A relatively quick way to freshen up a stale home is to get busy painting the interior. The dullest of rooms can be given a new life with a simple coat of paint. Some people don't enjoy painting because of all of the clean-up work that follows, but you can make clean-up much easier for yourself. Here, you will learn several tips that will help you do just that.

Tape Off Edges

As time consuming as taping the edges is, you will save yourself a lot of grief by doing so. Even those with the steadiest hand will slip up here and there and could ruin trim if tape isn't applied to the edges. Quality painter's tape will come off cleanly and won't leave sticky residue behind for you to clean up after the painting project is complete.

Line the Tray

Use aluminum foil or plastic bags to line your paint tray. This way, when you are done painting, you simply ball up the foil or bags and toss them in the trash. There will be no need to spend time scraping dried paint out of a tray that you have forgotten about or washing wet paint out of the tray.

Preserve Your Roller

Go out and buy a tube of potato chips. Eat the chips or dump them in a bag – you just want that tube. When you are done painting for a few hours or for the day, wrap the roller in plastic wrap, slide it into the chip tube and stick it in your refrigerator. This will keep the roller in good condition for your next coat of paint saving you the work that goes into cleaning and drying it.

Wrap Your Brushes

Your brushes should only need to be cleaned once – when you are done with the project. When you are done painting for a few hours or for the day, wrap the brush up in a few layers of plastic wrap and store it in the fridge. Like the roller, this will keep the paint wet and prevent the need to wash and dry your brush at the end of the day.

Cling Carpet Covering

Tarps and drop cloths can be bulky and get in the way when you are painting. Instead of messing around with them, purchase a roll of cling carpeting covering from your local home improvement store. You can stick this down on your carpet and it will stay in place until you wrap it all up after the project is complete.

These few tips can help take a lot of the work out of your painting project, but if you still aren't interested in doing your own painting, talk with a local painting contractor like Klenosky Paint to have the work done for you. Either way, you end up with a home that is refreshed and ready for a new year.