Are you tackling a home painting project this weekend? Worried about splattering paint all over your favorite couch or it dripping onto your moldings? Fear not! Here are some painting hacks that will help make the job easier and cleaner for everyone involved:

Clean and Prep

Cleaning walls or the ceiling you are going to paint will ensure the paint sticks rather than peel or chip off later. Use a degreaser to clean the wall, following the directions on a bottle, or dust and wipe down walls that aren’t too dirty.

If you’re working on an area that is already plagued by chipped and peeling paint, or are redecorating the room entirely and will likely need to fill nail holes, now is the time to do so. Fill in nail holes with spackle, then sand scrape away any peeling paint and uneven surfaces. If you start off with this, you’ll then want to wipe down the walls to make sure no dust or dirt is left behind.

Wash Rollers

New or not, you’ll want to wash these before you start painting to ensure that any loose fibers or debris are removed. Otherwise you might end up with some foreign objects embedded in your dry paint.

Tape off the Edges

Use a painter’s tape to cover moldings and separate the walls from the ceiling to ensure that you have a clean line between the end of the paint job and beginning of your moldings or ceiling. Run a putty knife over the tape to get rid of any air bubbles that might result in paint leaking through.

Don’t worry about taping off windows. Use a razor to scrap any dried paint off the windows later.

Remove Outlets

Taking off all outlets and light switch covers will guarantee that you cannot see where the paint job ends and the covers begin. You’ll just want to put tape over the outlets to make sure no paint gets on them. Keep everything together (covers and screws) in a plastic bag for safe storage.

Cotton or Rosin Paper

Lay down a cloth to protect your floors. No need for a plastic, tarp, or bedsheets here! Cotton cloths are safer and stay in place on a carpet, so you don’t have to tape them down. If you’re working on a wood, vinyl, or tiled floor, you should use rosin paper. This does need to be taped down but, once it is, it provides a non-slip barrier between your floor and rouge paint. Both will stop splattered paint from seeping through to your floor.

Paint

It’s key to have a plan of attack when painting a wall. First, you want to outline the wall or ceiling with paint. There are special tools for this that will help you make the lines as clean as possible, rather than using a paintbrush that will have a different effect than using a roller. If you do use a paintbrush, make sure you do the rest of the painting while these lines are still wet so that they blend well.

After you’ve finished outlining, it’s best to start at the top and work your way down a wall. Not only will it keep you organized, but you can work away any dripping paint as you work your way down. For a ceiling, work with small sections at a time and feather out the edges to reduce visible layering in the paint. Think ombre.

Finishing Up

Credit: Lauren Coolman

Congratulations! You’ve finished painting your room. You might be excited to see the finished product, but it is important to let paint dry entirely before you remove the tape. Removing it only once the paint is dry will ensure a crisp, clean line.

Once the room is dry and you’ve removed the tape, you can start redecorating and enjoy the hard work you put into your room makeover.