When you or your family gets sick, you want to have the right stuff to make it all better. Organizing the medicine cabinet helps you keep all the essentials right where you need them, without stress or waste. Whether you have a wall cabinet, a space under your sink, or a shelf in a closet like I do, you can be organized. Here’s how to have an organized medicine cabinet in about 30 minutes.

• Hold off on buying anything just yet. Sort and purge first, before you buy anything. For now, use shoe boxes, small bins you already own, or even plastic containers from the kitchen to sort items into similar categories.
• Sort into categories like: dental, eye care, makeup, cleaning, cold and cough, bandages, nail care, hair care, and medicine for your specific condition.
• Gather all of your expired medication together and dispose of it properly (later). Make a shopping list (now) of what you need to replace (later).
• Add items to your shopping list that you like to have on hand, such as fever reducers like Advil, cough medicines like Robitussin, and kid’s cold medicine to get you through the season. (Don’t overbuy.)
• Keep it simple and safe: anything that touches your eyes or lips should be replaced after 6-12 months. All other makeup, creams and sunscreens should be replaced after 12-24 months.
• Toss all those travel sizes you aren’t using. If unopened, you can donate them to a local women’s shelter.
• Once you have your items sorted into categories, use similar containers to keep them neat on the shelves, and give them simple label tags. I like the Dollar Tree for bathroom storage, and little gift tags for simple labels.

This is one time that you can reward yourself with stuff for a job well-done. If you donate or toss several items that you never liked or use (like cold remedies or hair products), reward yourself by replacing them with one high-quality item. You’ll save space and probably money in the long run.

This post is part of my 31 days of 30-minute Organizing Projects. Be sure to subscribe for daily emails with projects you can complete in just a few minutes to start your New Year off right.