Often, I seem to walk out of the local building supply with a free paint stick or two.  This is most prevelant during gardening season, I mean fence painting season.  Not only are the sticks great for stirring paint, they make great markers for plant varieties. I label my paint sticks with a Sharpie and stick it in the soil. The large markers are easier to spot than a popsicle stick (but those are good too), even when surrounded with large foliage.