Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Works-For-Me-Wednesday: Vinyl Tablecloth

**For clarification’s sake, I’m talking about the vinyl, fuzzy-backed tablecloth you get in the kitchen linens section of the store, not the disposable kind you get in the party supply area.***

Since I can remember, Mom has always used a vinyl tablecloth on the kitchen table.

And with as many kids as we had running around our house (and crawling under the table), she wrapped the top of the table like a package. Taping that thing to the table kept us from certain disaster many times.

I don’t use a vinyl tablecloth on my table, but I have a couple I use for all sorts of things.

My favorite use is actually for the car. I have a mid-size SUV and when I started shopping for a cargo liner, I suffered from severe sticker shock. So I took the cheap way out and found that a strategically placed vinyl tablecloth can take care of just about anything a cargo liner can.

And the best thing is that it’s so versatile. Here are some of my favorite uses:

  • In the back, under the dog crate and anything messy (like plants, etc. from the home improvement store).
  • We’ve also used it as a seat protector when we still have wet rears from a swim (or a tipped canoe).
  • It really comes in handy when we have an impromptu picnic or enjoy some Frozen Tung shaved ice in the back of the Xterra without getting stuff everywhere.
  • Inside, I use one in the kitchen floor when I let C play with dry beans or anything messy.

And the best part? It cleans up easily and I can fold it up and put it to the side when I’m not using it. They cost about $5 (even cheaper on seasonal clearance), so when it’s worn out, I can just buy a new one.

Vinyl Tablecloths work for me! For more Works-For-Me-Wednesday, head on over to We Are THAT Family.

Pin It

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:38 AM

    Great tip! I really like the care liner idea. Now if I can just figure out how to get all the pet haor out of the auto carpet first :-P

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like using it as a seat cover for after swimming (or creeking)! Good call!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aren't those tablecloths great? And they last a LONG time (unlike the disposable ones you mentioned). I use one whenever people are sitting on the floor to eat:

    *when my 4-year-old watches TV during breakfast (blush!)

    *when we have guests and there are too many people for the table

    *when my Girl Scout troop is eating snack, the tablecloth shows them where the eating area is so they don't wander around the room scattering crumbs!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I really like the idea of using it as a seat cover in the car! How clever =)

    ReplyDelete