Home and Family

Re: Organising the Medicine Cabinet

dolly77 — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:28:56 GMT

I use a kitchen cabinet with three shelves. The first shelf holds medicine; the second shelf holds paper plates, plastic cups, sandwich bags, freezer bags, etc.; the third shelf holds small board games.

DH attached two "spice racks" inside the cabinet door on the medicine shelf. These hold 8-10 bottles/boxes of meds. On the first rack, I keep all the prescription meds we use daily. The second rack holds seasonal meds. Inside the cabinet I use a shelf stacker and little baskets to store thermometers, thermometer covers, medicine cups/droppers, band-aids, first-aid creams, etc. In front, within easy reach, are pain relievers, cough syrups, etc. We also keep insect repellent, sunscreens, etc.

I really like this cabinet---it is probably the most organized place in my whole house!

Re: Organising the Medicine Cabinet

Deborahmichelle — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 19:12:34 GMT

Dear All, Just like Pat, I keep my prescription meds in a kitchen cabinet, safe from moisture & light. My aide who is a Certified Nursing Assistant puts them out into a "Medset" (one of those 7-days-a-week x 3 or 4 times of day covered containers) & for the ones that don't fit there, into a bowl in the cabinet or in the original prescription bottle stored on the counter-top.

Also, like Pat, I keep OTC items in a box in the closet.

Yours in Him, Deb

Re: Organising the Medicine Cabinet

Toni B. — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:42:23 GMT

My pharmacist once said he could imagine that I pour all my medications/supplements into a big bucket and scoop it out like cat food. Actually I do something that might be considered unusual. We use those large divided plastic craft boxes (or fishing tackle boxes with removable dividers) to hold all our meds and keep them in the refrigerator. Each section has a typed label showing what the medicine is. I started using this method for a couple of reasons. In the summer, my meds were affected by heat and humidity. Then there was the problem of trying to keep track of all my refills. At one time I had nine prescriptions (now i have four). I'm a "big picture" person and I like to see everything in one place, all at once, and not have to go through every bottle. We use a 7 day (day & night) pill holders and fill that once a week. I can tell at a glance when we're running low and need to call in a refill or if my supplements are running low. The empty prescription pill bottles are stored in a bathroom cupboard and I only keep the latest bottle on hand. The supplements are emptied into the divided containers and the original bottles are tossed into recycling. For emergency purposes, we have a sticker on our front door alerting paramedics about our medical issues/prescriptions kept in a pill bottle in the refrigerator. There is also a copy inside the bathroom cabinet in a plastic cover sheet, and a copy kept in the glove compartment of our cars. I'm sure some folks could find problems with this method but at one time I was so overwhelmed, I had to do something. Once I started this method, I never ran out of meds, but it does require that I keep that sheet updated when I have changes. And yes I take a lot of supplements all recommended by my practitioner. As for our over the counter meds, they are stored in a small plastic three drawer storage unit in the bathroom cupboard. One other reason I don't use the typical bathroom medicine cabinet is that when people ask to use the bathroom, they are really looking to see what they can find. I caught a guy who delivered my stove going through my med cabinet but he was out of luck.

Re: Organising the Medicine Cabinet

AmyC — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 22:42:25 GMT

Those actually get fairly frequently...we just don't use things from the medicine cabinent very often I guess. I think I also didn't really think about the fact that it could go bad.

Re: Organising the Medicine Cabinet

Brandy — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 03:57:08 GMT

AmyC:
I pulled out some icyhot to use last night and it expired October 2002.

Ummmm....

Sooo....when was the last time you looked under your bed, how about way back in the closet or the bottom of the desk drawer?

Re: Organising the Medicine Cabinet

Brandy — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 03:56:04 GMT

mamasjob:
Probably safer with small boys to keept things centralized and paid closer attention to.

Children pose entirely different challenges when it comes to meds. Keeping them apart is a high priority.

Re: Organising the Medicine Cabinet

AmyC — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:01:00 GMT

I think I need to go through our cabinent. I pulled out some icyhot to use last night and it expired October 2002.....

Re: Organising the Medicine Cabinet

mamasjob — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:07:40 GMT

Meds are kept in our master bathroom in a cupboard that is higher up on the wall. I am the only one with a regular prescription and it's in there. We do keep tylenol and infant tylenol in a high cupboard in the kitchen so we have a pain reliever on each floor of the house. The boys' vitamins are in the kitchen as they take it in the morning. My vitamins are in our bathroom b/c I take them at night.

I organized when we moved to our new house. At the old house, we had meds in our bedroom, in each bathroom, in the kitchen, etc. Now, our master bath and a pain reliever in the kitchen. Probably safer with small boys to keept things centralized and paid closer attention to.

Re: Organising the Medicine Cabinet

slk2042 — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:51:03 GMT

My glaucoma eye drops must stay refrigerated, and they have their own place in our fridge. All other prescription meds are in a drawer underneath our microwave. All OTC meds are in our bathroom medicine cabinet.

Re: Organising the Medicine Cabinet

Pat — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:12:09 GMT

I have to take several medications daily and keep those in the kitchen. They're in a certain area of a corner cabinet. Other things like cold and pain medicine along with salves, are in a cardboard box in the linen closet.

Re: Organising the Medicine Cabinet

kb999999 — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 03:53:27 GMT

Hi ... I have a cabinet in our bedroom that stores our meds within shoe boxes. The cabinet is wood and has two doors - a plastic 'baby lock' is between the two handles so grandbaby is safe. Hubby and I each have our own shoebox.

Re: Organising the Medicine Cabinet

sunshinetreva — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 03:25:04 GMT

We have medicine all over the house. I really should get it organized. At least I know where it all is.

I have a small basket of my occassional use medicine above the kitchen cabinets; I never took it down from DD's baby days even though now DD (5 in March) knows not to touch. I use this basket for the extras; for example the open bottle of children's tylenol is in my DD's ziptop bag but the waiting-to-be-used bottle is in the basket.
DH has a rubbermaid drawer on his night-table to hold all his meds. He has 8 prescriptions and 4 vitamins/supplements that he takes daily and a couple of prescriptions he takes as needed.
DD's meds, asthma spacer, and the ear thermometer are in a gallon ziptop bag since we move it from room to room as needed. I also keep tissues and peppermints in there for when we need to take the bag with us. Tissues are for the obvious and we use peppermints for upset tummies.
My prescriptions are on my night-table. I have my meds for when I wake up and can't move b/c my neck is thrown out. (Some people throw out their backs; I'm the weirdo who throws out her neck. I've woken up almost paralyzed from pain and not able to lift my arms more than 6 inches from my side, so I like those to be near me in case I wake up in agony.) And my BCPs are on my night-table and I take one each morning.
The only thing not in any of these places is my OTC migraine medicine which is *always* in my purse. I take it about 4 times a week, usually at work, so I keep it with me at all time.

Organising the Medicine Cabinet

Brandy — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:11:10 GMT

Whether we use prescription, over the counter or natural remedies for ailments, we all must have a place for these. I was clearing off the ones that have ended up on top of my fridge and bringing them back to the shelf in my bathroom linen closet where they belong. I think I need a better system that puts them near to where we bring them to use or something.

Where do you put your medication and how is it organised?