Jacki with Rufus McDuff at Fallowfield Farm. Photo by CLix Photography

Keeping accurate records of your horse’s health is very important. This information can play a vital role in quickly recognizing and identifying health issues. Your veterinarian cannot be expected to remember your horse’s normal vital signs (pulse rate, temperature) and may not remember when he/she dewormed your horse the last time or what medication was used. If your veterinarian wasn’t available another vet would be working without any reference points.

By keeping good records, important health issues will be remembered and since certain health related tasks should be performed at regular intervals (vaccinations, deworming, hoof trimming) they can be planned and prepared for in advance.

Many farms have a large calendar posted so that the humans know which days the vet, farrier and chiropractor (yes, horses have dedicated chiropractors) are scheduled. This is great for a facility that has many horses and different horse owners. If horse owners can see well in advance when their horse is due for treatment, the owner can adjust his or her schedule to accommodate a visit to the farm to deal with the treatment provider.

Keeping good records for your horse shouldn’t be a chore. There are many different ways to manage the information. Owners should speak with their veterinarians about specific medical record recommendations for their horses. Often vets will pass along free medical record sheets provided by animal health companies. These health sheets can be kept in a three-ring binder with other papers on which notes are taken.

Here is a list of the minimum information you will need in your horse health record.

Description of your horse - Photos as well as a written description of your horse will help identify him and prove proof of ownership in the event your horse goes missing (i.e., breaks down the fence and escapes!). The photographs should show your horse from all four sides to highlight unique markings. A copy of proof of ownership should be kept with your health records but keep your original in a secure place.

Normal Vital Signs - Your horse’s temperature, pulse and respiratory rate are important indicators of general health. Take these measurements often and record the data noting the time of day and ambient barn/outdoor temperature. This will allow you to establish a baseline. Knowing what is normal for your horse will allow you to quickly notice and respond to any abnormalities.

Deworming - In addition to marking on your calendar when your horse is due to be dewormed, make a note of which product is used each time you deworm your horse since worms can become immune to the medication after a while.

Farrier - Note the date of each farrier visit and list the work done.

Vaccinations - Make a note of all vaccinations that your horse receives and the date which they were given. Travel to certain parts of the country may be restricted if you do not have up-to-date records of vaccinations.

Medications - List any drugs your horse receives, along with the dosage, whether it’s ongoing treatment or a short-term antibiotic. Note any side effects as well and report them to your veterinarian. You should also include any feed supplements on this list as they may have interactions with any prescribed medication.

Minor Injuries - If the horse has had any minor injuries, make a note of how treated them.

Veterinary Visits - Record every veterinary visit including the reason for the visit, the treatment performed by the vet and any treatment you must administer. Make a note to yourself to follow up with the vet if any diagnostic tests are performed.

Dentistry - If your horse has his wolf teeth removed, record this information. Write down the dates that your horse’s teeth are floated. Note any other dental procedures.

A binder is great to store all this information but for those horse owners comfortable with computers Rendaivu is a website (free!!!) that will let you keep a detailed history of your horse’s health records and activities. It also allows you to create reports to learn more about your horses and track your financials.

Rendaivu will allow you to easily manage records for one horse or 30 horses. It will keep track of training programs, lesson scheduling, invoicing and even feed inventory. You can also set it to send you automated email reminders for important events like booking the farrier or sending in your horse show entry forms.

Are you worried about using Rendaivu because there is no computer in the barn? Well there’s an App for that! The smart phone app will allow you to sync with your online records so you’ll have all your information with you all the time. That’s pretty handy when you’re travelling to a horse show.

Regardless of which method you use to record your horse’s health information (paper or electronic), consider transferring the records to the new owner if you sell your horse and if you board your horse, leave a copy of the records with the stable manager.

Remember a health horse is a happy horse!

P.S. I do not receive any compensation for promoting Rendaivu. I only do so because it is a great product that will help you keep track of your horses’ information.

Make it YOUR resolution.
If you want to become more organized and productive, don’t do it because someone else wants you to or because all of your friends are doing it.  Make the resolution for yourself, because YOU want to change. This is what psychologists call a “self-concordant” goal.

It is also important to emphasizing on the positive. Instead of saying, “I won’t be so messy” you can say to yourself, “I am effective and efficient!”

Make a PLAN
Scientific studies have shown that people who use “implementation intentions” have a significantly higher rate of goal attainment. In every day terms this means that people with a plan reach their goals.

How do you make a plan that will work for you?

Sometimes, the best plan you can make is to get expert assistance. Professional organizers can help you make the most effective use of your space and time. They can help you define your plan and break it down into manageable steps so you can be successful. I’d be happy to help you, just let me know!

For those do-it-yourself types, here are a few decluttering tips.

Start with one thing at a time.
Remember that old joke – How do you eat an entire elephant? One bite at a time.

Pick a small space such as a shelf or drawer. Start there and work your way around the room. Do a little bit every day. If you miss a day, don’t worry, just get right back to it as soon as you can.

For each item you find, ask yourself:

• Do I LOVE it?
• Do I use it regularly?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, keep the item. If you answered no to both questions, then let the item go.

If you’re still unsure, ask yourself:

• Would I take it with me if I had to evacuate immediately?
• What would be the worst thing that would happen if I got rid of this?

If you would take it with you then keep the item. If there is no “worst thing that would happen” if you got rid of the item, then let the item go.

For all items you’ve decided to keep, find the best place for the item. Keep items in the area in which they are used. If it is meant to be displayed, then display it proudly!

Is getting organized one of your resolutions? Share your plan here!

This year’s winner was Angela. Angela’s messy desk is actually a counter in her kitchen. Her home is too small to have a designated office space from which to run her business. Actually, there are two businesses that run out of Angela’s home, her business (daycare) and her husband’s business and they both use this space. Oh, and I must mention that Angela home schools her children and  her home school uses this space. So if you’re wondering – YES that is a LOT of activity to be happening on such a small piece of counter.

The first challenge was to find an appointment time to help Angela. Because Angela manages a daycare during the week, we had to find some time on the weekend to get her organized. After a few weeks we made the appointment and started to work.

The first step was to sort all of the information. We used some laundry baskets and empty plastic bins to create the following categories:

• home schooling supplies (notebooks, pens, markers, glue)
• reference information (for children with special needs)
• family information (photographs, souvenirs, artwork of her own children)
• scheduling & contact information (appointment reminders, friends’ contact info)
• her business paperwork
• his business paperwork

As we were sorting, we also made some decisions on what would stay and what would go. We filled several bags for recycling with old art projects, envelopes and paper with outdated information.

Since we had several enthusiastic “little helping hands” we put them to work testing pens, pencils and markers. Any writing implement that didn’t work went right into the garbage! The children also sorted them into groups of pens, coloured pencils and markers. The also examined all the craft supplies. Several bottles of dried up glue made their way to the garbage as did some old feathers and other bits and pieces.

It doesn’t take long to organize blank paper. It can be sorted by size, colour and thickness. Paper that has information written on it takes significantly longer to organize because you have to READ it. But, after 3 hours the desk was clean, the papers were in their proper piles and all of the unwanted material was in the trash or recycle bin.

Angela and family have a bit more work to do on their own filing some of the piles of papers but at least now they have a strategy and some parameters in which to guide them.

Check out the pictures below!

One of the more frequent “disasters” that I’ve seen in small business is data loss. This often happens when the business computer becomes infected by a virus or worm or if the computer’s hard drive fails. The easiest way to protect your business from data loss is doing regular back ups of your computer’s hard drive. Backing up the data to an external hard drive on a regular basis (at least at the end of every business day) is an inexpensive way to ensure that you can access your data and continue business operations should your main computer crash. However, if your office was destroyed by fire you would also lose your external hard drive. I suggest to many of my clients to consider an “off-site” data storage solution. There are many inexpensive, secure online backup and data recovery services available.

Protecting your computer system is also a good idea. I recommend that small business owners purchase a surge protector and uninterruptible power supply (battery) for each of their computers. This system will prevent electrical power surges from “blowing up” the computer system and should there be a loss of power, the battery will provide enough power for the user to back up data and shut the computer down safely.

There is another disaster that unfortunately occurs all too often in small business and that is theft. Having a detailed inventory of your business assets is essential in order to restore operations as quickly as possible and ensure your claim is processed promptly by your insurance company. Record the make, model and serial numbers along with receipts of purchase of all your business equipment. If you’ve stored this information on your computer and backed it up to your online storage area, you can access it easily and provide this information to your insurance company.

Disasters do strike but if you’re organized and prepared you won’t be one of the statistics!

Have you ever spent hours scraping old stickers from your car windows? Here’s a little tip to save you some time.

The next time you need to apply a sticker to the car window (e.g. for secure parking lots), stick the sticker to Avery Clear Decals then stick the decal to the car window. It’s easy to move and remove!

This study was also confirmed by Queen’s University psychology professor Mark Sabbagh who indicated that “watching SpongeBob can have a surprisingly large effect on some cognitive skills that are just developing in four-year-olds.”

Executive functions are defined as the collection of brain processes that are responsible for planning, initiating appropriate actions and inhibiting inappropriate actions.

What does this mean for parents of young children? These studies indicate that fast-paced TV shows such as Sponge Bob, hinder children’s ability to think clearly in a logical order and it inhibits their concentration.

If you need a child to focus and concentrate on a specific task such as organizing their room, getting ready to go out the door to school in the morning or doing homework, watching fast-paced cartoons first may inhibit their ability to carry out such tasks.

Make your life less stressful and turn off the TV in the morning while preparing to leave or at least select a more relaxing TV show (Mr. Rogers, I miss you!).

The boots are pictured here with saddle, trunk, whip and helmet in 1986. I no longer have the helmet because for safety reasons, helmets must be replaced at least every 5 years. I still have the trunk, saddle and whip.

I’ve been an avid equestrienne for the better part of 30 years and I bought my first pair of REAL riding boots in 1986. I wore these boots in horse shows around the province and in clinics with Olympians. The boots helped me ride at various equestrian centres in nine different cities in four different provinces over the past 20 years. Finally, in June 2010, they broke beyond repair while in service at a local horse show.

It was a difficult moment for me, realizing that I would have to say good bye to these boots that had served me so well for so long. In order to cope with the loss, I decided to have a funeral for the boots. I set up a Facebook event and invited my Facebook friends, many of whom I have ridden with over the years. At first I thought that they would think that I was crazy (and they may have a point) but most of my friends helped me make the event memorable.

One of my friends quoted a poem from Harpers New Monthly Magazine, Volume 54, December 1876:

Farewell, old boots! a tender last farewell!
Inanimate, but mourned as if with souls
Instead of soles: I’ll find for you some dell
Where, though no bell for your requiem tolls.

I had a few other friends weigh in and admit that this event encouraged them to retire various objects; dance shoes, army boots and paint brushes. One organizer colleague wrote in that it was “time to lay to rest ‘Wedding Glass’, the last surviving member of a set of glasses that outlived ‘Marriage’ by 21 years”.  Of course there is always one clown in the bunch —  he thanked me for the “booty call”!

All in all, it made me feel much better that I had given a public tribute to my riding boots that had served me so well in the past. I wrapped them tightly and they were taken away in the “hearse”.

The "Hearse"

If you have items that you have difficulty parting with, try having a funeral or a tea party or even writing a letter to the item, explaining its importance in your life. Make a scrapbook and save the letters with pictures of the items.

It helps to let your friends in on the deal – they can comfort you and make you laugh like no inanimate object ever could.

Lydia H. Sigourney

Organizing something in your home this weekend will benefit your entire country!

Yes, even organizers suffer from disorganization from time to time so here is the story.

We live in military housing because my husband is a member of the Canadian Armed Forces. A month ago the Base informed us that due to the construction of a 400 space parking lot right beside our house, that we would be moved to a new house (all expenses paid). It would be a “full service” move which includes packing and unpacking service.

We were given 10 days to prepare for the move. Many people might think that this wouldn’t be too bad as I didn’t have to pack or unpack anything but it was CRAZY! The kids were still in school and attending swimming and music lessons and both my husband and I had to work, although we did take three days off for the pack, load/unload and unpack.

We were moved into our new house which is very nice. The unpacking service involves taking everything out of boxes, putting the stuff on any flat surface and leaving with the empty boxes and packing paper. This is my kitchen after the unpack. The counter is covered and the cupboards are empty!

Here are few tips that I used to help conquer this type of chaos and get back on track.

Get help

I enlisted the whole family to help me get organized. Each child did his/her own bedroom and asked for help when they needed it. Even children as young as 4 or 5 years old can put clothes away and put books on shelves. I also had family members help me organize the kitchen. The plus side is that everyone now knows where everything belongs! If your children are too young to help out, hire a sitter to keep them occupied.

Focus on routines

The first thing I did was set up garbage cans and recycle bins in every area of the home. Once trash is found it can be put immediately in its proper place. This prevents clutter from building up all over the place!

We set up the beds so we could get a good night sleep and laundry baskets so dirty clothes would be kept off the floor.

Setting up the bathroom was next because everyone needs clean teeth and a hot shower!

The next thing that got organized was the kitchen. An organized kitchen means less time preparing and cleaning up after meals.

The laundry area was next and once we got the washing machine level it was easy to get things done as all the dirty clothes were piled in laundry baskets.

Done first, perfect later

Once the basics were done, I left things as they were and moved on to the next area. I can easily go back and do the details later but for the moment, it is good enough and I can take the time to write about it.

Here’s the finished kitchen!

Here is the inside of the cupboards. Notice that everything is where I want it (more or less) It is DONE first, later I’ll get it perfect

The first step in organizing keys and locks is to gather them all in one place. I suggest using a small, lidded bin such as a shoe box. Label the box too!

Collect any keys you find and put them into the box. If you find padlocks or combination locks, add them to the box too. You may have lockable cabinets that are missing their keys, of course you can’t put the cabinets into the shoebox but you can make a list of cabinets that require keys and add that to the shoebox.

Purchase a few key tags from a hardware store or dollar store. If you know what the keys are for, write on the key tag right away and attach the tag to the key. If you have combination locks, write down the combination on a key tag with a description of the combination lock and/or its serial number.

Extra keys should be labelled  and stored in a different location such as a key box. My organizing colleague, Jeri Dansky has put together a collection of key cabinets that would look great in any room and be perfect for storing extra sets of keys.

Keep keys that are used frequently close to where they are used. For example, you might keep a key to your garden shed on a hook, just inside the back door.

What about the mismatched keys and locks? I recommend that people keep these in the labelled shoebox for a few months just in case their mates turn up somewhere else in the house or office. It is also helpful to ask family members and co-workers if they have seen any keys or locks “hiding” anywhere. You may find someone else is in possession of the little key you were looking for. If you’ve determined that the keys and locks are never going to find their mates, feel free to dispose of them.

A word about combination locks: If the locks are simple, such as suitcase locks with only 3 or 4 numbers, you may be able to fiddle with it enough to determine the combination. Some rotary dial combination locks, have serial numbers and you can get the combination by contacting the manufacturer.

You probably don’t need to carry your office keys while vacationing at the cottage and you probably don’t need your cottage keys while your at the office. Carry only the keys you need with you. Separate the keys you carry with you into groups such as Home, Car, Office, Cottage. Put each set on a different ring.  Clip the key groups you need together with a carabineer when you leave the house.

Do you have any tips or tricks on organizing keys and locks? Share them here!