Every autumn I clear out our medicine cabinet and first aid supplies. I have been doing it for more than 40 years, and there is a very particular reason why.
In 1983, not long after I was married, my mother had died and Dad was downsizing. One of my jobs was to empty the bathroom cupboards: toiletries, medicines and all the other things that quietly accumulate over the years.
Right at the back of one cupboard I found a very dark brown glass medicine bottle.
I looked at the label.
1958. The year I was born.
Whatever had once been in that bottle had been sitting in the bathroom cupboard for 25 years.
I decided there and then that I wasn't going to leave somebody else a collection of ancient medicines to sort through one day. And so began my annual clear-out.
What is actually in the medicine cabinet?
Once a year, usually as autumn approaches, I take everything out and look at what we have.
I check the expiry dates on medicines and replace the ordinary things we are likely to use: painkillers, cold remedies, sore-throat pastilles and treatments for the sort of minor ailments most households occasionally have to deal with.
Anything that has expired or is no longer wanted goes into a bag to take to the pharmacy. Old medicines should not simply be thrown into the household rubbish or flushed down the toilet; pharmacies can dispose of them safely.
It is also a useful opportunity to ask whether we really need everything that has accumulated. There is little point repeatedly buying remedies that nobody in the house ever uses.
Then I turn to the first aid supplies.
Are there enough plasters in useful sizes? Is there Micropore tape? Dressings? Antiseptic wipes? Are packets still sealed, clean and undamaged?
I do the same with the first aid kit in the car. Thankfully, ours has never been needed for anything serious, but a first aid kit is one of those things that needs to be ready before you discover that you need it.
Prescription medicines deserve a little more attention
This is the part of the exercise that matters most in our household.
Three members of our family rely on essential prescription medication, so knowing what everybody takes and having accurate information available is not something I am prepared to leave to chance.
Imagine that you unexpectedly had to go into hospital tonight.
Why Wasted Medicines Matter
The NHS still estimates that around £300 million worth of prescribed medicines are wasted each year. The figure comes from national research into medicines waste and continues to be used by NHS organisations today.
There is another reason to avoid ordering medicines you do not need. Once medication has been dispensed and has left the pharmacy, it cannot normally be given to somebody else even if the box or packet is completely unopened. It must instead be returned to a pharmacy for safe disposal.
So, before ordering a repeat prescription, check what you already have at home. And when collecting medication, check the bag before you leave the pharmacy. If something has been supplied that you do not need, tell the pharmacy staff there and then.
£300 million is a lot of medicine to buy only to throw away.
Would somebody else know which medicines you take, at what dose and when? Would they know where to find them?
Hospitals generally ask patients to bring their current medicines with them, preferably in their original labelled packaging. That gives hospital staff useful information about exactly what has been prescribed and how it is being taken.
I also keep an up-to-date written list of prescribed medicines, doses and when they are taken. That is particularly useful where somebody takes several different medicines, and it means another family member can find the information if the person who normally manages the medication isn't available.
The annual clear-out is also a useful prompt to think about medication reviews.
If you take regular prescription medicines and are unsure when they were last reviewed, ask your GP surgery or pharmacist whether a review is appropriate. A structured medication review is intended to look at the medicines somebody is taking, their benefits and risks, and whether they remain appropriate for that person's circumstances.
What the clear-out isn't an opportunity to do is decide for yourself that you can stop taking something. Some medicines should not be stopped suddenly and changes should be discussed with an appropriate healthcare professional.
If you use equipment to help manage medication, check that as well. Pill cutters, pill crushers and similar devices can collect surprising amounts of residue, so make sure they are being cleaned in accordance with their instructions.
Moving house? Keep your own information too
Changing GP surgeries used to make me think particularly carefully about medical records.
These days, when you register with a new GP surgery, your previous surgery is normally informed automatically and electronic health records can be transferred securely between practices.
Even so, I think there is considerable value in keeping your own simple, current record of important medical information, particularly if you take several medicines or have a complicated medical history.
You do not need to recreate your entire medical record. A current list of medication, doses, significant conditions, allergies and important treatment information may be enough to provide somebody with the basics when they are needed.
Then there are all the other things lurking in the bathroom
Once I have finished with medicines, I tend to carry on.
Toiletries and cosmetics can sit in cupboards for years, particularly the things we use occasionally rather than every day.
Many cosmetics have a little symbol showing an open jar, with something such as 12M, 18M or 24M printed beside or inside it. This is the 'period after opening' and tells you how long the product is intended to be used after it has first been opened.
There is just one obvious problem: who remembers when they opened a jar of face cream?
My solution is decidedly low-tech.
I write the date on it with a permanent marker when I open it.
No spreadsheet. No app. No reminder on my phone. Just a date written on the container.
One other thing I keep ready
I also keep a small wash bag packed with basic toiletries in case somebody has to go into hospital unexpectedly.
A spare toothbrush and toothpaste, soap or shower gel, deodorant, a flannel and a few other basics cost very little and take up hardly any space.
It means that if somebody has to go into hospital at short notice, we aren't hunting around the bathroom trying to remember what to pack while dealing with everything else that is happening.
The important distinction is that I don't keep somebody's current prescription medicines packed away in a hospital bag. Those need to be in normal use and stored correctly. If we need to go to hospital, we take the current medication in its labelled packaging, together with the medication list.
A small job that is worth doing
None of this is particularly complicated and, once you get into the habit, it doesn't take very long.
It is simply an annual opportunity to throw away things that shouldn't still be there, return old medicines to the pharmacy, replace the first aid supplies that have been used, check important medication information and make sure a few basics are ready for an emergency.
And every year, when I start emptying the cupboard, I still think about that brown glass bottle.
A medicine bottle from 1958, sitting untouched until 1983.
I've never found anything quite that old in my own medicine cabinet.
So far, at least.
If clearing out cupboards and getting things organised feels like a bigger task than you can comfortably manage, you do not have to tackle it alone. We work with trusted partners who can help with decluttering, organising and practical support in the home, whether that means sorting one difficult cupboard or dealing with a much larger accumulation of belongings. If you would like help, get in touch on 01628 947066 and we can put you in contact with someone suitable in your area.
