Martha sent me an organizing tip of day about first aid kits. We have a first aid kit and I can’t tell you how many times it has saved the day. Not only do we have one in the bathroom, but I also keep a small one in each car. When we travel, I take along another small one. I find that Band-aids at least are an essential when traveling and I like to be prepared for other emergencies. When you stay in a hotel, it’s not as big a concern, but we often rent condos and there is no one to help you nearby, so you’d better be prepared.

Contents of our kit

Our first aid kit is kept in a plastic box with a handle (being able to grab it and go has really made things easy when it is needed). Here are the items I include (my list is more extensive than Martha’s- who would have thought I could be more anal than Martha!):

– band-aids

– Band-Aid brand hurt free antiseptic wash

– gauze

– tape

– triple antibiotic cream

– Neosporin

– bee sting remedy

– temporary dental filling kit

– eye wash

– special burn bandages (these are gel bandages that cover a burn and hydrate it – they are excellent!)

– insect bite remedy

– tweezers

– alcohol wipes

Now, when I read this email from Martha I thought “HA! I’m all set on this one” Think again. When I went to get the kit out, it was a total mess.  I felt totally like a bad mother (an occurrence I experience at least once a week I’d say!). The lid was off, things were out of their boxes and some things were on the shelf next to it. If someone was hurt, I would have had to scramble around to get out what I needed. Martha’s email resulted in me cleaning the mess up, getting it organized, and tossing out some out of date items. Martha would probably have on her calendar to restock this every few months (since I do not have a calendar of when household tasks should be done  – who does other than Martha?). As for me, I’m going to make an effort to keep it together and organized from now on. This was a useful tip from Martha. Knowing this kit is my cupboard, ready to go, gives me a safe feeling. Even a small task like this is definitely a way to bring a tiny bit of improvement to your life.