The following is a guest post from regular contributor, Rachel at Useful Beautiful Home.
Update: Unfortunately the pictures for this post were lost and unable to be retrieved. I apologize for the inconvenience.
Warm weather is here and with it comes scraped knees, swimmer’s ear, & barefoot boo-boos. Cold and flu season isn’t the only time to get that medicine cabinet organized.
In our home, all medicines, vitamins, & first aid supplies are kept inside an upper kitchen cabinet.
I grouped the children’s medicine together in a container that is labeled and easy to access. You can confine them however logical, as it pertains to your family (by child, by medication type, etc). The important thing is that they are clearly labeled and not expired.
Be mindful to choose a storage area that keeps ALL medications & vitamins out of reach for children & pets! Adult medicines, children’s medicines, and vitamins are all attractive “candy” to young children & animals.
Even though our medicines are located in an upper kitchen cabinet, that wasn’t enough for my peace of mind. So, we installed a simple safety lock on the cabinet door.
While we’re on the subject of safety organization, I also keep a small Poison Control contact number in the form of a magnet on my refrigerator. Being prepared with this little emergency resource has already proven useful in our house. If you’re curious, I posted both US and Canadian Poison Control Center info HERE.
Back to my medicine cabinet, if you look on the inside of the door, you can see papers hanging.
At the top, I have a flip binder made of clear plastic pockets. It’s called a fridge filer, one of the OrganizHer products sold at Target. They still have them in stock (I just checked the other day) but the top decorative piece looks different than mine.
In the pockets I keep medical information relating to children’s Tylenol, Motrin, and specific medication notes from my pediatrician. This keeps all medicine related resources filed right next to the children’s medicine.
On a sticky note, I keep current stats of my daughter because most pediatric medications are dosed according to weight. The chart you see is from Dr. Sears’ website giving the most accurate weight-based medication dosages.
Below that, I created a medication record for keeping organized with what I give her, when I give it, and when to give the next dose. I laminated the pages, punched holes in the corners, and hung them on little Command Hooks.
The laminated pages are reusable and can be written on with a dry-erase marker or a wet-erase marker. Either one, make sure it’s a fine tip.
The page I use most frequently is meant for single dose medicines like Motrin, Tylenol, or Benadryl. I wanted something quick to fill out when I’m woken in the night for a feverish child. When that happens, I treat her symptoms with medicine, circle the appropriate name, and fill in pertaining details. If it’s fever related, I usually write the degree number under “notes”.
The other organization record I created was for multi-timed medicines, like antibiotics.
I fill out all future dates and times the medicine is due. Then, I cross out the times after I administer the medication. I’ve designed it so one page can keep record of up to 3 different prescriptions being given. So, if a child is on a breathing treatment, a steroid, and an antibiotic, it can all be recorded in one location.
Yes, it really does help. We just finished using it for a recent antibiotic round. While on vacation, my daughter’s foot became infected from stepping on something at the beach. On vaca, I didn’t have my handy-dandy organizer with me, so I did this…
Additionally, I wrote on the bottle the times each dose was given during our travel. It really helped me keep on schedule and it was seamless to continue the record keeping once we got home. This is important, since antibiotics are time-regimented to maintain necessary blood levels for killing infection.
Click the link below if you want a copy of my medicine pages. I’m happy to share!
Printable Children’s Medicine Records
Don’t be shy if you have any questions or comments! I love hearing your thoughts and will do my best to respond! 🙂
In the professional world, I’m a nurse by trade. But, around our house, I’m known as Mommy to our young daughter. My two worlds collided and began shaping into a blog. Useful Beautiful Home represents the hours I’ve dedicated to managing my household as efficiently as possible. I offer you motivation to keep your home healthy, organized, and welcoming. My goal is to share what I’ve implemented in my home to inspire you with fresh ideas and to encourage you to keep up the good work in yours!
CJ says
Thanks so much for the printables. My 8yo had pneumonia last year and it was so hard to keep up with when to give what, what had already been given, etc. I love this chart. I just used a piece of notebook paper, but it wasn’t neat or organized. I had to keep going back and looking for the last time the meds were given and then going back and looking up when they needed to be given. This takes all the guesswork out of it. Thanks again. Now I’ve got to take time to go back to part 1 and 2 and see what wonderful things you shared there.
Rachel@Useful Beautiful Home says
I’m so happy you can use this! Experiences, like what you had last year, are exactly why I created this “flow sheet”! Pneumonia is rough stuff, especially for a child!
Melissa says
I’m sure this wasn’t the point of your post, but do you own your own laminator? which one? I feel like it would come in handy, but maybe most people have things laminated elsewhere?
Our medicine is also mostly in a kitchen cabinet, but I intend to move it all to a main floor bathroom medicine cabinet when we remodel. It’s taking up too much space now in the kitchen. I love the idea of organizing though by children’s, vitamins, etc…I might have to do that. After I work out my laminating dilemma of course.
Rachel@Useful Beautiful Home says
I don’t own a laminator (but wish I did). I take everything to Kinko’s for laminating, although I agree it would be handy to have my own laminator! I’m on the look-out for one and currently doing some research on them.
A bathroom is a good idea for medicine storage too. It should be easy to keep safety locked. If it’s a “full” bathroom, be mindful of shower steam, the moisture can ruin some medications. You’ll have to share how it turns out! 🙂
Alexa (Kat) says
WOW! That is really, really organized!! Can you come over and do mine too? LOL I wish I could get my act together like that!
Jennifer @ Money Aches says
That would be extremely useful when both of our boys get sick. It can be hard to remember who took what and when with so many things going on in life. Thanks for sharing the charts and the idea about laminating them.
Ray says
Do I see Juice Plus in the vitamins container? Love JP
Rachel@Useful Beautiful Home says
Yes. 😉
Becki says
Love this blog and love this give away!
Daddyu3andme says
Thank you for sharing. I’m a mother of three and its been hard trying to keep up with all three kids Madications. I’m looking for great ways to keep myself organized. This looks like a great idea!!!
Janie says
Rachel,
I thank you very much for sharing your charts, I have tried for a couple of years now to make my own charts and have not been successful in getting just what looked right and worked for everything. My son has recently been diagnosed with allergies and I have to keep close track of his drops when he gets sick and make sure all medicines are given in at appropriate time, since he can not take certain meds at the same time. and your printable will help me so much.
Jennifer says
Love your medicine storage & charts! I’m looking for storage & organization ideas to make our small home “more homey & spacious! I feel that organization helps home run smoother especially for “the last few minutes b4 you dart out the door for appointments or school! 😉
Crystal says
Thanks for the great organizing tips!!! Would you share your adorable chevron labels to print? Love them!!
Nadia says
Hi! Awesome organization!
Can you share the names of the containers for the meds?
Angela S. says
Thanks Rachel! Rather than laminating, we go the frugal route and use page protectors with dry or wet erase makers.