When we planned the house we had a pretty good idea of where we thought things (like medications) would be kept. Andy had a big box of random medications and personal care items when we moved in that landed in the laundry room cabinets. It has stayed there without being touched ever since. Most of my first aid items were placed in the kitchen above the microwave (this has become sort of a catch-all cabinet). It was a convenient place, but all the bottles and boxes were disorganized and difficult to get to. The space just wasn't living up to its potential. It's really deep, so the back half was pretty much empty, wasted space. It's above eye level so you can really only see the things in the front anyway, and I almost always get a step stool even for those items. With some storage bins and organizing, I knew it would be a much more functional place to hold all of our first aid items..
I jumped the gun a little bit and removed all the bottles and boxes before I remembered to snap a picture. Basically, just picture random items strewn across that bottom shelf. Ignore the other shelves, I plan to get to those next.
First I piled up all of the items and separated them by category (cold/cough, allergy, Band Aids/first aid and so on and so forth). Next I ditched anything that was expired or anything we had too much of. Here is maybe a third of the stuff that was tucked away in the laundry room. It wasn't doing us any good in there!
Then I made a trip to the Dollar Tree. It is becoming my new favorite store and has an entire wall dedicated to plastic bins and boxes. I got all this for 8 bucks and change and didn't even use it all for this project!
I used four of the green bins and both of the blue buckets. The first green bin contains all items one would need if you get a cut or scrape: rubbing alcohol, Neosporin, every size Band-Aid possible, and bandage tape.
The next bin contains anything you'd need when you have a cold. We literally had SIX boxes of Sudafed. I downsized to two. This bin also has couch syrup, throat lozenges, and Mucinex. I hope we never have to use this bin..
The third contains everyday pills such as Tylenol, Ibuprofen, and multivitamins. The fourth is entirely for allergy medications. No pictures necessary. The blue buckets came in handy for larger items. Apparently we are cough drop hoarders so one of the buckets just keeps those. The bucket in the back is really for miscellaneous items. Right now I have calcium pills (why do I have those?), and have since added an eye patch and eye wash. Don't ask.
Here is a close up of the shelf now. I like that it has a bit of color, but you can still see inside. Eventually I will label all of these but I want to live with it for a while to make sure this system works.
It's really amazing how much stuff you can fit in a small space when you are smart about storage. Plus this was an excellent way to get rid of unnecessary junk and remember all that you have. We won't have to stock up on any meds for years. Now whenever we have a need for something, we can just grab the specific bin. The shelf is tall enough that you can reach the back bins without moving anything else. You can easily see and access everything without having to make a mess. Pretty handy job completed for just $6.
Next up on the organizing list, bins for the bathroom drawers and spice cabinet!
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