These medicine storage ideas will help you organize them so you can find what you need when you need it!
12 ideas for storing medicines
How many times have you gone looking for a medication and found that it expired two years ago? Yes, I have been there.
Or worse yet, you find some pills torn out of the package and you have no idea what medication it is.
Each of us has medications in our home, and when we need them, we need them to be easy to find. And perhaps most importantly: not expired!
Reasons to have good medication storage
Find medications quickly when you need them
The number one reason you shouldn’t keep all your medications stored in a drawer is because when you’re sick or have an emergency you need to feel better FAST.
When you know exactly what medicine is where, you can easily get what you need and start feeling better.
Be aware of expirations
Another reason to have medication storage systems is because you want to use a FIFO (first in, first out) system with expirations.
Don’t waste money on a new pack of cold medicine if you still have one hidden in the back of the cabinet.
Keep the oldest medications toward the front and open the bottles in order of expiration (if you have more than one).
Throw away expired medications as soon as you notice them so you don’t accidentally ingest them.
Keep them out of reach of children.
Lastly, you don’t want the “delicious tasting” cough syrup that your kids could possibly drink. While a drawer in the bathroom is convenient, choose a location that is out of the reach of younger children.
Here is our medicine storage area: a corner in the boys’ bathroom.
Medications are available and out of reach, easy to access for those who wake up in the middle of the night, and organized.
Although in a perfect world there would be a door in this corner, I’m working with what I have for now! Nice baskets
12 ideas for storing medicines
Here are some organization tips we used in our house and some storage ideas I came up with for you!
1. Lazy Susans rule the world
I used to have our medicines in a basket that I pulled down so that from above I could only see the top.
I buy these two lazy susans in black to match our accessories and now I can easily find children’s medications in a twist.
The larger one has the jars with a thermometer jar in the center, and the smaller one contains all the cups and syringes for dispensing.
2. Use jars or cups to store accessories or creams
Thermometers, toothbrushes and tubes of cream can be stored vertically in a glass jar or pretty mug.
3. Write expirations large on the side or bottom of the bottle.
One idea for expiration dates is to write them with a marker on the cover or the side in BIG letters where you can easily see them. Then you won’t have to look for the fine print just to check it out.
4. Store medications in a dark, dry place.
Medications and pills should be kept away from sunlight and moisture, so when thinking about storage solutions, keep this in mind.
While our children’s medications are kept in a bathroom, it is not a “hot and steamy” bathroom, as we primarily use it to bathe the children.
If you have a small bathroom with little cabinet space, think about other places, such as a kitchen cabinet, a high shelf in the linen closet, the back of doors, a dresser drawer in your bedroom or in the closet in his master bedroom.
5. Use labeled plastic bins for closets.
Small transparent storage containers like these either these They are ideal for grouping medications and labeling them on the outside.
They’re easy to pull out when you need them, especially if you group similar medications together. This post It has great example photos!
6. Use small containers to divide drawers.
If you use drawers, small, flat containers or a drawer organizer will help keep medications from moving around.
We keep our adult medications in a deep drawer upstairs and I have clear acrylic dividers and rose gold metal baskets to keep things organized.
Contact paper would make the bottom of a drawer very pretty.
7. Consider a spice rack
Hanging storage solutions are always a good idea. Consider placing a spice rack on the inside of the bathroom or linen closet door. This is perhaps THE most effective way to see everything at once if you have a good spot for it.
This could sit on a closet shelf and This could be assembled.
Make sure you think about the size and height of your bottles before deciding on one!
8. A shipping tub comes in handy
Another idea is to prepare a “caboodle” style tub that you can take with you.
A portable medication organizer works well for a sick child in the middle of the night or for a Band-Aid needed in the backyard. This is cute!
9. Use pretty baskets for everyday items.
Keep everyday items within reach.
I have a few baskets to organize all of my kids’ personal care items and I use baskets in baskets to keep the categories organized.
From toothbrushes in cups to dental floss and nail clippers in small bowls, use any dividers you can find around the house.
If you have a medicine cabinet, store only everyday essentials and move other less-used items to any of the other storage ideas so things don’t fall over.
10. Over the door storage
A shoe storage organizer or wire rack that fits over a door would also work well, especially if you have the perfect hidden door (like an extra linen closet or an extra bathroom closet).
TO hanging jewelry organizer It could store smaller packets, pills, and first aid medical supplies such as Band-Aids.
This post It has a well-organized grid.
11. Use a multi-drawer organizer
I bought our aqua blue organizer for this bathroom years ago at Lowes. It’s tucked away in a corner and fits perfectly into the space.
Each drawer has a different category and I have one for each of my children.
Inside are additional personal care items like toothpaste or baby wipes! If you don’t have space for a larger piece, small plastic organizers to store your medications also work. Just a Girl Blog You have a good example of these!
12. Group Likes with Like and Tag
I love simplicity chalkboard labels, although you can see that wet hands can be a problem. A label maker is also always a fun way to add something pretty to your routine.
