Fabulous 15 Minute Organizing Fixes: a blog series from simplify 101

Everyone at my house is recovering from a cold that lasted two weeks, and my neighbor just told me that her daughter woke up with a stomach ache and fever. Naturally her daughter played at our house last night. Here’s to hoping our immune systems are back to full strength!

Cold and flu viruses seem to be rampant right now. Although we do what we can to stay healthy, the germs are out there making their rounds. So this week, take 15 minutes to create or restock your sick stash.

I had the idea of creating a sick stash a few years ago after realizing that we always seemed to run out of certain essentials, like children’s ibuprofen, at the exact moment someone spiked a fever. To clarify, this is not my medicine cabinet or my first aid kit. I keep those supplies in our bathroom closet. This is just an emergency backup stash  I keep tucked away so that we have the basics on hand.

We received some great input from our readers after the original post and have included more ideas of what you might include in your sick stash:

  • Be ready for cold and flu season with a sick stashChicken noodle soup
  • Applesauce
  • White soda
  • Gatorade or coconut water
  • Tea
  • Honey
  • Crackers
  • Pretzels
  • Lay’s Potato Chips (Our super organized friend Karen swears that these work wonders when you’ve lost your voice!)
  • Vitamins (C, Emergen-C, Airbourne)
  • Neti pot with salt or saline spray
  • Children’s ibuprofen
  • Cold Medicine (children and/or adult)
  • Homeopathic cold and flu remedies (Oscillococcinum, Zicam)
  • Cough drops or cough medicine
  • Vicks Vapo-Rub
  • Tissues
  • Vasoline or Aquaphor (for lips and/or nose)
  • Toilet paper
  • Disinfectant wipes

Create a sick stash to be ready for cold and flu season

I keep our sick stash on an upper shelf in the bathroom closet. Have we used it? Oh, yes, indeed. There’s never a good time for sickness, but handling them has gotten much easier since I started keeping a sick stash! What else do/would you include in yours?

Happy Organizing!