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Medicine Cabinet Clean Up: 5 Tips

5 Tips for Cleaning and Mastering the Medicine Cabinet.

Space is at a premium in most bathrooms, so you'll want to judiciously review every item you keep inside regularly.

The following 5 tips will help you keep the medicine cabinet nicely pruned - with space left over to stash at least a few of your daily essentials.

1. Reserve that precious, accessible cabinet space for essentials only.

Things like prescription medications, over-the-counter analgesics, rubbing alcohol and perhaps hydrogen peroxide for disinfecting.

These are the items you're likely to need and use most frequently.

Obviously, this select group will not necessarily include the Pepto-Bismol you require only on New Year's Day.

Place these less-used items in a drawer or under-sink cabinet. (For more space-saving tips here, see salvaging the bathroom sink area.)

Chances are, you'll be pleasantly surprised at the number of items you can store elsewhere.

These are items that free up room for the daily use items that are your true medicine cabinet essentials.

2. As you're looking at the items inside, check the labels carefully for storage instructions.

Some labels specify storage in a cool dark place, which, ironically, is not the bathroom, due to its inherent humidity.

And light, heat, or humidity can damage medications. Humid bathrooms are not the parking place for these items.

Consider placing them instead in a (secure) drawer the kids can't reach.

Good storage spots include your bedroom closet, on a high shelf in a hall closet, or perhaps a top shelf in the kitchen.

3. Look carefully at the expiration dates.

Toss what's expired or no longer used. Expired prescriptions and vitamins lose their potency. (Ditto for sunscreens, by the way.)

4. Discard expired items where kids can't find them.

Don't toss them casually into the bathroom wastebasket where curious hands could fish them out.

Instead, ask if your local pharmacy will dispose of expired or unused medications. As a final resort: flush them down the toilet or place at the bottom of a trash can.

5. Store prescriptions in their original containers.

Don't repackage them as you would food, even for space's sake.

It's important that you have the original label so you can check dosages, expiration dates, and other safety information.

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About the Author

Tara Aronson is a native Californian. Having grown up in San Diego, she studied journalism and Spanish to pursue a career in newspaper writing. Tara, whose three children - Chris, Lyndsay, and Payne - are the light of her life, now lives and writes in Los Angeles. She also regularly appears on television news programs throughout the U.S.