First Aid Storage Solution

Here’s a super fast and simple way to organize all your first aid supplies.  All you need is a door hanging shoe rack with clear pockets.

We used to keep all our medicines and supplies under the sink in our guest/kids bathroom.  But now that Josiah can defeat all childproof locks it was time to do something else.  I have actually wanted to do this for years, it was just a matter of finding a shoe rack and hanging it up.  Our bathroom does have a little linen closet but it has a smaller than normal door so the rack is too wide for it.  Luckily, we have a hall closet just outside the bathroom so it is still convenient for cleaning wounds and administering meds near a sink.

Josiah can still open the closet door but at this point he would have to try very hard to get to the top pockets.  This is where I put most of the medications.  I tried to put the most dangerous items at the top and work my way down to the least dangerous.  (Note: Please take proper precautions to make sure that your kids are safe. This is certainly not child proof.)  I also put the band aids up high because he recently started finding reasons to need a band aid and was going through them quickly.

So far it has worked great and it took me all of 5 minutes to set up.  Just make sure you get one with clear pockets because the kind with cloth pockets make it impossible for you to tell what is in each part.

To get well lit photos to post on here I moved it to Josiah’s room because the lighting in the hallway is terrible when you have the closet door open.  But, here is what it looks like in the hallway where it actually lives.  It was so easy to pick up and move as well.

I am showing this view of our closet where we keep our linens and vacuum (and board games) to show that even if you have a very full closet because you live in a small house with no extra room this method can fit. And it really is more organized than this angle makes it look.

Some of the benefits of this form of storage are:

1. it allows you to see everything at a glance
2. it keeps the most dangerous items away from little hands
3. it keeps the medications in a dryer environment than the bathroom (if you hang it in another location)

I am sure this is nothing new but I was given this idea a few years ago from my principal while I was teaching.

Update from March 2014:  We still use this system and it has continued to be so useful.  It makes it so fast and easy to find what we need and it has been great for keeping the meds away from the kids.