- 10 Tightwad Tips For Painting a Room
- By:
Tawra Kellam
One of the easiest ways to save
money re-decorating is to paint a room yourself. It can cost
anywhere from $200-$500 to have one room painted. Painting it
yourself, you can do it for under $30. Here are some tips that
we have used to save money painting:
1. Check your local hazardous waste recycling center
for free or low cost paint. I’ve painted many rooms and
pieces of furniture just by checking their free paint section.
I painted the entire exterior of our house for $45 using three
of their low cost five gallon buckets of brand new but leftover
construction paint.
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2. Use an old sheet or spend $1.00 for one at a
thrift store to use as a drop cloth. Sheets are heavier than
the plastic drop cloths at the store and will last for many rooms
of painting. Hang over a clothesline or fence to dry before folding
and storing.
3. When removing the outlet and switch covers, put
the screws back into the holes so they don’t get lost. You
can also put the covers and screws in a zip top sandwich bag.
4. Line your roller pan by putting a plastic grocery
sack or trash sack (inside out if it has writing on it) on the
paint tray. Then you can just invert the sack when you’re
done and throw it away. |
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5. Poke four or five holes with a nail in the groove
on the top of the can. That way the paint doesn’t get stuck
in the groove around the edge of the can and make a mess when
you put the lid back on.
6. Use the paint at the bottom of the paint can
when nearly empty to paint the trim. I got enough paint out of
this “empty” gallon to do the entire room’s trim.
Use the leftovers at the bottom
of "empty" paint cans to paint trim or to touch up
7. Don’t use painter’s tape. Painting
is just like coloring inside the lines in school. Use a small,
one-inch, angled paintbrush and slowly go around the edges. It
takes less time than putting up and taking down tape. Keep a
wet rag by your side in case you make small mistakes. Some tape
also lets the paint bleed through, so it’s not a very clean
finish.
8. Store your rollers and brushes in a plastic grocery
sack between paintings. You don’t have to clean them after
each use if you keep them from drying out. Refrigerate overnight
or freeze them if you are going to not be painting for several
days or weeks.
9. Turn the ceiling fan on in a room to speed up
drying time.
10. When you’re done with your painting clothes,
turn them inside out as you take them off. This way, you don’t
accidentally get wet paint on anything. |
