Having lots of medical equipment in your home for emergencies is great. What happens, though, if you can’t find what you need when that emergency arises? If your medical odds and ends aren’t at least somewhat organized and centrally located, then they really won’t do you a bit of good when the worst happens. Even if the situation isn’t an emergency, it’s really annoying to try to find a properly sized band-aid when a small child is screaming in your ear. Here are some tips to help you organize your equipment at home systematically.

First, you need to find a central location for medical items. You might choose to have one spot for medications and another for first aid gear, which is fine. In fact, if you have children who are old enough to put on their own band-aids but not old enough to get into the medicine, this could be a good idea. It’s best to keep everything in specific spots, though, so you aren’t rushing all over the house trying to find what you need.

Next, remember that you need to keep like with like. This will help you stay organized. It’s really not rocket science, and you don’t need to alphabetize everything. An excellent idea is to get a bunch of small plastic baskets. Keep cold medicine in one, bandages in one, disinfectants in one, etc. That way, you can pull out just one basket to find what you need in a hurry.

It’s also a good idea to have a traveling first aid kit for your medical supplies. You might want to pack a small backpack or even a plastic bag to keep with you in the car. Just pull out the supplies that you need most often, and toss them into a bag. You’ll find that you absolutely love this little thing when you’re playing at the park or just out and about, especially if you have small children.

One other thing to remember as you’re organizing your supplies is that you should sort through them at least once every six months. Make sure that bandages are still in clean, rip-free packages. Check the expiration dates on all the medication and disinfectants. It’s easier to sort through things regularly than to find that you don’t have what you need when you need it or to find that the cold medicine is expired when you can’t breathe through your nose at all.