Home Medicine Cabinet Check

Who this is for

A dated clear-out of every medicine in the house. Each pack gets a line for whose it is, where it was kept and its opened and expiry dates, with the days left worked out for you. Tick what is going back for disposal and note where it was taken.

Households clearing a bathroom cabinet that has filled up over the years, families with young children checking that everything is out of reach, and anyone sorting out the medicines of a relative they look after.

What this helps you track

• Every medicine in the house, wherever it has ended up
• Whose each one is, or whether it was bought over the counter
• Opened and expiry dates, with the days left worked out
• Which packs are locked away and which are within reach
• What is going back for safe disposal, and where it went

How to use it

1. Write the date and your name, then gather every medicine from the places on the checklist into one spot so nothing is missed or counted twice.
2. Give each pack its own line: the name exactly as printed on the pack, whose it is, its form and where it was kept.
3. Copy the expiry date from the pack, and the date it was opened where that matters; days left is worked out in the browser and the workbook.
4. Tick Return for anything out of date or no longer wanted, and put the rest back somewhere locked and out of reach.
5. Take the returns to a pharmacy or take-back point and write where and when at the top; the browser version saves in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

What should I do with out-of-date medicines?

Take them back to a pharmacy or a medicine take-back point if one is offered near you. Arrangements differ from place to place, so check what is available where you live before anything goes in a bin or down a drain.

Why is there a column for the date opened?

Some creams, drops and liquids carry their own instruction about how long they keep once opened. The opened date lets you check that against the pack. The sheet supplies no periods of its own.

Does ticking Return mean someone should stop taking a medicine?

No. The tick is about the pack in the cupboard. Never stop or change a prescribed medicine because of this sheet; speak to the prescriber or a pharmacist first.

How is this different from a medication record?

A medication record lists what someone takes now and what they reorder. This check counts the packs physically in the house, old and unused ones included, so the ones that should go back can be found and returned.