December 12, 2017
Decluttering your home to make those difficult times easier
Losing a loved one is a difficult time for all family involved. The initial shock is enough, let alone the organising of everything else in the home. There’s a lot to think about, and going through a loved one’s home once they have died can be a daunting task. People collect a vast number of things in their life time, and can fall into a habit of collecting or hoarding items. Cleaning and organising is especially important when it comes to the medicine cabinet. Many people are unsure what to do with all the left-over medicine and how they should dispose of them properly. This is significantly important if other family members are living in the home, as there is always a risk of accidental poisoning.
Decluttering the medicine cabinet is also important as we age, ensuring you are not leaving left over medicine that has expired in your home. Having multiple medicines in the cupboard can also lead to confusion when taking your medicines, and may lead to accidental poisoning or taking expired medicines that may not work properly. Therefore, cleaning out the medicine cupboard regularly can make things easier for you and family members, especially for when it may come to a time to do a house clean out when moving into a new home or when a loved one has died. Ensuring that the medicine cabinet is tidy and up to date will make things much easier in deciding what needs to be disposed of.
If you or a family member ever find themselves in this situation, the Return Unwanted Medicines (RUM) initiative is a great way to dispose of your unwanted medicines conveniently and responsibly via your local pharmacy.
The correct way to dispose of medicines properly is to follow the three simple steps of:
READ: Go to the areas in your home where you store medicines. Read the labels, check expiry dates and review all medicines. Consider whether you actually need them.
REMOVE: Remove all expired and unwanted medicines from your home medicine area and place them in a bag or container. If the medicine comes in a cardboard box, that can be recycled separately.
RETURN: Return your expired and unwanted medicines to your local pharmacy. Your pharmacist will put them in a secure bin for safe disposal. Prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, herbal or complementary supplements, gels, liquids, creams and veterinary medicines can all be disposed of in a designated The RUM Project bin.
Ensure that you are not just throwing your expired or unwanted medicines down the drain or in the bin, and returning them to your local pharmacy today. Your local pharmacy can dispose of your medicines correctly and environmentally responsible by participating in the RUM initiative.
The Return of Unwanted Medicines Project is a free service that offers a way to dispose of unwanted or expired medicines safely and conveniently at your local community pharmacy. Find out more about the service here.