3 Tips to Spring Cleaning the Medicine Cabinet
Disclosure: I am an ambassador for KYOTCs. All thoughts and opinions are purely my own. Last week I had to have a colonoscopy. Don't ask. I mean ask but you'll probably regret it as I can't be responsible for the level of oversharing that I'd be doing should that question leave your mouth.
Enniweighs...
I bring this up because I was perusing my pantry and cabinets to make sure that I had sufficient broth to last me a lifetime of suffering and the zombie apocalypse. Inevitably, it led me to pull out other cans and led me to another cabinet. The one where I keep my little basket of over the counter meds.
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How are broth and my medicine cabinet related? Oh just a little thing I like to call: expiration dates! (I had to throw out 3 cans of broth because they were past their date. WTH?!?)
Full disclosure: I did this a few months back with the Frog Princess's meds and I was sad that I had to throw away two almost full bottles of ibuprofen and acetaminophen. I'd caught a sale and lost my mind. What can I say? This is what happens when your kid suffers from febrile seizures.
I thought I'd gone through everything but in my little green basket I found a number of loner meds. You know what I'm talking about! The ones that you pull from the box or that fall out of the box and are all by themselves in the corner of the basket just waiting for someone to make use of them but no one ever does. It's the sad little pills that didn't get invited to prom.
For me, I found allergy meds strewn about in a sad display of loneliness. I felt bad for them. And I think this feeling bad is the reason they're in there. Hello?! They have expired! Why am I even playing?
The Girl With the Beat Up Face:
This is what I called myself a few years back. When I had inadvertently taken antibiotics that had been expired. I thought they were the antibiotics that I'd recently been prescribed but nope. It wasn't. Two morals here: PUT. YOUR. GLASSES. ON. WHEN. TAKING. MEDS. And: dispose of all expired over-the-counter medicines or prescription meds that you no longer need. I took it, felt a little swelling in my face and went to work anyways. Me and Hitch could've been twins. I actually took a "see it's not that bad" picture! Because when you are having a reaction your brain tricks you into thinking it's not that bad! But it was. I destroyed the picture I took and the phone I took it with in an attempt to hide the evidence but, this should give you a good visual.
So guess what? Now I will forever have an "allergic to sulfas" on my record. My doctor didn't want to take the chance because we don't want a repeat and it's better to be on the safe side.
All because I didn't bother to dispose of meds.
But it isn't just the prescription meds. It's the little loner pills in my medicine basket. The ones whose expiration dates I could barely read. Those had to be trashed.
And of course, just dumping them into the garbage wouldn't do now that I know these tips. I opened the allergy meds, dropped them into the latest batch of coffee grounds and then off they went into a baggie that was finally thrown into the trash on trash day.
Chances are that you are spring cleaning. While you do that, can you spring clean your medicine cabinet, basket, drawer and/or bin? Here are 3 easy tips to do that.
- Set a date to check your meds. Do you change the batteries in your smoke detector twice a year? Do it on that day. It helps if you put it on your calendar!
- Sue KonMari with your meds. In order to avoid having to spring clean the meds? Don't buy what you don't need! I know it might seem like a great idea to buy 32 boxes of children's ibuprofen but take it from me, you won't need all of them before they expire and chances are...they'll go on sale again.
- Don't forget your purse/backpack/car! I often travel with a small travel bottle with over the counter meds. But guess what? It sits there for months and if I use a different bag it could sit there longer. Get rid of the meds in your purse or car regularly.
I hope these tips help you getcho life with this spring cleaning in your medicine cabinet. Your body will thank you for keeping it safe as will the rest of your household.
Go look in your medicine cabinet and tell me...how much of that stuff is past the expiration date? What are you going to do about it?