Medicine Cabinet Cleanout

There have been many smaller things as well as some larger projects that inevitable we dive into without remembering to take pictures of.   The biggest of these is the Medicine stash and under sink area.  I thought it was fairly tidy, but wanted to make things more accessible.  In the end I had a small grocery bag of trash (old, unused prescriptions, old product, cotton balls, etc.), numerous boxes to recycle, and about 12 medicine bottles to recycle.  We always fill prescriptions, then perhaps don't use them.  Or we don't use all of it, and save it...why?  we will go to the doctor and get a new prescription. I think we feel we pay too much for it, so we keep it "in case", those Armageddon movies are not good for the hoarder in us, we might need those antibiotics if there are no more to be found....????  Most of them went ;)  I did this project at night, and recycled the next morning, never thinking to take a photo of the outgoing.  Interesting even after the impressive cleanout, I had too much left to fit it all in the drawer i had designated to this cause.  The two bins on the top shelf are still there where they are difficult to access, granted they are not often needed, but if I need bandages it would be nice to get them easily.  So this will need to be gone through again.

I have heard that you should not leave your labels on medicine bottles, as they contain personal information.   Just peel most of it off, it only takes a few extra seconds.  I am working to not just reduce my belongings, but to reduce the amount I am sending to the landfill--yes, even if it is incinerated first, it still goes to the landfill ultimately--plus all that air pollution....

While recycling is better than land-filling, there is a point at which those materials are beyond recycling (check the packaging of a product touting that it is made of recycled materials, and you will may note that it is not recyclable, such as egg cartons).  I am working hard to avoid creating any further demand for materials that will end up in the recycle bin after just a few used.  However, I believe that prescription bottles are something that is out of our control, unless we can stay healthy and find alternative medicines.  Most states will not fill a re-usable jar.  Luckily we don't get that many prescriptions.