Update: this post now contains links to download the printables shown here. To see all my free printables available for download go here.
Welcome back to the Home Management Binder Series! I am sharing my process of creating a home management binder, and hope to pass along some inspiration to others for managing their household. For those of you just joining us, here is a quick rundown of the schedule for this series.
9/7 - Family
9/14 - Pets
9/21 - School
9/28 - Cleaning postponed
10/5 - Home
10/12 - Finances
10/19 - Food and Grocery
10/26 - Health and Fitness
11/2 - Beauty
11/9 - Crafts and Projects
11/16 - Vehicle
Feel free to follow along (or jump in and out depending on your needs) and make your own Home Management Binder as I whip mine into shape! Many of the organizational tools and tips you''l see here can be used in other types of home management systems as well, if binders aren't your thing.
Last week I showed you how I organized personal information for each family member. But there was one very important family member that was left out of that section...Dakota! Since pets have different needs for the binder, I decided to give our munchkin her very own section. I wanted a space where I could store all my records and information regarding Dakota. This is what I came up with.
Melissa and I are planning on eventually adding more puppies to the mix. When that happens, I'll change the title page to 'Pets' or 'Dogs' and give each puppy their own subsection. Until then, Dakota gets her own whole section of the binder. My main goal was to make her section a 'how-to' on Dakota. I wanted anyone to be able to take care of her should the need arise.
First I have a dog general information page. I wanted a basic stats page for all Dakota's generic information. It's kind of like the personal information page both Melissa and I have in our sections, but tailored to dogs.
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The top is Dakota's personal information such as her physical description and birthday. I also included a spot for her microchip number, since I plan on getting her microchipped for safety sometime in the future.
The middle box has space for her veterinarian's information. We are currently in between vets since the move, but I'll fill that in as soon as we settle on a new one. Finally, I included a notes section at the bottom. I plan on using this space for any other information I feel might be necessary for someone to know about her. For example, if she gets a disease in her old age, if I find she has any allergies, etc.
After Dakota's basic information page, I have her basic care page. This is basically her day to day routines, maintenance and requirements.
There is a list for each her daily, weekly and monthly care. Since Melissa and I already know her routine ourselves, the purpose of this sheet is to be given to any pet sitters or anyone caring for Dakota for a period of time. I again included a section at the bottom for any notes or after thoughts I might want to add, like her favorite toy or treat at the time.
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When Dakota gets her medication, I simply fill in the date in the appropriate box under the month in the current year row. This way I always know when the last time she got her medication was, and when she will be needing it next.
After her home medication page, I have a page to record all her shots and vaccinations she gets at the vet's.
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After she gets a vaccination for the year, I just mark an x in the appropriate box. This makes sure I keep her up to date on all necessary vaccinations. This page is already doing it's job, because I realized she needs her 2 year shots soon while I was making this!
The next page is a list of food that is poisonous to dogs. Melissa likes to spoil Dakota, so we're constantly Googling whether or not something is ok to give to her. So I figured I would make a full list of foods that are not ok to give dogs. I used resources such as the ASPCA website and PetEducation to make up my list.
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I also included the number for the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (888-426-4435) at the top just in case our munchkin accidentally gets into something she shouldn't have. Be warned though that they do charge you a $65 consultation fee.
We had a scary incident a couple months ago involving a mischievousness Dakota and a large piece of chocolate cake. We had accidentally left the cake on the coffee table and walked into another room. Dakota is normally very well behaved, so we didn't think twice about it. About 10 minutes later, an extremely guilty puppy walks into the room, and we find that the entire piece of cake is gone.
It was around midnight so our vet's office was closed. We Googled what to do if your dog eats chocolate and found that the general consensus was to feed her hydrogen peroxide if it's been under 2 hours, causing her to...empty her stomach. Melissa ran out to the store to get some hydrogen peroxide, and luckily Dakota just drank the hydrogen peroxide right out of the measuring cup and was fine (if a little put out by the effects of her 'medicine'). Long story short, I don't ever want to be unprepared for an emergency like that ever again.
That is the reason for my next page, dog CPR. I specifically Googled CPR for small dogs, since I knew giving a 5 pound dog chest compressions and artificial breathing would be massively different than giving them to a 100 pound dog.
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I made the font pretty big on this page so it would be easy to read and follow along. I can imagine being pretty flustered if I ever had to use this page, and wanted it to be as easy to read and understand as possible. I can now sleep easy knowing I could give my fluffy baby CPR should the need (god forbid) ever arise.
The final pre-made pages I have in this section are a couple dog powers of attorney. I can't imagine these are actually necessary, but I filled one out for Melissa and keep a couple blank ones in there just in case. These pages give whoever is the recipient that right to make medical decisions for Dakota on my behalf in case I'm not available.
After that I have Dakota's various records such as vet visits and state registration information. And that concludes my Pets section of my Home Management Binder. I hope you picked up some helpful ideas for organizing all information needed to keep your furry ones happy and healthy!
Next week I'll be showing you my completed School section. I'm a couple weeks too late for the start of the school year, but better late than never! This section will include everything I need to know about my academic career, both current and long term (only 1 more year!).
Until then, tell me some of the ways you keep your pet organized. Do you keep all their information together in one place? Does your puppy have a guilty face that just tells you immediately they did something wrong (like Dakota and her chocolate-cake-face)? Do you have plans ready in case emergency action is needed? I'd love to hear any suggestions to add to Dakota's section you may have. Have a great weekend and hope to see you here next week!
Update 10-12-2012
I made a growth chart to track Dakota's weight over her lifetime. This'll help to make sure she doesn't start packing on the ounces!
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I was looking for your pet files online, is there any way I can download them?
ReplyDeleteI am working to make all my printables available for free download shortly, check back soon!
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