Friday, March 25, 2011

60 You Asked: Dedication to Medication

Happy Friday!  I have a little weekend project for everyone to consider!  Ready?

It all sparked from the following question from a reader, "Do you know how or where to dispose of prescription medications?"

It was wonderful timing really!  I also had just learned from another reader some extremely useful medication storage information.  I combined the question with the great facts from the reader, and asked my new Pharmacist friend, Mellissa, to guest post today!  Then, I will show you some of our medication storage that we implemented based on the great information I received! 

So now I am turning this post over to Mellissa:

Medicine Cabinets are NOT for Medicine

"Hello from New England, I heart organizing readers; I too am a huge fan of Jen’s awesome blog.  My name is Mellissa and I am a mom {of a beautiful 2 year old boy}, organizing freak, and also a pharmacist.   I have a doctor of pharmacy degree from a large university in New England and I have worked in retail pharmacy for several years as both an intern and a pharmacist.  My areas of interest are pediatrics, medication adherence, and women’s health; but through my course of practice I have seen it all.  I love being a pharmacist and I really enjoy passing my knowledge on to others.  So one day when I was reading a blog entry of Jen’s and my pharmacist alarm went off, I had to write in and give her heads up.  She had never heard what I shared with her so she asked me if she could share it with her readers and now here I am writing a guest blog!

What set off my pharmacist alarm………Jen was storing her medication in her bathroom.  Now I’m not picking on Jen because millions of people do it too, I mean where is your medicine cabinet?  It’s not in the kitchen!!!  Unfortunately medicine cabinets are not meant to store medicine!!!  I know, they are sized just right for those prescription bottles, so why wouldn’t you keep all of your medication together all nice and neat in your cabinet that is designed to hold medicine?  Because drugs need to be stored in an area where there is low humidity and stable temperature {room temp, never above 77 F} and I don’t know about you, but when I get out of the shower my mirror is foggy.  I wouldn’t even trust the fan in the bathroom.  Drugs will degrade over time and this is going to make them less effective, but storing them properly is key to getting them to keep their effectiveness until the expiration date on the bottle.  Storing them in the bathroom is like putting them through an accelerated degradation process and who wants to take a Tylenol that is only half effective? 

Now where should you store your medication?  I recommend either your bedroom or your kitchen (but not in cabinets around the stove or the refrigerator because of the heat generated by these appliances).  If you have young children I would store them in your kitchen if your bedroom does not have an area where you can be certain your kids can’t get to them.  I keep mine in a plastic bin in our pantry, but I also keep a small bin in my closet because we have our bedrooms on a different floor.  In my bedroom I keep Tylenol for both adults and kids and some antacids, who wants to run downstairs at 2 am when your little one has a fever?  One thing to be aware of, its not just what you get in pill form that is in this category; anything with a panel on the side of it that says Drug Facts and Information and lists an active ingredient as a drug substance needs to be stored properly.  Things like Neosporin, Clearasil, Retin-A, etc. have an active ingredient that needs to protected from moisture, light, and temperature fluctuations, however I draw the line at toothpaste because I think that would result in a decrease in the amount people brush their teeth, but toothpaste is a drug.  Please, go into your bathroom, empty out the medicine cabinet and store your medications under proper conditions.

Now let’s spring clean our “medicine” cabinet.  Every 6 months you should look at the labels on your drugs and get rid of everything that is expired.  A green way to dispose of your medication to keep it out of our water supply is too get a Ziploc bag and fill it with either kitty litter or your old coffee grounds.  Take your pills out of their original container and mix them in with the kitty litter/coffee grounds and seal the bag, then throw away.  {If you use kitty litter moisten it with water}.  This will deter someone who goes through your garbage from stealing your old meds.  Never throw them away in the original bottle.  Also while you are cleaning out the expired stuff, toss any leftover antibiotics you have whether they are expired or not!  Next time you don’t finish your course of antibiotics throw them away, don’t hang on to them.  It is never a good idea to take a couple of pills of an old antibiotic because you aren’t feeling well.  This is one of the ways we have gotten antibiotic resistance, which is a big problem and will continue to be one if we don’t take it seriously.  Moms, make sure you are tossing what is leftover of the medications that your pharmacist adds water to.  Those types of medications are typically only good for 10-21 days and after that they start to go bad.  NEVER save your child’s liquid amoxicillin and give it to them 6 months later.  Don’t laugh, it definitely happens, people save it for years. 

Ok, we cleaned out our expired stuff and know where to put it away, but what should we have on hand.  The most important things to have are ibuprofen, acetaminophen {both of these in adult and child form}, thermometer, band aids, first aid ointment {I like triple antibiotic ointment i.e. Neosporin}, oral rehydrating solution, Allegra or Zyrtec, liquid Benadryl, and an antacid.  I keep Allegra and Benadryl, even though they are both antihistamines because Allegra is what I would use for seasonal allergies, but if someone where having an allergic reaction I would give them liquid Benadryl {liquid works faster}.  These supplies will get you through most at home scenarios.  And save yourself some money, buy the store brands.  I always buy generic drugs and then I have extra money so I don’t have to buy generic purses and shoes.  Generics really do work as well as the brand name. 

So thanks for reading my first ever blog post, I hope it was informative and fun!

xoxo,
Mellissa C, PharmD"


Such incredible information!  I have been unknowingly storing ALL of our medications or first aid supplies in a bathroom cabinet.  Never thought twice about it!

So, I took my new found information and put it to good use.  And I must say, it feels incredible having all my meds organized and know that they are also being stored correctly!

I started out with all of our prescriptions, tylenols and vitamins.  I decided they would find a new home in a kitchen cabinet.  Top shelf.



We placed all of our meds into two tin boxes {similar to these here}, which I just added pretty paper and ribbon to.  One for the kiddo's, one for the adults.



They are the perfect solution for medication sized bottles!  And they are all concealed and up high, out of sight from the little ones.

We also transferred all of our vitamins into a utensil caddy, which is easy to bring down to counter level:


I used an infamous mini white vase to corral all those awkward medicine dispensers, nose suckers and a thermometer:


Next I moved onto all of our first aid supplies.  Most of them were combined to fit in an old first aid kit I had picked up awhile back:


We definitely don't have a shortage on band-aids!


Then, I used a larger box {a leftover box that I found at Target filled with greeting cards eons ago}, to corral the rest of the first aid supplies.  This included ice packs/bags, ointments and cotton/q-tips.


All of the first aid items are tucked on the top shelf of a little linen closet right outside all of our bedrooms. 



I used a leftover wipe container to toss in all those sinus medications....


However, it won't be much longer until they make their way into a medication safe in our bedroom.

You may also recall from this post that I tuck away some extra ibuprofen/tylenol for ourselves and the kiddos, next to the bed for late night emergencies {in a leftover dishwashing tabs bin}:


So far all of the caps are pretty "child proof", but I am absolutely investing in something like this in the very near future:


So there you have it!  Information overload?  All incredibly great though!  Who else is surprised?  Who else is pulling meds out of the bathroom as we speak?  I am SO grateful Mellissa contacted me to share such great information!  And it was SO much fun to have a guest here on the blog as well!  Endless THANKS to her for stopping by!

Mellissa has been awesome enough to offer of a little Q&A due to the information she provided.  Feel free to comment with any additional questions that may have sparked, and we will update the post accordingly!

60 comments:

  1. Great post!! I havent kept our meds in the "medicine" cabinet for years - but not because of the need to avoid humidity/heat. I had no idea about that! I just like to have our meds in ONE bin, and I keep it in my bedroom. Kids are not allowed in our bedroom, so it makes it much easier to control. We have older kids (5-19) and Im not comfortable with the older ones just grabbing a med if they don't feel well. This way, they have to ask - and I know who is taking what, when. I clean out expired meds every 6 months or so too. Great tip about the zip lock with coffee grinds - I have worried about throwing away old pain meds.

    Thanks!!

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  2. I see you took your sinus meds out of their boxes. Are the backs of the pills labeled? What about dosing information or expiration dates? Did you just keep the labels somewhere else?

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  3. Wow, I had no idea! This is such a great and informational post, thank you!

    Now, I just have to convince hubby that I can throw away that tube of ointment from the early 90's. Ha!

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  4. Great post, tons of useful info. I'm headed to the medicine cabinet right now to take care of business. Except now...what will I put in all that empty space behind the mirror! Probably won't take me long to figure something out :)

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  5. Thanks, Melissa! A lot of this was definitely new to me. Thank you for taking the time to write it all out.

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  6. Thanks so much for this info.! I had no idea either! I will store them properly, as we speak. I found your blog via "6th Street Design School"
    I love it! :)

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  7. wow! thank you so much for sharing this info!
    cleaning my medicine drawer (yep, in the bathroom) is on my 52 weeks of organizing list...i will get on it THIS weekend and move it to our linen closet and kitchen cabinet!
    THANK YOU!

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  8. ps...hope you dont mind, but i am going to post a link to this on my fb page!! :)

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  9. I would like to thank you, Melissa, for this timely post. Thank you for telling parents NEVER to save antibiotics for a future illness- I am a pediatric nurse and see that so often. Truly, it's a bad idea that puts your child's health (and potentially even their life) at risk. Praise God for modern medicine, but use it wisely! Thanks again!!!

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  10. Right now all our medicine/first aid lives in our linen closet. After we move I want to get ÄTRAN
    Lockable cabinet from Ikea. My parents had something similar when I was a child. They knew it was child safe and it was usually mounted in the hall (we moved a lot).

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  11. I did know about the humidity thing when it comes to meds. Read it somewhere that I cannot now recall :) However really found the tip on disposal extremely helpful. Always worry about how to dispose of old meds. Thanks Mellissa!

    A little off topic, but I believe the heat and humidity rule also applies to spices. In other words keep spices as far away from the stove and the dishwasher as possible.

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  12. THANK YOU! I have been trying to figure out the proper way to dispose of all of our old NASTY meds. YAY! Now I know. THANKS AGAIN! Smooches!

    Jennie {CInnaberry Suite}

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  13. It's a good reminder. We store ours in the kitchen and in the coat closet for that very reason. If my hubby didn't work in healthcare, I would not have known about the medicine cabinet taboo.

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  14. Not sure about the US, but in Canada it is recommended not to throw out your medications but take your old medications to a pharmacy, they collect these "dead drugs" and then all are collected and I believe incinerated. This keeps them out of the landfill and the water systems.

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    1. Pharmacies in the states don't accept meds. Sometimes police stations do.

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  15. I so appreciate this post! Medicines are the bane of my existence! I organize them and then "poof" they are a mess again. I like the tin idea. I think I need things that have lids and can stack as well. Hmm. Thanks for the inspiration my dear.

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  16. i heart pharmacists! :) Also, we get rid of our meds in our community's household-hazardous waste collection, held twice a year. They will safely dispose of unused meds.

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  17. I have several questions. You mentioned putting pills in coffee grounds or kitty litter, but what about liquid medicine? Do I put those in there too?

    Not to be annoying, but we don't drink coffee or have a cat, is there anything else I can use to dispose of old medicine?

    Also, someone mentioned taking old medicine to a pharmacy, our pharmacy used to take them but now they don't. I don't know if that's a regional thing or not, but it's not an option here anymore.

    Thanks so much for the information.

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  18. thanks so much for sharing the great info.

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  19. Thanks for the great post. But I think Melissa will get on your case for taking those sinus meds out of their original packaging. They should always stay in the box!

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  20. I heard about this long time ago, and I keep my prescription meds in the kitchen. I do keep medication in my 1/2 bath because there is no shower in there to create moisture or excess heat, but I do need to organize it a bit better. I am surprised about the disposing method. I have a huge bag of expired meds that I have held onto until I can dispose them. I know that some pharmacies do but I always forget to ask the one in my local Superstore if they have a program for that so I don't lug all the meds through the store for naught. I am also in Canada, so I don't know if there's different rules here.

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    1. Ter - Shopper's Drug Mart takes them in Ontario. That's what we've always done.

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  21. All 2 1/2 of our bathrooms has medicine cabinets installed. At least they are wood? Otherwise, they are ugly things to me. Anyway, my medicine is kept in our half bath medicine cabinet. It's a relief to know I haven't had it in a moist, humid location!

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  22. I have an older version of the medicine chest you showed at the bottom of your post (mine doesn't have handles, that'd be a nice feature to have.) I keep it in the kitchen for current meds we are taking.

    Here's a meds storing tip I recently came up with. If you store your meds in bins (or tins, like above) write the name on the top of the bottle or box. This allows you to see what you have. You could also write the expiration dates there, too.

    I have pictures here:
    http://goodenoughmommy.blogspot.com/2011/02/expired-medication.html

    They are not great pictures but will give you an idea of what I mean.

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  23. While I applaud your organization skills, I think it may be a disservice to other blog readers to promote storage that includes discarding the medication boxes. (as shown with your sinus medications) These boxes contain important and useful Drug Facts and Information that may be needed for future reference, especially if any moms have babysitters in their home. I am sure if you consult with your pharmacist, they will also agree.

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  24. For meds that people have taken often they generally know about the important drug facts that a lot of people are concerned about not having. There are drugs I have taken over and over again over the years so I know how much I am supposed to take.

    A lot of meds also have both milligram and expiration on the back of the foil packs....for example my benadryl and sudafed have that information on it.

    I am sure that this information should you forget can easily be googled.

    As far as those concerned about babysitters and meds most parents leave directions with sitters about frequently used meds the kids need and anything else a lot of parents don't want someone else giving their children drugs without consent. Most parents are only a call away.

    After hearing not to store drugs in the bathroom, which I didn't just for convenience sake I store mine in the bedroom.....I wonder about the first aid kits that contain some drugs that we store in our vehicles. That probably means since our vehicles are not climate controlled for cold/hot that we shouldn't store certain things in the car??

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  25. I love learning new things! thank you so much for this post. Time to go re-organize!

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  26. This is really great info! I was at work reading this post aloud to all of my co-workers. We have decided to all go home and organize our med cabinets!

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  27. Hi ladies
    I think it is ok to store foil packs outside of original container if, it has drug name, strength, exp date, and a lot number. If the drug is recalled you need the lot number to identify if it is part of a recall, I keep sudafed out of the box. I would never allow a babysitter to medicate my child without checking with me first, heck I don't llet the hubby do it, he needs to call me or the pedi for most things. You give my child drugs with out checking with me we are going to have problems.

    If you have pain killers, Ativan, add meds, please get a safe. I can't tell you how many people have these drugs stolen by family members or guests. Ever hear of pharm parties, kids ransack their parents med supply and get what they can, go to a party dump the contents in a bowl and pass it around. I kid you not, lock em up. I'm glad someone mentioned babysitter did not think of that, thought I had a little time, so after work I'm going to walmart and buying a small safe. I have more responses but I am at work and my help is going to lunch.

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  28. Are you kidding....pharm parties!!! YIKES! Never heard of that around here.

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  29. This is really great information. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  30. Love these ideas! Right now we keep our meds in the kitchen or in a basket in a closet with the towels and sheets. In the past we have flushed old pills down the toilet.

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  31. My dad is a retired police sargent and he always told us to go to a police station because more and more of them are implementing safe drug disposal programs now where residents can bring in medications they no longer need/use or are expired and they will properly dispose of them for free. He also told me there is some special way they dispose of the drugs (meaning more than just throwing them in the trash for you, though I'm sure dumping your old meds in wet kitty litter is a pretty good way to keep people from digging through your trash too haha) and supposedly it's environmentally safe as well. I asked my pharmacist where I just moved to if he knew which police station I could take this to and he didn't even know you could do that (I promise this is not a dig at pharmacists, just saying that these programs are not well publicized yet) but I did a search on the internet and was able to find one.

    Just another thought for you all. I'm a big supporter of safe drug disposal so I'm willing to find a police station who will do this for me. And thanks to Mellissa for giving us more alternatives for safe drug disposal. :)

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  32. Just found your blog, very useful information. Great post! Now off to clean my medicine cabinet...shhhh

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  33. Oh Boy! I've been noticing that we have a lot more meds than I care to have in our bathroom, so this post came right on time! Unfortunately, we have incredibly limited space in our house for storage, and moving our stuff out of the bathroom is going to be a bit of a challenge. But I'm up for it! I think it's going to inspire a whole series of rearrangements with my living room decor... The kitchen won't work because we have no extra cabinets far enough from the stove/fridge. But I'm going to make this work!

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  34. Hi again,
    I have been working all weekend so I haven't had too much time to answer questions. I've typed 3 responses in the last 45 minutes but my computer keeps doing somehting funny so I will return tomorrow to do it. Too tired after a fun weekend at the pharmacy.
    Mellissa

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  35. Our medicine lives in the kitchen...Yay! Solely because the bathroom storage is needed for toiletries. I'm glad to know that they're in the best place for them. I need to get rid of the unused/expired ones though. Thanks for the info!

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  36. My husband is on some pretty powerful drugs for chronic pain and he thought the safest place to store it would be the bathroom cabinet as we have two small (curious) boys and I run a home daycare as well. After reading this article though they will be moved. We are also moving to a new home at the end of April and I already know where they will be put at the new house.
    Thank you for posting this.

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  37. I am so glad i found this, I have been meaning to orgnaise my medicines for so long and I have been avoiding it. You have inspired me to get crafty and get it done, thanks!

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  38. Hey Jen, awesome information. I'm a pediatric nurse and have never heard this, but it certainly makes sense.
    I also did a 4 series on organizing medicine cabinets, expired meds, being prepared for illness & how to dispose of medications. But I didn't mention this. I found this link through DaNita at Delightful Order. I am also going to link to this article on both my Organizing Mission link party today where I am featuring DaNita's post that references you, and also back on my Medicine cabinet posts - I think on part one called Organizing your Medicine Cabinet.
    Thanks!

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  39. My medicine cabinet needs to take a serious note...

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  40. Most of our meds & first aid supplies are stored in our hallway linen closet. I have separate baskets for different meds, depending on what they are for. One for tummy meds (antacids, laxatives, anti-diarrheals), one for cold meds, one for pain meds, etc. We use alka-seltzer products a lot, and when my boys were younger, I made sure I bought the type without aspirin for their use.

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  41. Someone mentioned taking medications to a local police station... I am a pharmacy technician and our pharmacy recommends fire stations, too! Every quarter or so they have a dedicated weekend where they advertise taking old medications to dispose for you, but they will usually take them anytime (though you would probably want to call first and make sure). Not sure what the reasoning is for other pharmacies (maybe Mellissa can give some more info on this one) but the reason we don't take medications that need to be wasted is because people are mostly concerned with disposing of narcotics. The (Arizona) state board prefers that two pharmacists waste those kinds of medications together, and in a retail pharmacy there is usually only one pharmacist on staff at a time! Hope this helps! :)

    P.S. I love the utensil caddy idea!!! Ingenious.

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  42. "Though I'm sure dumping your old meds in wet kitty litter is a pretty good way to keep people from digging through your trash too"

    I think that the concern about disposal of meds goes way beyond someone picking through your trash to get their highs or lows. If not disposed of through a 'proper' process (pharmacy or police dept), the meds that go in your trash get into your ground water system. This in turn goes into the vegetation, water that animals drink, and water we drink. So, in fact, we're getting doses of random medication through various sources. Please do find out where you can dispose of them properly.

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  43. To be more clear, you eat the vegetables that are irrigated with this medicated ground water, and you eat the animals that are hydrated with the same.

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  44. For your Canadian readers, there are provincial programs fro medication disposal in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and PEI. In other provinces, programs may be organized through local municipalities. For more info, click on http://www.medicationsreturn.ca/programs_en.php or http://www.safemedicationuse.ca/newsletter/downloads/ISMPC_2011_03_Safe_Disposal_of_Medications.pdf .

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  45. Another option for locking medicine (too keep kids from getting into it) is to put it in a toolbox and lock it with a lock. I use a metal toolbox I purchased from Wal-Mark and a simple padlock. If you use a padlock be sure to keep the keys where children cannot get to them, or you can use a combination lock.

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  46. Please add labels to your first aid tin and med boxes! That way if it is you that is sick and there is a friend over they won't have to go through all your tupperware to get meds for you! Ditto for babysitters etc.

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  47. The pharma parties with pre-teen and teens are real. Kids in middle school that under the influence at school almost always got the meds at home.

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  48. I have recently reorganised my medications. You can see what I have done http://therewasacrookedhouse.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/organising-medications/

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  49. I am looking for a good medicine safe. I thought I had one, I had actually put my make-up in it to keep it from my teenage daughters, but my daughter used a barrette to open it in 2 seconds flat! All of the options on Amazon posted similar problems. Any suggestions?

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  50. Someone complained of fogged mirrors after a shower- I had showered and was ready to shave but my mirror was fogged- the only soap I had available was Barbasol shaving soap, so I used it to clean the mirror. Guess what? It didn't fog again for two or three weeks.By the way, I am not the bearded lady from the circus- my wife is handicapped so I am chief cook, bottle-washer,cleaning guy, etc.
    Also, I inherited a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet from my mother; the outside had a 1/8" layer of junk built up from years of using it to make the best cornbread in three counties. I took it camping and put it in a roaring campfire for a couple of hours, and what didn't burn off I got off easily with a putty knife. I re-seasoned it (outside and inside) with Crisco- two or three hours at 200° in the oven. After using it three or four times, it works as good as a new Lodge.

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  51. I know this is eons after you made this (very helpful) post, but I had a TON of medicines I needed to get rid of and throwing them in the trash with kitty litter or coffee grounds just didn't sit right with me. So, after scouring the internet, I found Dispose My Meds (http://www.disposemymeds.org/). You pay for an envelope (they're cheap), load them with the medicines, and drop the envelope in the mail. The company takes care of destroying the meds. It's not available everywhere, but it's definitely worth looking into as another option!

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  52. Just a quick tip/info. Not such a good idea to use kitty litter...unless it is biodegradable. All clay litter is most definitely NOT biodegradable. The plastic bag and empty med bottles don't help either..but a little bit helps. Just an fyi to be a little more generous to mother earth. However, if you feel you must use the litter, use saw dust or something to that equivalent. You can still "water down" the meds that way to.

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  53. what should we do if we live in a very humid climate in the summer (i also live in N.E.) and my apt. get's hotter than 80 f when it get's really humid. any suggestion's?

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  54. Hi! All the info you gals gave is awesome for most people. My family's medications have always been in the kitchen. I have 6 children, 2 of which are always on perscribed medication. My husband is disabled and on over 30 medications due to diabetes, 7 strokes, a pacemaker placement, siezure disorder, severe neuropathy, sleep apnea, high b/p & lipids, etc. I, myself, am on medication for my own disorders. One entire kitchen cabinet is dedicated to our medicines. I don't have the problem of meds expiring since all of our meds are needed daily. I wish I could increase our first aide kit, but I have to spend so much on monthly med bills I don't have the money to buy more than a few bandaides. And storage with good acces has always been a problem. Thanks for letting me share!

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  55. I used an uber-cheap method. I attached pretty burgundy Velcro circles to the insides of my bathroom cabinets. Then I attached the opposing Velcro circles to sandwich bags. (And later found that the "stickiness" of the Velcro circles wasn't strong enough for the sandwich bags, so I stapled the circles to the bags.) I found that I was able to fit 12 bags on one cabinet door. I labeled and filled the bags w/ medical items: "Loose Pills," "Tubes," "Pills in Packs," "Band-aids," "Misc.," etc. We can see exactly what's in each bag. We've been using this method for a year without any bags breaking. The hubs grudgingly loves it.

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  56. Lockable file boxes & make up cases are good for this- for keeping away from small kids, but not robust enough to keep out teenagers etc. I carry single doses of my regular meds with me- if I take them out of the pack I cut out the little info panel with dosage info and put it in the pill box. Ask your pharmacist about storage conditions as some of my meds say keep in original packaging which meant I couldn't put them in my medicine organiser, but when I checked they are ok for a month out of the foil pack, so I could set out my months meds after all. Other meds have to stay in the pack because they will start to degrade straight away.

    does anyone know a good way to dispose of all the bottles, packets and instructions? I have a lot of regular meds that come in a lot of packaging and multiple packs for each month- each with its info leaflet... At the moment I have a pile building up waiting to be shredded for privacy.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by to share some extra tips! As far as disposing of medications, this website offers a lot of information on the best methods: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/EnsuringSafeUseofMedicine/SafeDisposalofMedicines/ucm186187.htm

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