How to Dispose of Unwanted and Expired Medication
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The unforgiving bright spring light is flowing in through our winter-stained windows. I am coming out of hibernation and seeing our home clearly for the first time in months. There are piles of clutter, untouched junk mail, and a few lonely dust bunnies scurrying across the floor. We all know what this means. It’s time for a hefty dose of spring cleaning and organizing. It’s time for us to breathe life and freshness into our homes. In with the new and out with the old, unwanted, and expired.
As a mother of four, I have several areas of the house I organize on a semi-annual basis. With spring approaching and us emerging from flu and cold season, our family’s medicine cabinet is in dire need of a re-stock and refresh. I go through our medical supplies every six months, so we are always prepared for whatever germs and crud four boys bring into our home.
How to organize a medicine cabinet for a large family
I have organized our medicine cabinet the same way for over 16 years. It is a system that works well for us, ensuring that everything we need is handy and within reach in case of an emergency. But also, it keeps prescription medication out of the wrong hands.
Check out how I organize prescription medication, over-the-counter medication, and first-aid supplies for our family of six: “How to Organize Your Children’s Medicine Cabinet”.
I sort our medication and medical supplies into several labeled clear containers. I have one each for “prescription medication”, “over-the-counter medication”, “first aid supplies”, “medical devices” (ie. thermometer, pulse ox), “asthma treatments”, and finally one for “daily medications”.
The content of the container labeled “daily medications” changes as the kids are treated for various ailments. I go through this container more frequently and put medications away once they are no longer used on a daily basis.
Thankfully, our medicine cabinet overhaul coincides this year with Washington’s Safe Medication Disposal Program. April 22, 2023, is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
What is the purpose of the Safe Medication Disposal Programs?
- Every year, unwanted and expired medications are disposed of in unsafe ways.
- Throwing unwanted and expired medications in the trash or flushing them down the toilet or drain is harmful to our environment.
- Keeping unwanted and expired medications around the house risks them ending up in the wrong hands, which is a great safety hazard to kids of all ages.
- Considering the opioid crisis affecting many families across the country, it is important to safely store medication and dispose of unwanted and expired prescriptions.
- The Safe Medication Disposal Program in Washington has created a Consumer Drug Take-Back program providing communities throughout the country a safe way to discard their unused and expired prescription medication in secure kiosks.
- In the State of Washington, look for secure kiosks in your local pharmacy. For more information on the drug take-back program and to find a local drop-off location, go to medtakebackwashington.org or call 1-844-482-5322.
Where should medication be stored safely in the home?
- In order to avoid having unused and forgotten medications stashed throughout the house, it’s important to have one location dedicated to medication storage.
- It’s equally important to prevent children and visitors from being able to access the medications without an adult’s knowledge and consent. To this end, we avoid storing our medical supplies in “hidden areas” of the house (ie. the master bathroom or bedroom).
- Our medicine cabinet is located in the kitchen, in one of the tallest cabinets, out of reach, but in a highly visible area of the house. This location prevents our medications from falling into curious hands behind our backs.
- I always worry that hiding the medication away in a bedroom makes it more accessible since we spend most of our time in the kitchen and living room space. Keeping the medication in our top kitchen cabinet, out of reach, allows us to keep an eye on things when the kids have friends visiting.
How to keep track of prescription refills without storing old medication bottles:
Several years ago, I noticed our collection of unused prescriptions was growing with each passing month. In spite of my best efforts in cleaning and organizing our medicine cabinet semi-annually, we still gathered several prescription bottles. Finally, it dawned on me, I was saving the prescription bottles and packaging in order to have the refill prescription information available if/ when we needed the medication again.
That’s when I created this handy and convenient “Prescription Refill Log” and saw an immediate improvement in our habits of storing unused prescription medication.
Get your “Prescription Refill Log” by entering your name and email address below. You will receive an email with the free printable Prescription Refill Log.
The log is easy to use. Store it in your medicine cabinet alongside your current prescription medication.
To use the log most effectively, create one log per family member. Fill in the person’s name and today’s date, complete the medication name and its purpose, the dose and dispensing instructions, the Rx number, the date the Rx expires, and finally the pharmacy and phone number.
Now you have a record of what refills are available to you and your family at the tip of your fingertips, without jeopardizing your family’s safety by storing unused and expired medications.
While the spring cleaning bug is inspiring you to clean and organize all the neglected areas of your home, be sure to focus on your medicine cabinet. A quick refresh and restock is probably necessary after the long winter virus season we just had.
And most importantly, remember to take advantage of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day this April 22, 2023. For more information on the drug take-back program and to find a local drop-off location, go to medtakebackwashington.org or call 1-844-482-5322.
The environment will thank you for safely disposing of unwanted and expired medications and you will sleep better at night, knowing your family is safe from those medications ending up in the wrong hands. I am sure a good night’s sleep sounds great to you, right?!