But as I get older, the box needs to get bigger. Now it is two boxes but they are easy to retrieve and view all contents. But I still need to purge and replace. Thank you for the reminder.
This is now at the top of my list. Haven’t done it in too long.
This is a great reminder to keep first aid items up to date. I so need to do this too and you are so right about trying to see those expiration dates I need to have my glasses on and a flashlight to see some of them.