Prepping your room before painting is the most important step—seriously, who wants to spend hours painting only to end up with dust in the finish or peeling walls down the line. No, thank you. So here it is: quick and easy prep. And the best part, it’s cheap!
Quick guide: Click any step below to jump straight to what you need.
Supplies (click for links)
Not all of these are necessary. Read below and decide which products you need.
If repairs are needed:
1. Move furniture out or into the center (and cover)
- Other than when I first moved into my home, I’ve never painted in an empty room. I personally never remove all of the furniture from a room I am painting, but if you can, go you!!! It is obviously easier to paint in an empty (or almost empty) room, however, you can also simply move all of the furniture into the center of the room. Give yourself as much space as possible to paint! If you do leave the furniture, cover everything with old sheets. (I have a stash of them that I use for every painting project.) If you want to get fancy, you can get plastic tarps like these or cloth drop clothes like this. Whichever you use, save them for future projects. I’m all about not being wasteful (and it saves you money).
- One thing to consider: I was super excited to try out my new adjustable extension pole during my last paint job. One thing I truly didn’t consider was space. You need a few feet clearance to use the extension poles like this one. I was smacking into everything and had to tone it down and get my small paint roller frame.
2. Remove vents and outlet plates
- Some people like to simply paint around the outlet plates and vents, but I personally don’t like that, because it can paint them to the wall. Then if you ever need to remove them, part of your paint (or wall) goes with it. Trust me, I’ve done it and didn’t enjoy taking a chunk out of my wall and then needing to use a razor blade to remove the rest.
- If you want to paint the vents, remove them, clean (they’ll be dirtier than you’d like), then paint. Watch for drips!
- The outlet covers are a little trickier. You want the outlet and outlet plate to be the same color. I would just buy whatever color you want them all to be. Some people paint over them. You should never do this. When you take plugs in and out of the outlet, chips of paint inevitably get inside of the outlet. This is a fire hazard. When I painted my first room, my dad told me never to paint them…so what did I do? Immediately painted them thinking he was overreacting. Well, Google it. You should never paint them.
3. Repair any damages to the walls
- Get out your spackle, putty knife, and sandpaper!
- Always make sure the walls are free of dust prior to patching. I like to wipe the walls down with TSP alternate (Phosphate free…I’ll get into that in #4) prior to repairing.
- Gashes and small nail holes should be patched with different products. For larger gashes and holes, you can use a heavy duty spackle like this one (purple below), then sand. For small nail holes, I like this lightweight spackle. No sanding required!
- Let products dry completely.
4. Wash the walls and baseboards
- We already know how dirty baseboards are (if you don’t, I’m sorry to do this to you…look down), but walls get dusty, too. Dust sticks better to microfiber cloth, so use that along with a mixture of watered down TSP alternative to clean prior to painting. (When using TSP, follow the TSP to water ratio and wear rubber gloves.)
- If you don’t want to use TSP, you can mix lukewarm water with a little dish soap. If you choose this option, rinse with water!
- Let the walls fully dry before painting
- If you want to get fancy, or if you just have tall walls, here’s a wall cleaning tool with a long handle.
5. Vacuum
This one’s pretty straight forward – Vacuum the floor, paying close attention to the perimeter and baseboards.
6. Tape (if needed)
- Tape up any areas you want clean straight lines (like the baseboards) or areas that you need protected (like glass around a window).
- Any bleeding through can be touched up at the end.
- I personally like Frog tape. I’ve tried a few others and this brand seems to cut cleaner, crisper lines.
- The yellow Frog tape should be used on already painted/delicate surfaces.
- The green Frog tape can be used on any other surface: painted surfaces (not newly painted or delicate surfaces), glass, carpet, etc.
- Tip: After applying, run your fingernail over the tape to create a good seal.
- Not a prep tip, but a tape tip in general: I do not leave the tape on for too long after I paint. I try to find the perfect time that the paint is starting to dry but not fully dry. If you take it off too soon, the wet paint can get pretty messy. If you wait too long, I’ve seen the tape either take off some of the paint or the tape gets stuck.
7. Cover the floors
- I simply use old sheets, but you can purchase drop clothes (cloth or plastic) if you want. Make sure to cover all the way to the baseboard and any other part you feel may drip.
8. Get yourself organized and ready
- Gather all of your materials so you don’t need to stop mid-paint job.
- Make sure you have the following ready:
- Paper towels or a wet rag in case of any drips
- Paint brushes, multiple sizes
- Roller frame and roller
- Paint trays and liners
- 2 plastic bags: one for garbage and the other can be laid out to put the paint tray on. I don’t take any chances when it comes to pouring the paint into the trays or plastic cups. Lay some plastic down!
- If painting the ceiling, get some protective eyewear
- Ladder or step stool
- Stir the paint! -see below
- Extra lights – see below
*Stir the paint – This may seem obvious, but do not paint if it looks like there is any film on the top of the paint. I’ve seen paint wipe right off of walls because the paint wasn’t stirred enough. If needed, take it to a home improvement store for them to shake the can.
*Extra Light – Bring in some extra lighting before you start!
No-Cost Trick: My house doesn’t get much natural light, so I used to gather every floor lamp I could find and aim them at the wall while I painted. Nothing fancy, but it worked!
Worthy Investment (for me at least): I finally bought a construction-grade work light for my garage projects—now I use it all over the house. Bright, portable, and totally game-changing for late-night or low-light painting.
