5 Tips for 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 - 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 undersink 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, items that free up room for the daily use items that are your true medicine cabinet essentials.
2 As you're looking at each item inside, be sure to check the labels carefully for both 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 spot choices include your bedroom closet, on a high shelf in a hall closet, or perhaps a top shelf in the kitchen.
3 Look carefully at 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 children cannot 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.