An Organised Medicine Cabinet - Organising My Home

Yes I do like to keep my Medicine Cabinet organised so that I can get things quickly and easily.

It is probably one of the best organised things in our home.

But then that kind of storage space is one of the things I enjoy working on when it comes to Organising my home.

I didn't always have a medicine cabinet so I had to think of other easy to get at and easy to keep organised places.

In one house we used part of a vanity unit in the ensuite

and

in another house we used a couple of shelves in a kitchen cabinet

but this time when we moved back to Northern Ireland in Dec 2010 we moved to a house which had a medicine cabinet over the wash hand basin in the back toilet.

Yes a real medicine cabinet just like I always saw in the films and TV programmes - you know they are tall and shallow out from the wall with a mirror door.

Now if this had been our main bathroom I suppose I would have been tempted to think I would need to use it for Bathroom things - but it is in the back toilet.  This is the small room that is off the utility room and I really think it would have made more sense to use the space as a pantry or large storage closet (because you can never have too much storage space and I do not have enough storage space).


We have an ensuite off our bedroom and an ensuite off the guest bedroom as well as the main bathroom so let's face it this back toilet is never really used as a toilet and who wants to have to clean 4 bathrooms and toilets when mostly there are only two people in the house?  -  NOT ME!


Anyway back to my Medicine Cabinet which makes me happy again.


Twice a year I do an overhaul of this cabinet

and because I do it regularly you can see it is not in bad order.



Firstly 
I check all the dates of the medicines etc. and throw out the ones that are past their date.

(NOTE:  A doctor did tell me once that many medicines can be used for up to 6 months after the date written on them but that it is definitely okay to use them up to 3 months after the date.)


I used to have to literally check each packet for the date every time I would do this but now I use my "Things" app on my ipad to keep a note of the expiry dates (typing these into the app when I put the product into the Medicine cabinet) so I only have to go into the app & use my tag of "medicine cabinet" and I get the list and the dates all in one go.

These will each show in my Todo list 14 days before they are up so I normally will be ready and throw them out as they expire and don't even have to do it all at the overhaul.




Secondly 
I do an inventory of the cabinet.


I have the list of all the items I like to keep in stock, shelf by shelf

I had used ( my other beloved iPad app for making lists) the "Pocket Lists" App for making a full list of everything I would like to have here and because I did it shelf by shelf it makes it really easy to go through.


Which means that now each time all I have to do is tick off all the things I can see on the shelves and whatever is left unticked is obviously missing.  This is due to not knowing when the hubby finishes off something or just something being taken out and not returned.

This happened with the scissors - to cut a long story short they ended up in a bin at a foreign airport.




Thirdly 
I make a list of the things that will need to be replenished soon.


In my "Things" App I made a Project list and it just gets changed each time.

Well the list here is not too long this time because on one of my last trips to the chemist I knew roughly what was getting low so had already got some things.



Forthly 
I tidy up what is in the cabinet and decide if I want to make any changes to the position and order of the items.


Sometimes there are different things that have been added if someone needs to have a new medication or you decide to start taking a new vitamin etc.

An Organised Medicine Cabinet in Organising My Home at Sandra's Ark

So the finished cabinet was just a little more uncluttered than to start with and neater.

Of course the few spaces you see will be filled up when I go and get that list of items next week.



You know when you have a cupboard you can easily fill it?


Well I have done that of course and then needed more space so I had to use part of the vanity unit below.

Mostly the things here were really the items that were too large to put in the shallower medicine cabinet or would not sit so well piled up on a narrow shelf so I would have needed another location for them even if the medicine cabinet wasn't filled up.

So bandages etc. in the left hand drawer, extra cotton buds and hand sanitizing wipes in the right hand drawer and the larger heating pad and creams in the right hand cupboard.

And just a wee reminder of my "MUST HAVE" in any kitchen or bathroom

it is

the packet of wipes (and a sponge) in the left cupboard, 

nothing is handier for quick clean ups than wipes.

A to Z of Organising our Home!

A little Round-up of things we say, do or use during the organising and housework in our home.

A  -  Accidental Reducing of Articles 

The times when you accidentally break some plates or mugs and they just have to be thrown out.

Funny how I used to be annoyed; now unless it is something special, I just think

 "that's another one of my 365 items to be decluttered in 365 Days"   -   smiley face.

B  -  Beautiful Clearouts

When you get rid of those items in the wardrobes that were there because you had paid money for them and thought you should get the most time out of them but really thought that you didn't look good in them or the wife thought the husband didn't look good in them and he hadn't realised it yet.



C  -  Careful Clearouts

Those times when you are supposed to empty out a cupboard and sort everything out and then return only some of the things but in reality you return all but maybe one!

Now I would never do that!!!!



D  -  To the Dump!

A good phrase in our house because it means something is going out of the house, garage or garden and it is more than can fit in the bin.

E  -  Easier Housework.

Yes there really are some things that help me along the way.

I use them for many, many tasks because anything that makes the work easier and done more quickly is a bonus for me.

F  -  Fred????

There are so many sentences that begin with this word when it comes to the organising of our home and mostly the answer is

"I don't know!!!!!"

G  -  Garden Shed Sort out.

Well in our case it was a bit more than that - Plus we made a video.

H  -  Helping each other?

Where is it?

I don't know.

But you had it last.

No, You had it last.

No I didn't.

Yes you did.

Well where did I have it?

I don't remember.

I  -  Inside & Not on Top of!

You know when you have designated a good drawer or container for an item and the husband comes along and just sets it down on top of the container, or the kitchen worktop.

Enough said!

J  -  Just a Little Time before Bed

That's the time I keep saying I will just do a little tidy up in the bedroom and Fred just laughs - well he has known me for all these years.



K  -  Kitchen Organising

The one place I do like to seriously think about before I move into a house and designate areas to specific tasks.

The Tea & Coffee corner being the top priority of course.

L  -  Leave me some space to sit down!

The words I have often heard when in the middle of sorting out something and I have cluttered up the entire room.

There was an entire table covered as well as the couch.

M  -  The "Man Drawer"

Yes I wrote about that last year, there is one in our kitchen but still his "things" end up in other strange places.  Plus I'm always asking the question "What is that thing?" about most of the things in the drawer.



N  -  Nowhere to put it?

That is definitely not what you hear in our house!

More like - I know I had decided where those were to go but I've forgotten again.

A to Z of Organising in our home? well trying to not fail at organising!

O  -  Opening the Post

Should mean exactly that - you open it and deal with it.
You know - throw it out, respond to it, or file it away for future reference.

In our house it gets opened and looked at and then put back in the envelope!!!



P  -  A "Place for Everything"

Yes I wrote about this one before too.

And we really will get there one day, I'm sure.

Well pretty sure.

Well really hoping!

Q  -  Quite a Productive Day

This is how I feel when I have managed to actually get more than half of my day's ToDo List completed.



R  -  Remembering.

Okay I know that certain people on reading this will just laugh and say:
Some hope!

Yes I may be always saying I forget things but I do have a few things that I need to remember when cleaning the house and not just the fact that having a coffee does not get the house cleaned.

S  -  Spread the work on Spreadsheets.

I have my Organising and Cleaning Schedule for the year on a Spreadsheet.

Fred & I both love Spreadsheets.

Trouble is I could easily get distracted away from the organising of the house once I get on the spreadsheet because it is on the computer.

T  -  Take Time for the Tedious Things Before the Coffee.

The thing we hate to do but often gives us the most sense of satisfaction when we actually get round to it is one of those tedious things that just have to be done but I can always think of another word -

procrastination and it goes well with coffee.

U  -  Unusual Uses for Simple Products.

There are things around our homes that don't only have to be used for one purpose.

We need to be a bit more imaginative and find other uses for them.
Which can actually be more interesting than using them!

V  -  Very Good Ideas

Unfortunately those are the ones that I have when I am in the middle of doing something else, or just about to fall asleep and I'm sure I will remember them because they are so good but then I have forgotten them the very next day or hour or even in 5 minutes time.




W  -   Do Without It?

The Housework?          Yes! Please!

But what about those things in the Kitchen that you just feel you can't do without.

They may be small but they are so useful.

X  -  Xtra Special Days 

The times when you get away from the house for a really enjoyable time and are completely refreshed and ready to tackle the house again.

Those breaks are xtra important in the better weather because the sun is tempting you, or in the cold dark weather when you need something to brighten up your day, or just any time because you can always find some excuse.

Y  -  YOU didn't put it away AGAIN!

Those times when we get fed up because something is not in the place we actually do have allotted for it because neither of us have put it away yet again.

How will we ever be organised?



Z  -  ZZZZZ when it's all done.

Or when we are just too tired to do any more.

Just kidding with this one because it is never done and I would claim to be tired at any time to get out of the housework and on to the funwork.



But there is always

to keep me going.

Do you have any great ideas to add that just keep your house organised or are you more disorganised like me?

An Organised Sun Room

The Sun tried to come out on different occasions this month but was terribly hindered by the wintery conditions that kept butting in like winds and rain and sleet and hailstones.

I was tackling the Sun Room but this fact about the weather did not encourage me at all.
Though as I write this the back garden is brightly lit from the sun after another lot of hailstones yesterday.

The Sun Room

The Sun Room in itself did not need much work as there are not too many places for items to be kept.

But a few tips are always useful to keeping it organised.

1.  Think about what you want in your Sun Room
2.  Think about what you want to be able to take outside quickly
3.  Think about how to make things HANDY!

The only cupboard we have in the Sun Room is in the TV unit and it is useful for storing light bulbs which I sorted and made a note of the types we did not have a spare one of.


Also in that cupboard we keep the 3D glasses that the kids got at various times just in case we need them to go see a 3D film sometime - which really is a very faint probability as Fred & I have not ever gone to a 3D film.  Perhaps the kids should have each kept theirs for wherever they are?


Then the other main things in that cupboard are

• a few puzzle magazines,
• Sun Tan lotion,
• Sun Tan wipes
• After Sun Wipes
• and some pairs of sunglasses.

This is a useful spot to keep these as the Sun Room opens out to the Patio and when the sun appears (for the short periods that happens here in Northern Ireland and let's face it we need to make the best opportunity as we can of those short periods of time) we can grab those things on the way out to sit on the Patio or Deck area.


The bulbs were already in a basket but these Sunny Day items were just lying in the cupboard so I got one of my favourite small Lakeland Storage Caddies for these items that we need for hopping out to sit in the sun.
You can see in the pictures above & below that it is ideal in size and that handle makes it so easy to grab.

What else might I want in that cupboard if I am going to use it daily during the next 5/6 months?

Well I decided to add

• a post it pad 
• a notepad 
• and a pen 

 because those are always useful things to have at hand instead of having to run to the study.

PLUS 

there was still room for the three remotes that are needed in that room.

Lastly 

There are two other things that I like to keep in the Sun Room but they will not be in that cupboard.

A navy fleecy throw 

which is very handy if it gets a bit cooler in the evenings 

or even if I just feel like curling up on the sofa to read .

The 4 cushions for the Patio Chairs 

which I keep in a jute type bag pretty much out of sight behind the chair which sits beside the door out to the patio so that any time we are going out for breakfast we just grab a cushion on the way past.  

With our climate the cushions never stay out!

I have already written about how much I love Arks and pictures of Arks last year but now I had decided that some of these may go soon!!! but some will stay here in the Sun Room.  Some of my favourite Ark pictures just match in nicely with the style and decor of the Sun Room.

Here are two on the bookcase that holds most of our CDs



And here is another one above a window

That does not mean that some other Ark decor items will not be found in other rooms in the house of course.

The Easy Way to Prune The Buddleia (Butterfly) Tree - Organising the Garden

Do you have a Buddleia Tree in your Garden?

Have you ever seen a tall bush that has a very attractive purple flower that tapers to a point?

This is a Buddleia Tree or as many people have named it the Butterfly Tree because it attracts butterflies to nibble and devour those lovely purple flowers.

Let me say right from the start today that this job was not FUNWORK!

No definitely not.

Why?

Because I am not a keen gardener.

I ended up tired and with sore hands and arms.

Fred was also very tired.

However it was made EASIER because 

1.  we worked together on it 

2.  we had the right tools 

3.  we had the right plan for the job.

It all started when we realised that Fred was able to take some time off last weekend from the report he was writing and the weather was dry and not too cold.

So we went out together to the front garden to tackle the pruning of the Buddleia Tree or Butterfly Tree.

Right Tools

Fred got out the big tarpaulin type thing we have for bundling up the branches to go to the dump and then started into the tree.

Now the first year we had to do this we were inexperienced and did not have 2 pruning shears nor the tarpaulin but we learned from that experience and now we are properly equipped.

When I came out Fred had already started and was busy in behind the tree.

He had one side well started

and

a pile of branches were waiting for me to cut them up smaller and put them on the tarpaulin

and

so were a second pile.

Yes that is me with the pruning shears cutting branches to make them smaller to be more manageable for collecting up and going to the dump.

Fred was of course still busy cutting at that tree

and throwing out more & more branches toward me.

When I had got through those two original piles I called Fred out to do another job that is not so hard.




Right Plan

To jump up and down on the pile on the tarpaulin so that they didn't get too high.

Definitely think he enjoys that more than the pruning from the look on his face in the different pics.

Then the same process started all over again with the rest of the branches until we had them all cut and flattened and some of another bush added to the pile.

Of course a good workman will always clean up after himself.




More Right Tools

Next comes some more very important equipment for this job.

The Bungee cords (at least that's what we call them).

I love these things because they are so very useful inside and outside the house.

Continuing the Right Plan

The tarpaulin has metal eyelets at the corners and along the sides so Fred takes one of these elasticated Bungee cords and attaches it to one of the corners and then

stretches the cord out and attaches it to the opposite corner.

He repeats this in the same way for the other two corners and then

joins the opposite sides together to complete the bundle.

Now that really is a large bundle but with the 4 cords it is well held together ready for the journey in the boot of the car to the dump.

But

will it fit in the boot of our car?

That is what we said the first time as well and there was no problem but the car we had then was bigger.

However we still have no problem with this car as well as the boot is a good size

and with the back seats down the bundle goes in easily, and yes I do help him!

The Best Tool!

Well in my eyes the best tool for this type of job is the next thing Fred decided to buy because it made my job so much easier after the first couple of years.

I call it a wood shredder because it is just like a large paper shredder.

So much easier on my hands and arms and it is amazing how large a branch it will deal with.

It even took a branch this size

and can manage thick ones well.

The Last Good Tool

Then someone Fred met at the refuge centre (dump) very kindly gave him one of those large white bags and it is easier for us to empty straight from the shredder into the bag

And easier for Fred to get in and out of the car because of the handles.

Now here is the tree when the job is finished.

It is well pruned back as these trees have to be and you do not have to be extremely careful in the pruning and as an experienced gardener told us a few years ago "the more they are pruned back the better they will flower".

So basically it is a relatively easy gardening job to do because 

you do not have to be too careful how or where you cut 

as long as you do prune it well back 

and 

do it either in March or early April (Spring)

or October (Autumn)

So to make it easier learn from us and have

the right plan

the right tools 

and 

right company 

for the job.

Now we are wondering if again we were not stringent enough in our pruning but this is roughly the same as we did last year and we had a good result from that as you can see.

And the best test of all is how many butterflies it will attract.

We had more last year than the year before although they flittered around so much it was hard to get pictures of them.

Although this was a day of hard work for me (I'm not fit) when it comes to the Summer I will have many days of pleasure because of my beautiful Butterfly Tree.

If you have a Buddleia enjoy your butterflies.