When cold and flu season pops up, it's a real nuisance to have to dig around in your overflowing medicine cabinet to find what you need -- if you even still have some. But unless you have a strategy for organizing all of those boxes, bottles and tubes, that's usually what happens. Ready to take back some control? Start by pulling out all of the contents and looking at the expiration dates. Old medicine is bad medicine, so it should get the boot immediately, just be sure to follow the disposal instructions on the packaging. It's not a bad idea as you sort items into the "to keep" pile to write the expiration dates in magic marker somewhere noticeable on the bottle or box. That way, you can identify old stuff at a quick glance. Experts say you should give your medicine collection a once-over every year.
Next, you'll need to decide how you want to be able to access meds. Do you want to store them by type? In this scenario, all ointments and creams go with first aid supplies, while cough and flu medicines are kept separately from antacids and heartburn pills. If a person in your household is on a number of medications that he or she needs to access daily, it's a good idea to store them all together in a separate box. And definitely be sure to keep kids' medications separate from adult medications for easy access.
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