It’s bound to happen…one of us WILL get sick this winter.  However, it will most likely be me, not my fiance.  So, I figured before I am stuck in bed with a box of Kleenex stuffed up my nose I better start organizing the medicine cabinet.

First, I took everything out of our medicine cabinet. MESS…

I dedicated a small (too-narrow-to-be-useful) cabinet in our kitchen to medicine.  I like keeping my medicine in the kitchen because having the meds right next to the fridge where the drinks are, makes the most sense to me.  My mom always kept medicine in our kitchen growing up (on a way up high shelf) and I figure with her being in the medical field it’s probably pretty safe to keep doing it this way once my fiance and I start a family.

Back to the problem at hand:  I started by checking expiration dates and tossing anything out of date.  Some meds don’t really expire…they just lose or gain potency, but it’s better to toss them once they pass that “magical date” just to be safe.

We also keep pet medicine in this cabinet, so I took that stuff out to sort, as well.

I had several plastic Sterlite brand drawers on hand and another meant for the office that I wasn’t using.  They were exactly what I needed to categorize all the medicines.  I also picked up some little plastic trays from the One Spot (dollar spot) in Target..and, of course, some Washi tape for labeling.

I categorized our medicines and supplies similar to how a pharmacy would: cough and cold, pain meds, prescriptions, vitamins, etc. and gave each category it’s own separate drawer. Post-it notes helped me determine categories until I actually labeled everything.

After I labeled the drawers with my Washi tape, I put everything back into the cabinet.  The drawers are narrow and they slide completely out of the box when you need something.  I put the more frequently used items, like pain meds, and bandages, towards the bottom. The little plastic trays hold items we use every day and they fit perfectly next to the drawer box.

To make certain we don’t stumble into the kitchen late one night and try to take flea medicine instead of an Advil or something, I decided it would probably be best to keep the pet meds in a different color box all-together.  Labels help too, but like I said, late at night I worry we might not read carefully in our sleep-deprived, sickly state… Anyway, the dogs and cat each got their own separate drawer with their own flea meds and heartguard. With two different sized dogs and a cat a mix up on their meds could be fatal, so having them separated is one more step for safety.

Cough drops got their own container for grab and go usage, plus there is space next to the container to store an extra package.  Ankle wraps and ace bandages got their own spot, too.

Another thing I did to make life a little easier, is paint the inside panel of the cabinet door with chalkboard paint.  When is a chalkboard NOT helpful?  I mean, I can use this for notes about vet appointments, to our appointments, and more!  I love it; this has to be my favorite part.

Now I can breathe a sigh of relief that we are fully stocked and well organized before anyone comes down with some dreaded illness this winter.  Yes, this is what makes me happy.  Some would say I’m boring, but I choose to think I am just highly efficient. 🙂

Link-Ups:

Making Monday, Masterpiece Monday, Metamorphosis Monday, Mod Mix Monday, Give Me the Goods Link Party, Inspiration Monday, Home Stories AtoZ, Kammy’s Korner, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, Fluster’s Creative Muster, Thrifty Thursday, Redoux Link Party, From the Farm Blog Hop, Homemaking Hearts, IHeart Organizing