And the clippers ran away with the thermometer

You reach for the nail clippers and … gone. Foiled again. It's anyone's guess whether they're stuffed in someone's scrub pocket or they've slithered underneath the counter in the lab again. That's why the team at Cottonwood Animal Hospital in Ottawa, Kan., developed a strategy to keep the supplies uniform in the practice's four exam rooms and three treatment room workstations. "We use divided plastic trays and post a list of stocked supplies on the inside of the cabinet door in the room," Joanne Bowman, RVT, says. "Each instrument, from the hemostat to the nail trimmers and ear cone, is labeled with color-coded tape to match a room or station. This way anyone can easily see what needs stocked or redistributed to keep our day efficient and our work streamlined."