Are You Painting this Weekend?

If you’re needing to transform a space in your home but your budget is tight, paint is probably the easiest and cheapest solution. If you’re wanting to save even more money, you’re going to want to do it yourself so here are a few tips and tricks to make the job a little easier and less aggravating.

·        One of the first things to do is get a rough measurement of the wall space that you will be working on. This will give you an idea of how much paint you will need to buy. Most stores that sell paint have estimation tools as well so just plug in your wall space and you will know how many gallons of paint to purchase. You will avoid making two trips to the store and possibly not getting a perfect match for color otherwise.

·        While you are at the store, if you don’t already have them, buy good paint brushes and rollers. Don’t buy that dollar store paint brush. You will end up with brush strokes on the walls and bristles falling off in your paint.

·        Prepare the surface to be painted by cleaning it. Don’t use harsh cleaners or your paint may not adhere. One of the simplest ways is to use a dusting product so that all surface dust and dirt will be swept off the surface of the walls. Or just use a rag dampened with some water if you need a little more elbow grease.

·        If you are not done with painting but just need to take a break (or go to bed) put your brush in an air tight zipper bag and squeeze all the air out before you zip it up. Your brush will be ready to go when you return. Similarly, you can use a grocery or garbage bag and do the same thing with a paint roller. No need to clean brushes until you are done with the job.

·         If you have run out of paint pan liners, you can use tinfoil or plastic wrap to line the pan. You can also use tinfoil or plastic wrap to cover up door knobs so no paint accidentally gets on them.

·         A large rubber band that you stretch over the top of your paint can serves as a great surface to wipe off excess paint from your brush.

·         Drill a few holes in the lip of your paint can so that the paint that collects there (after you dump paint into the pan) can drain back into the can.

·        If you have some paint drips on your tile or wood floors and a wet rag isn’t cleaning them up, an alcohol wipe or a facial cleansing wipe works great!

Unfortunately, there’s no easy trick to picking out the perfect color of paint but these tips will make the rest of the job a little easier.