Boom! I cleared two small categories in one day: our medicines and vitamins, and our collection of games and puzzles.

Medicines and vitamins suffered, like a few other categories, from being kept in four different locations: the master bathroom, second bathroom, the fridge, and a high cabinet in the kitchen. So I gathered them all up on the table. I decided to group them into four subcategories: baby medicines, adult medicines, vitamins, and ‘health-related tools’ (like thermometers).

Like the more practical categories, I consulted more than just my sense of joy, but checked expiration dates and asked whether we’d actually need the item. We had a few baby medicines and supplements that Edith has outgrown, and quite a few adult medicines that were expired.

I noticed that I have a habit of stocking up on medicines for all occasions, just in case. I guess I’m always fearing that a flu plague will hit our house and nobody will be able to go buy medicine. I had at least one packet of medicine that I know I bought because there was a bug going around at the time, and I wanted to be prepared. But really, we aren’t sick very often, and chances are one of us (or a friend or relative) would be able to buy medicine if we really needed it; we live very close to several supermarkets and a 24-hour pharmacy. In the future, I’m going to try to let the store keep our medicine for us until we actually need it! The only thing we use normally is ibuprofen or acetaminophen/paracetamol and the occasional band-aid. I suspect I could discard most other things and we would hardly notice.

I opted to keep our main medicines and first aid in the bathroom cabinet, with some of the baby items in the second bathroom; and all of our supplements and vitamins are in the fridge. There are a few that have to be refrigerated, and since we have room, I opted to keep them all together there. That opened up some kitchen cabinet space, which I’m sure will be much needed when it comes time to tidy the kitchen.

After this project, I had more of nap time left, so I looked for something I could tackle quickly. Thus, I sorted out our puzzles and games. They are all stored together and a modest collection.

In the end I kept most of them, just discarding a couple of puzzles we were finished with.

I’m coming close to the end of the Komono section now, and very excited to finish. The kitchen stuff will be the final part, but four smaller categories remain before that: electronics, gardening supplies, decor, and holiday decorations.