D.I.Y. First Aid Kit

Something I think every household needs is some sort of first aid kit. Whether or not you just have some band-aids in the back of your medicine cabinet, or if you have a fancy complete ready to buy one, I'm sure that you have some sort of first aid on hand.

The only problem with having it all thrown into your medicine cabinet is its accessibility. Who wants to rummage through old toothpastes and empty prescription bottles to find a band-aid when your child is screaming from a scraped knee? Or if you accidentally touch the oven when putting in those delicious cookies you baked from scratch? (okay, okay, or pulled apart from the frozen package) Having your first aid materials all in one place is convenient in times when you already have something else on your mind.

Now what you may be thinking at this point is, where am I gonna find the cash to buy a first aid kit? Those ready-made ones can be pretty pricey, and usually only come with small amounts of each thing, when you really need more than ten band-aids.

My suggestion to you is to make one yourself. Each time you go to the grocery store you can buy one or two items off your list of must haves, starting with the frequently used items, and slowly build up everything you'll ever need.

What I suggest you buy:
• Band-aids of various shapes and sizes; how many times do you end up with a paper cut, or a child with a scraped knee? Band-aids are simply a part of every family household, and they are a necessity for first aid kits.

• Gauze The only time I have ever really used gauze is on my husbands really bad sports scrapes (and he hates it) or when I get poison ivy to keep the medication on the infection and to stop myself from scratching and spreading. Whatever you use it for, its really good to have laying around.

• Gauze pads These are incredibly handy for the times you don't need to wrap the whole appendage but a band-aid just won't do the job.

• Bandage tape Well you can't use gauze without being able to tape it down can you?

• Safety Pins This one really isn't a must have for your kit, but it will certainly be useful to know exactly where some are in case of emergency.

• Disposable Latex Gloves These are also really important. Say you have one of you friends children over for the night and they scrape their knee. You'll want to put these on to protect yourself from germs. Or if you have a mouth emergency. You don't want to be sticking your unsanitary hands around in there.

• Scissors Obviously scissors have a variety of uses. They can cut the bandages, cut clothes of more serious injuries, pretty much anything.

• Tweezers Besides always knowing where some tweezers are, I imagine these would be useful to get rocks out of a scraped knee, broken glass out of a teeny bare foot, or splinters out of your little boys fingers.

• A Small Cup I actually suggest a couple small cups, so you can dispose of them after a use. Unless you are just planning on washing them. But these are good to fill with a little water to take aspirin with.

• Antiseptic Spray The most important thing when treating a wound is making sure you keep any and all germs out so there is no infection. Having this spray on hand makes sure you won't forget to spray it on your hands before touching things (even though you always promise your kids you won't touch it if they just let you see it, and your first reaction is to touch it immediately) and to sanitize around the wound quickly.


• Burn Ointment This is one I have used a few times. There is nothing like singing your finger on the oven or a pan you forgot was hot. Nothing can take away that burning sensation like burn ointment. So this is something I plan on having access to right away.

• Aspirin You should keep this separate from whatever you use on a regular basis. That way you don't run out and you have this emergency stash, because you never know when you'll need some quickly.

• Calamine Lotion Ever had poison ivy? A few mosquito bites? Then I don't need to explain the importance of this cooling magic gel.

• Aloe As your typical girl, I have spent plenty of time trying to get that lovely bronze glow from both the tanning bed and from the suns natural light. And as a completely pasty white person, I have been sunburned more times than I can count. The only thing that soothes it or the itching that comes with tanning beds is aloe gel. It is a must have for me.

• Thermometer This is an obvious one, its always important to keep your temperature under control. Especially if there is a child or (like me) a pregnant woman around. A serious temperature can cause a lot of problems and having a thermometer on hand allows you to keep it under control.

• Hot Water Bottle When you have a sore spot, the best thing to do is to alternate colt and hot, but you can't do that without someplace to keep your hot water without burning you.

• Ice Packs Important for the same reason above. Nothing makes a sore spot or a wound feel better than when you put some ice on it.

• First Aid Guide All of this stuff is pretty useless unless you know how to use it. And even if you know how to use it, it doesn't mean the baby sitter does, or whoever is opening your first aid kit. So this is really handy to have around.

Something else you will need is some way to keep all your first aid items in one place. I opted for the super cheap tub you see in the top picture, it was only a dollar at the dollar tree (that store is a magical place.) and then I added a vinyl label to it. But you can really do anything you want with it. Large food storage containers, pretty baskets, the sky is the limit. Just make sure you keep it out of reach of the little ones!

I also am going to include a first aid checklist available for you to download for free! Click here to download it.


Do you have a first aid kit at home? Is there any items you think are necessary that I didn't mention above? Leave a comment and let me know!