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Step 1
Take lightweight furniture or other movable items out of the room that is being painted. Push heavy items into the center of the room and cover with plastic drop cloths to protect them from paint drips.
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Step 2
Place plastic sheeting over the entire floor, and secure it with masking tape along the floor's edges. For extra protection, put down a canvas drop cloth on top of the plastic sheeting.
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Step 3
Take off electrical outlet covers, light switch covers, register covers and light fixtures. If a room's light fixture is too difficult to take down, tie a garbage bag around the light fixture to protect it from paint. Once outlet and light switch covers are removed, place masking tape over the exposed areas.
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Step 4
Tape off trim and the glass in windows with masking tape to protect them from paint drips.
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Step 5
Remove peeling wallpaper, if applicable. Or you can use a wall covering primer to prep wallpapered areas that are in good shape.
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Step 6
Scrape off any old, peeling paint from the area you are prepping to paint. Scrape firmly to get the paint off, but not too hard to damage the underlying surface.
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Step 7
Sand surfaces that need to be smoothed before painting. You only must sand if you remove wallpaper or scrape off old paint.
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Step 8
Vacuum and dust the surfaces of the room that you are painting so that no dust gets into the fresh paint. Use a cleaning solution to wash any surfaces that have soap or grease film.
