Saturday, October 22, 2011

Knock, knock

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Christmas
Dad, why is mom running around the house screaming?

With the holidays knocking on the door, I took a look around the house.  Soon relatives will be coming through the door presents and food in hand.  I thought now is the time to get a few things done that I have put off.  The dining room chairs have seen better days.  With just 2 yards fabric (for 6 seats) and a little elbow grease, I can transform the chairs to look clean and new.  A new tablecloth or place mats will brighten up the table.  Maybe I'll use a bold oil cloth or cotton print. 
Oh, those couch cushions are so saggy.  They desperately need new foam inside. I can wash the covers while the foam is out of them. 
Since some of the relatives are staying with us, I will need extra sleep pads.  Econo Sales sells foam pads that roll up nicely to store out of the way. 
This will keep me busy for a while.  Until next time.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Fundraising Ideas

If you're like me, you're tired of the same old fundraisers going around;  cookie dough, magazines, beef jerky, wrapping paper.  Here are a couple of ideas to think about:

Reusable grocery bags made from pack cloth and 1 inch wide poly webbing.  We have many colors to choose from.  You can mix and match your pack cloth and webbing to get the color combination you want.  I made one for Oregon State (black pack cloth and orange webbing) and one for University of  Oregon (yellow pack cloth and green webbing).  You can match colors to your school, club, or work. I was able to get three bags out of 40 inches of pack cloth.  Each bag takes 3 1/2 yards of webbing.  The total cost for the three bags is under $12.00, making each bag under $4.00.  Turn around and sell them for $6.00- $8.00 apiece.

Another thought is lanyards with your school's name or sport printed on them.  If you look at our facebook page (Econo Sales), you can see some examples of lanyards that we have sold.  Talk to Alan on Fridays if you're interested.  Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.  The cost to you would be $4.00 each, but you can sell them for $8.00 each. There is no minimum number to order.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Keep the car clean

With soccer, football, cross country, and other fall sports at hand, our cars sometime need help staying mud-free.
A couple of ideas that have worked for me are:
Keep a plastic dish pan in the trunk or back of the car.  I got mine at Walmart in the kitchen aisle for under $3.00.  The muddy cleats can go in it. 
I got a yard of marine carpet at Econo Sales.  It's 72" wide and I cut it down the middle so I had 2 pieces 18X72.  One of the pieces fit across the floor in the back protecting the carpet.  Cut the other piece in half, one for each side of the front keeping it clean.  The marine carpet won't mildew when it gets wet. 
A third item I keep in my car is a piece of ripstop nylon.  When the kids have muddy behinds, I put the ripstop on the seat before they get in.  It folds us easily and just hose down and hang dry.