Keep it clean

This past week I found myself opening this cabinet far more than normal. And, each time I could find just what I needed.



A child has a headache? Children's medicine

Stuffy noses? essential oils

Coughing fit? Cold medicine

Foot ache? essential oils

Fever check? thermometer (after a kiss on the forehead and a snuggle)


And on, and on. Long ago I found the freedom of having an organized medicine cabinet (which we actually keep in the kitchen, but away from the heat of the stove and oven, more central for our house).



Here are some tips that have helped me for getting it organized and keeping it clean:

- Categorize -- figure out what work for you and put your groups together. We have containers for cold remedies, bandaids, children's medicine, ace bandages and splints, external creams and sprays, pain medicine, stomach discomfort, and we keep our nail clippers in one also. Essential oils and thermometer stay out for easy use.


- Label -- I find it much harder to mix things up if a label tells me where something goes. This also makes it easy for anyone that can read to find it, and for them to return it where it belongs. Anyone that can't read shouldn't be in the medicine cabinet on their own anyway. :-) Even in bleary eyed middle of the night visits to the medicine cabinet, I can usually get things back where they belong.


- Schedule a clean up -- To keep it organized I need to get rid of expired medicine and double check things now and then. This also helps me stay on top of what we might be running low on that I didn't notice when I gave out the last dose of it at three in the morning.


I hope to not have to use this cabinet as much in the near future, but for now, it works for me.