Spring is coming! Spring is coming!

I am so excited for warmer weather and longer days, clean laundry drying in the sun, windows open and fresh air breezing through the house. Spring is a great time of year, unless of course you have allergies.

I know it seems like it will take forever to get here as we are getting slammed with more snow this week but spring will definitely make an appearance soon. With the arrival of spring comes a tradition of spring – cleaning.

This is a tradition that was originally started in areas with a cold winter to remove soot and smoke from the inside of the house.

“March was often the best time for dusting because it was getting warm enough to open windows and doors (but not warm enough for insects to be a problem), and the high winds could carry the dust out of the house. This time of year is also when coal furnaces wouldn’t run and you could wash all the soot from the walls and furniture left by the furnace. For the same reason, modern rural households often use the month of March for cleaning projects involving the use of chemical products which generate fumes.” (wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_cleaning)

Spring cleaning should also apply to your cupboards, closets and anywhere else that you could stuff things like the medicine cabinet.

You might wonder why it is important to clean out the medicine cabinet while spring cleaning, cleaning out the medicine cabinet will help in the prevention of substance use disorders. Most abused prescription drugs come from family and friends.

Here are a few safety tips that may also help in the prevention of substance use disorder.

1. Clean out unused or expired medication and bring to a pharmacy, police station, or a Drug Take Back Event for safe disposal. If this is not convenient dump the medication into a Ziploc bag with wet coffee grounds, cat litter, or dirt and throw it away.

2. Make sure you secure your medication. Protect your medication as if it were your money. Again, most abused medications come from family and friends.

3. Store medications not in a bathroom but up and away in a cupboard, closet or cabinet – preferably locked. On April 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the local police departments will be part of the National Medication Drug Take Back Day. You will be able to drop off medications and know that they will be disposed of safely.

Please remember when doing your spring cleaning to go through your medicine cabinets, cupboards, or closets to remove all unused or expired medications and do a small part to help in the fight to prevent Substance Use Disorders.

Jessica Abbott, Certified Prevention Specialist is the Substance Use Prevention Coordinator at Healthy Oxford Hills, a project of Stephens Memorial Hospital. For supportive resources call Healthy Oxford Hills at 739-6222 or visit their website www.healthyoxfordhills.org.