For those of you that live in a cold, or at least chilly, climate, it’s that time of year again! The weather is starting to get beautiful which can only mean one thing… garage sales and weekend cleaning routines! From scrubbing the house from top to bottom to planting new flowers outside in the garden, your house will be beautiful (again) in no time.

Did you know? A likely origin of spring cleaning can be traced to the ancient Jewish practice of thoroughly cleansing the home in anticipation of the spring-time holiday of Passover. In remembrance of the Jews’ hasty flight from Egypt following their captivity there, during the eight-day holiday there is a strict prohibition against eating anything which may have been leavened (bread, pasta, etc). Jews are not only supposed to refrain from leavened foodstuffs, they are expressly commanded to rid their homes of even small remnants of chametz for the length of the holiday (Exodus 12:15). Therefore, for the past 3,500 years, observant Jews have conducted a thorough “spring cleaning” of the house, followed by a traditional hunt for chametz crumbs by candlelight on the evening before the holiday begins.

But what if I told you that you, along with most people that I know, skip one of the most important parts of the house? And by skipping this part of the house you could risk sickness and potentially death for yourself or even your child. Wow, I bet you would say “What room is it and I am going to clean it immediately!”

This room is your bathroom. Or kitchen. Or wherever you keep your medicine cabinet.

Expiration Dates

Think about expiration dates in this way: Do you know anyone who won’t drink milk a day or two after the expiration date? I do. And most certainly after a week. Will you make a PB&J sandwich on a slice of moldy bread? I think it’s safe to say that the vast majority of people would not.

These same people who will not eat or drink expired food often do not realize that medicine is just like food. All medications, both over-the-counter and prescription, have expiration dates. And these aren’t just expiration dates so that they can stamp a random date on there, the medicine actually expires.

• How can I tell if the medicine is bad? Medicine in either pill or liquid form often changes in color and/or consistency. The pills deteriorate over time. You may notice imperfections in the pill or “dust” on the bottom of the canister. A liquid medicine will separate into sections. These changes are very obvious. However, sometimes medication will look like it is in perfect condition even though it has been expired or been ruined by improper storage.
• What is the best case scenario? If you are lucky nothing will happen. The medicine will just be slightly ineffective or completely ineffective.
• What is the worst case scenario? Expired medicine does not operate as it was intended. It can lead to liver or kidney failure and even death.
• What else could happen? Other possibilities could include nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
• What is a solution? Where do most people store their medicine? Most people I know store it in either their bathroom cabinets or kitchen cabinets. Both of these locations go through constant temperature and humidity changes. The best place to store medicine is in an area where the temperature remains constant, away from heat, sunlight, and humidity. Also, throw away expired medicine.

Is it worth it to keep the medicine around? Absolutely not. NEVER. Just get rid of it and go buy some new stuff. If you have to buy the micro-size because you aren’t using the economy sizes then that’s something you have to deal with.

Organizing the Cabinet

Now that you have separated all of the expired medicine from everything else, now what?

You want to organize the medicine cabinet so that you can find everything you need in an emergency. One other important suggestion for times of emergency is that you should tape the nationwide toll-free poison control number (1-800-222-1222) on the inside door of any cabinet that contains medicine for easy access. You want that number to be readily available if you ever take medicine and react strangely or if a child gets into the cabinet.

Part of organizing the cabinet also includes ensuring you have some of the essentials:

• Aspirin (chest pain)
• Acetaminophen (fever or headache)
• Antacid tablets
• Benadryl
• Cold packs
• Condoms
• Gauze
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Ibuprofen (joint pain)
• Nasal saline spray
• Triple antibiotic ointment

These are some of the basic things that you should stock in your cabinet in case of emergency. I am probably missing a few things but you get the drift!

What kind of personal finance website would this be if I didn’t advocate that you get generic alternatives for all of the aforementioned necessities? Well, not one at all! So make sure you check out this PDF that details generic alternatives. Ask your pharmacist if you have any more questions.

Proper Disposal

Voila, everything is done!

However, I want to promote proper disposal of the expired drugs that you found while spring cleaning.

You do not want to just flush old medications down the toilet or throw it in the garbage. Return unused prescriptions to a safe drop-off point, like a chain pharmacy store, for proper disposal.

And Now Your House Is Safe AND Beautiful!

I know this article is not directly tied to personal finance, education, or career topics. I could probably go through the process of linking bad medicine to sickness which costs you money. Then I could make the argument that this will save you money in the long run. But I won’t.

Just do it for your health.