Last month, I shared a few simple tips and tricks to quickly organize your medicine cabinet at home… however, for those of you who are regularly away from home, I thought it might be helpful to share a super simple and extremely clever way to keep your meds organized on-the-go.
This tip is from my sister who regularly travels for work and personal reasons… so she is proof this method works well!
How to Organize Medication for on-the-go:
She started by purchasing an inexpensive pill organizer (the kind that says the days of the week on top).
I regularly see these at the dollar store, and here’s a little fancier one on Amazon.
Then she decided what 7 medications she wanted to put in the compartments.
To keep everything organized, she printed images of each medication label on label paper and stuck the labels to the lids of the containers. You could also just write the names of the medications or products on a white sticker or even just tape a label on.
Then, just fill it up with the appropriate meds, and you’re ready to go!
All your meds will be neatly organized in ONE easy-to-carry, easy-to-open container inside your purse, car, diaper bag, or carry-on.
Of course, if you have young children, you’ll want to make sure you keep this out of their reach (like in a zippered compartment on the inside of your purse or diaper bag) as it’s definitley not child-proof.
Also, if you put prescription meds in these containers, it’s probably wise to include the dosage instructions as well.
Other ideas for this organizer:
- Vitamins
- Candy, mints, and gum (Ice-Breakers or the small sticks of Trident)
- Earrings, rings, and other small jewelry
- Kid’s medicine (non-liquid varieties)
- Face cream, hand cream, Vaseline, and other thicker creams
- Small amounts of sunscreen (different SPFs), Anti-Itch Cream, and other first-aid ointments
- Loose change
- Office supplies — paper clips, rubber bands, push pins, tacks, etc.
- Sewing supplies
- Spices — when you only need a little bit to take on vacation
I’m sure there are more, but these are the ones I immediately thought of.
The next time you’re at the dollar store or waiting in line at the pharmacy, pick up a pill organizer and organize your meds for the next time you’re on the go!
Chris says
We recently went on a long trip to Hawaii. I took a lot from my medicine cabinet because prices are expensive there. I sorted them into ziplock bags (some had two kinds of meds), wrote with a sharpie, and put them in a packing cube. It was great. Your sister has a great idea too.
Andrea says
Thanks for sharing how you organized your meds for a longer trip! This is helpful!!
Holly Magleby says
What is a 3-1-1 bag? I’m curious .
Holly Magleby says
I think this mini medicine box on the go is a great idea. Sometimes I need meds of some sort when I’m not home and it’s convenient to have what I need when I need it.
Andrea says
yes, we’ve gotten lots of use out of our portable mini medicine box 🙂
Diana Edwards says
Make sure you put a hair or rubber band around the lids the will come open by accident
Andrea says
good call! my container closes REALLY tight, but it would be unfortunate if all those little pills spilled out (especially since I’m not sure I’d be able to remember which ones are which!
Mrs.M in MI says
Years ago I purchased a box of 1″ x 2″ plastic baggies at a craft store (in the jewelry-making supplies) for a couple bucks and I use those for my OTC pills and vitamins when I travel.
For liquids and creams I prefer 0.5 oz and 1 oz Nalgene leakproof jars, but they’re hard to come by if you don’t have a Container Store nearby (which I don’t) so I’ll use contact lens cases. I bought a pack of 5 or 6 on Amazon for cheap, and I’ll throw them in the dishwasher to clean and reuse them. The contact cases aren’t leakproof but for most things they work.
Andrea says
good idea! Thanks!!
Scarlet says
Keep in mind that if you put Vaseline or ointments in this, you’ll have to put it in your 3-1-1 bag. I guarantee you that if TSA spots it, they will consider ointments of any kind a gel. I had almond butter taken away last month because it was a “gel” 🙁
Holly Magleby says
What is a 3-1-1 bag? I’m curious .
Jenny says
As a registered nurse and one who has worked in criminal justice and substance abuse services, I would never do this for several reasons. If you do choose to do this, make sure none of your meds is a Controlled Substance, like some pain meds, some mental health stuff, some seizure meds, etc. keep those in their original pharmacy containers, please! Ask your pharmacist.
Mary in Maryland says
We take vitamins and Ca every day. When we travel I take a ziplock bag and use my sewing machine to make seven columns. I put a day’s meds in each column and put another row of stitches across the top. I fill the resulting seven new columns and sew across the top, repeating until I have one box filled for each day of the trip. Then I use a Sharpie to put the day of the week and date on each box. During the trip I announce the day and date ach morning as I cut open the appropriate packet. Neither wasted space in a med bottle nor the sound of pills clanking in our luggage. And TSA doesn’t mind. Also good for keeping the family oriented as to time.
Andrea says
That is SO smart! I might have to steal this idea for the next time we travel!
pw says
I have used these for when I travel by car. However they are fairly large and bulky when you fly or have limited space like back packing/camping. Walgreens, CVS, Walmart etc. now have PILL POUCHES that are about 3 in by 2 1/2 in. You can mark on them the pill name, when to take it, dosage,,etc. on the bag. Then I put those small bags in a zip lock sandwich bag or quart bag. Very secure, small space, Not child proof though. In Nov. we flew American to board a cruise ship, we had no problems at all with the TSA. We did have copies of the label or RX in another sandwich bag if they asked. No one even looked at them. You can also find pill pouches on Amazon and they are super cheap. Then you just throw them out when done. I like the pill boxes but needed something using less space, You can even put the small pill pouches in snack bags for each day of the week or for morning night etc. I have used them a lot of different ways because we travel with a lot of vitamins and OTC pills as well. You can put Vaseline hand cream stuff like that in them also if you need to save space but I put that type of stuff in a separate sandwich bag. Not the best for that but it does work. I put in antibiotic cream for the cruise and it worked fine. Just another option.
Natalia says
I do something similar using the little plastic bags that hold the extra button and thread on new clothing. I insert a tag with the name of medicine and expiration date, and I carry them all in a little zippered makeup pouch, along with chapstick, Neosporin, bandages, floss, safety pin and other little just-in-case items.It practically lives in my purse and many times I run to it first even when I’m home because I’m so used to it! I actually need to restock it, soon.
I also like the pill case idea and I’ll keep it in mind for other items, or maybe for my kids’ medicine when we go on a longer trip, to keep them away from mine.
Andrea says
oh good idea! I always just throw those little bags out!
Andrea says
Thanks for the tip — I’ll have to look up “pill pouches” next time!
Janine says
I love this!!! My son is on a lot of meds and I’m on a few and between the two of us, I always travel with a lot of pill bottles. This could totally simplify my travel life! Many thanks to you and your sister!!
Andrea says
yes, this would definitely simplify your purse contents! And it’s so cheap and easy 🙂
Nancy Johnson says
I thought the regulations for flying required you to have the actual prescription bottle with you or, if the pills are decanted like this, you must have a printout from your doctor of all the medications you take. So this would work if your meds were in checked baggage, but if you put your meds in your carry-on, as recommended, it would not work.
Christine says
Similarly, when I go on an overnight trip, I use unused contact cases (that you get free with each new bottle of saline solution) for single servings of toothpaste, face lotion, regular lotion, face wash, etc. I love not having to pack whole bottles! Then you can just throw them away or rinse them for next time. I do label them with a fine tip sharpie bc all those soaps and lotions tend to look the same. Hehe 🙂
Andrea says
good idea! we don’t have any of the contact cases, but if we did, I would totally use this idea! so clever!
Caro says
When our toothpaste gets very low (enough for a couple of uses. I put that in our toilet bag, when away, once the toothpaste is finished, I throw away the used tube. Takes up very little space.
Michelle says
Although this is a great idea for some items, I, personally, wouldn’t use it for creams or ointments since it’s not a tight seal and could easily leak onto other items and make a mess or dry out.
I would also worry the lids may come open easily and spices could spill out.
Not for travel, these little containers are handy for organizing small beads in a craft room as well.
Andrea says
In my experiences, the lids are VERY tight and actually somewhat difficult to open. I would NOT use this for liquid medication, but have had no problem using it for thick creams, lotions, and vaseline.
Lynn says
Love this! What an awesome way to organize and label! Thanks for sharing!
Rhonda says
Love it! I’m going to share at work with patients.
Andrea says
oh good — hopefully it will help lots of people then!
Jen says
I use one of these for earrings/jewelry when we travel. I can coordinate the day’s jewelry with the outfit I packed for that day!
Andrea says
good idea! I usually only wear earrings and my wedding ring, so I rarely ever take jewelry when traveling (who am I kidding, I rarely ever travel!) but I will tuck this idea away for “someday” when I start traveling and wearing jewelry again 🙂
Kim says
Brilliant! Simply brilliant.
Lily says
OH, and make sure to put the expiration dates on the thing, or figure out some way to replace everything yearly. We had something like this in our camper, and when I cleaned it this fall, I saw that we had some meds that expired in 2011!