I went overboard buying paint

If you’re not careful, although you’re trying to save money, you may find yourself spending more than you expect.  That happened to me….  

After completing the two foyers I was so thrilled with the transformation a can of paint could make I went on a paint spending spree.  My sister had told me about the “oops” paint, paint that was returned or not purchased and I found myself going to Kelly’s, Sherwin Williams and AID looking and buying “oops”.  It wasn’t until I took inventory of my stock that I realized I had purchased three gallons of paint that was almost similar in color - three different shades of light green, then there was this other color I purchased I didn't even like, I bought it because it cost around $15 I regrettably used it in my Master Bath thinking it would look better on the walls then it did in the can....  So remember “oops” paint is okay only if you’re looking for a particular color and you're ready to paint.

Another difficulty was determining the types of paint to buy.  At the time I only knew about two types of paint high-gloss and flat.  For my door trims I purchased two gallons of high gloss (a maroonish & evergreen) when actually one quart of each would have been enough.  I'm a little better now, but I still struggle, the important thing is research.  There's a lot of information out there to help us out, we just need to look for it.

Here’s an interesting video that helped me out. 

And you can try this paint calculator if you're unsure about how much paint to buy.

Paint may be reasonable in the U.S. but in The Bahamas paint can be expensive.  Two gallons of high gloss cost approx $60 per gallon.  The “oops” paint that I purchased cost me somewhere around $10 - $20 per gallon, so at the time it wasn’t a cost saving.  But now as I work on projects I seldom have to purchase paint, so I guess I’m beginning to see a savings, but it’s a pain trying to store it.

Painting can be one of the cheapest and easiest ways to improve your home, but wait until you’re ready to paint before buying paint, determine the color and type of paint you’ll need, check your inventory and most importantly don’t rush, take your time deciding on the color, paint might be cheap but it’s a lot of work and sweat having to paint over your work – believe me, I’ve done it plenty of times!
LET YOUR CREATIVITY FLOW!