So, what should you do?
- Get rid of expired medicine! Check the expiration dates on all of your over-the-counter and prescription medication. Expired meds lose their potency--and I'm not a physician, but if I don't mess with expired food, why would I mess with meds past their prime?
- Be prepared. Stock up on the essentials now so that you don't have to go shopping later. There's nothing worse than dragging yourself out of bed to buy cold medicine or getting a minor cut only to find that you're out of bandages. Real Simple provides a great, basic checklist to get you started.
- Decide whether to separate medicine from toiletries. Depending on the space available in your bathroom, you may wish to dedicate your medicine cabinet entirely to, well, medicine. Toiletries such as shampoo, shaving cream, razors, soap and so forth could be better placed elsewhere in the bathroom if you have the space. At chez moi, we have a tiny bathroom and purposely bought an oversized medicine cabinet to hold meds as well as several toiletries. Use your best judgment; ultimately, keep like things together, no matter where they are in the washroom.
Disclaimer: I have no medical background whatsoever. You should consult a physician for advice on the types of medicines you should and should not take based on your medical needs. Right then!
I read somewhere that it's best to not store medicine in the medicine cabinet, because the humidity in a bathroom can negatively impact their effectiveness. Have you heard anything about this? What's your take?
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I'd never heard of this before but found some information provided by the National Institutes of Health (link below). But since I'm an organizer and not an MD, I would suggest that people consult their doctor or pharmacist about which medicines they should keep in the bathroom versus elsewhere! Thanks for the unique take on this topic.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007189.htm