5 Steps to Tidying Up Your Medicine Cabinet

Reviewed and updated March 2026

Is spring cleaning on your mind? As a pharmacist for more than 20 years, I have seen the baskets full of medications that people sometimes keep around their homes. Often, these baskets contain a messy, potentially-dangerous potpourri of expired drugs. When it comes to medications, tidying up is about more than your sanity, it is about your safety. 

According to Safe Kids Worldwide, medications are the leading cause of accidental poisoning in kids. Even adults can accidentally take medication incorrectly due to poor vision or if there are too many drugs to take and track. 

Follow this 5-step method for tidying up your medicine cabinet: 

1. Gather all of your medications in one spot.

Many of us store our medications in various places around the house. Perhaps we have supplements on the kitchen counter or in a drawer to keep handy as we take with meals. Also, we may keep prescription drugs in the bathroom, too, or antacids, maybe a sleep aid on the nightstand we take before bedtime. Keep your medications all in one place, maybe in one medicine cabinet, so you can easily see what you have in your drug inventory.  

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2. Throw out all expired medications.

Many of us keep over-the-counter medicines on hand — items like TheraFlu, NyQuil or fever reducers such as Tylenol — so they’re ready when illness strikes and we don’t have to run to the drugstore. But if those medications are expired, it’s safest to throw them away. Over time, medicines can lose their effectiveness. 

When medicine doesn’t seem to work, some people may take more than the recommended dose, which can lead to an accidental overdose. The same rule applies to prescription medications. Don’t keep expired prescriptions or leftover painkillers from a past injury or surgery, even if you think they might come in handy someday. It’s safer to dispose of them properly and only use medications that are current and prescribed for your situation.

3. Locate ideal storage sites for your medications.

Medicine cabinets and bathrooms seem to go together. But, a room that has heat, humidity and steam coming from the shower is not actually a good place to store medicines. Unless the manufacturer recommends differently, medicines need to be stored in a dry and cool place, so they can work properly in your body. 

Choose a cabinet in your home that is up high and out of children’s reach and sight. If you choose to store medicines in the kitchen, make sure they are out of reach of children, even if they were to climb up on a countertop or chair.  

Other tips on storage, particularly if you are taking multiple prescriptions: consider placing a medication tracker on the inside of the cabinet door for easy reference.  Also, I highly recommend a pill organizer which allows you to place your pills for the whole week in the correct days, cutting down the risk of accidental overdoses or taking medicine incorrectly.

4. Organize your medications by category.

I recommend separating your prescription medications from over-the-counter medicines. And, while it may sound obvious, I suggest separating eye drops from other drops, such as for the ear. In my practice, I have seen patients make the mistake of putting the wrong type of drop in the wrong place. Also, keeping children’s medications separate from adults’ medications will help avoid getting the wrong dose or even the wrong medicines.

Organizing by category is also beneficial as you may see that you have several ibuprofen bottles, for instance. Do not combine them into one as they likely have different expiration dates. By organizing them correctly, you can make a point of using up first the ones that are set to expire sooner. 

5.  Store medications safely and securely.

The most important thing is to prevent your medicines from getting into the wrong hands. Depending on your children’s ages, you may think about using child-resistant caps on medicine bottles (though remember that child-resistant does not mean childproof).   

Lock up your medication cabinet and consider keeping the Poison Control Centers' hotline number handy, either in your phone or on a sticker in your cabinet: 800.222.1222. 

Many pharmacies accept unused medicines, or Public Health or a police station may accept them, too.    

On the DEA site, enter your zip code and you will get a location near you for disposing your medicines safely.