Works For Me: Paint Jars

My real-life friend Kelly offered up this little tip for me to share with you.

(And can I just pause here to say that one of the things that works for me best is having smart friends?  Moving on.)

Kelly just had a bunch of painting done at her house, and she knew, with a houseful of sons, that frequent touch-ups would be required.  So before she sealed up each can of paint, she put a small amount of each color in a separate glass jar, and she labeled each jar for its specific room. 

Now, when she needs to do a touch-up, she doesn't have to lug out the entire can of paint, and deal with the messy lid.  She simply gets the appropriate glass jar and a small paintbrush, and she's all set for a quick repair job.

Sheer brilliance, I say.

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Comments

[Blue Castle]

That is a brilliant idea! I will be implementing this from now on. Glad you have such creative friends! :)

[The Happy Housewife]

Awesome idea, I just painted my whole house!
You have some smart friends!
Toni

[Kelly @ Pass the Torch]

Our mode of operations has always been "move before it needs it too badly." I suppose this would be a better system;))

[Daiquiri]

Oh, that is a great idea! I'll bet the paint keeps better that way too. It always seems that a 1/2 empty paint can goes bad in a year or so. Maybe a smaller jar filled to the top (less air in it) would keep better?

I'm gonna try it! Thanks :)

[Becky]

I agree! Kelly's tip is genius. : )

[Domestic Spaz]

Not THAT is a great idea! We won't be painting until the kids are old enough that they won't wreck it IMMEDIATELY, but I'll remember this for when we do!

[Sheila at Dodging Raindrops]

I sure wish we had some extra paint left for us by the previous owners of our house.

[Nicole @ Life in Progress]

We do something similar by saving what's left of paint we might need again in these Rubbermaid paint containers. We use the label to write the paint color and room name. The paint stays better longer, and I never have to pry off a rusty paint lid!

I also wanted to thank you Shannon for hosting the WFMW carnival. It's a lot of fun for us, but I'm sure it's a lot of work for you. So, thank you - your efforts are appreciated!

[craftylildevil]

Boy, I wish I would have done this when we painted our entire house! Every room is a different color and needs touch ups. I am not looking forward to trying to find which paint I need where and dealing with the yucky lid. What a great idea! I am SO doing this next time I get that paint out! Thanks!

[Lori P]

Love this idea! I may get out there to the garage tomorrow, and flll me some jars...thanks!

[Kristin (The Goat)]

I am painting someones house right now and just went out and bought some new quart containers to make up a little "Home Kit" for the new owners. This is an excellent tip! Thanks Shannon!

[Audra Krell]

This is a really great tip, that is going to change our lives. Paint peels so badly in the hot Arizona sun and we never have the right thing around to go and match colors with. Thanks for sharing!

[Andrea@Cup of Jesus]

I love this idea - and I have some painting to do this summer, so I will keep this tip in mind!

[World's Greatest Mommy]

This is a fabulous idea. We're repainting in a few weeks, and I will for sure keep this in mind.

[Mandy]

This is a really GREAT idea!! We are FINALLY dwindeling down the entire house remodel project and I was just wondering what to do with the extra paint! Thanks!!

[citystreams]

That is such a fabulous idea Shannon. I can think of at least three spots in my house that I wish I could touch up with matching paint. Genius idea!

[Nancy]

Great idea! One of my friends just helped her SIL paint her house. I'll have to tell her to pass this on. - Nancy

[Felicity]

Brilliant idea!!

[Karen {simply a musing blog}]

What a super idea. I still have 3 nearly-empty paint cans in the hall closet - think I'll do this tomorrow!

[Julie]

I've always wanted to get these ballpoint paint pens for those quick touch up jobs. No paint brush required.

http://gottaget1.blogspot.com/2007/11/hate-touching-up-your-walls-get.html

My house has about 8 different colors in it so going through the mostly empty gallon jars is a pain.

[Connie]

This is the kind of idea that is so obvious and so brilliant that we should have heard about it on Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray before. Thanks!

[Dot]

I've done this for years. My only problem is losing the little jars! But that's a personal problem that would not affect the tip. LOL

[Wild Squirrel]

This is a great tip. I also like to add the extra sticker they give you at the store to a page in my household notebook, just in case we have to have more paint mixed up. The one on the can usually gets so messy!

[Runningamuck]

THIS, my friend, is a fabulous idea!!

[Lisa @ Stop And Smell The Chocolates]

The paint jar idea is very smart!

[Mrs. Q]

Fabulous tip that I will definitely be utilizing soon!

[Dawn W]

My hubby did this, too, when the kids were little and he was constantly touching up the walls. He used old peanut butter jars.

[Kerry]

That's a great idea. I wish I had done that when we painted the whole house. Hubby has a habit of "patching" things that only he can see :P, so we have little white spots everywhere...if only I had a mini jar!!!

[Jenni]

Yes, brilliant!

[Colleen]

Neat idea; I'll have to remember that the next time we paint. Have a great week!

[Heather]

Thanks for this great idea Shannon!

[Brianna @ Heart(h) Management]

Oh, good idea! I have a file folder where I keep all of my home info, and I include paint chips from all of the different rooms. If I'm shopping for decor, I can take along the paint chips to get a better idea of what will match.

[Cassandra Stafford]

really....why didn't I think of that....will remeber it now though. :)

[Nichole]

Kelly is brilliant.

[Rena]

My mother-in-law does this great tip!

Moms of toddlers....check out my How to Tame a Toddler WFMW! ;)

[Melene]

Oh how I wish the former owners of this house would have thought of that. That is one great idea!

[Heather]

AH! It's Wednesday already?!?! I had a WFMW idea, too. But I thought it was Tuesday...Anyway. LOL

That is a really great idea your friend has.

[Katie in Ohio]

I love these tips. So fun and so fabulous!

[Wife and Mommy]

GREAT idea! I have plenty of touching up to do and I dread lugging out the paint cans. I'm definitely going to implement this idea!

[Kim]

When we bought our previous house new, the builders left baby food jars of paint for everything including the garage door. They also marked the name and type on each lid so that we could purchase more if we needed to (as they didn't leave the original tins).

[threeundertwo]

When we had the whole house repainted after our recent remodel, the painter actually did this for us! So smart. He must have been around kids before.

And yes, I've already had to get out those jars. *sigh*

[Heather L.]

Great idea! I use old film canisters for mine. Remember those? LOL!

Thanks for hosting!

[Brenda]

This is a great idea!

[Kirstin]

That's a great idea. Since we're getting ready to paint I'll have to remember it.

[EEEEMommy]

I agree! Having creative and ingeneous friends definitely works for me! :)
Once I finally get around to painting, I'll have to remember this idea!
Thanks!

[Storm at All Things Cherished]

AWESOME idea!

[Fifi Flowers]

That paint tip is a great idea! Then I don't have to wait for hubby to do touch ups!

[Linds]

Great idea!

[Heather]

I LOVE this idea! So easy, and so useful! Plus, I like the idea of not having to root around in the spider-infested corner of the garage to find the paint I need :)

[Tami]

What a great idea. We are getting ready to pain and we will implement this because we have 3 boys and they are pretty destructive.

[Soutenus]

I also use this paint idea!! Here is another great tip: put your paint brush in the freezer and you can use it the next day with no hassles. Just let it thaw and you are good to go. I wrap it in a plastic grocery bag to keep things neat :-)

[Olivia]

Thanks for the good tip!

[Crystal]

This was my first WFMW post. I hope to continue. I haven't had to paint my kids' room but once but if I decide to paint them again I will use this tip. Thanks.

[AmyDe]

Great idea - I always forget to do this.

[GiBee]

And the small jars are easier to store in a dark cool place, because the big cans of paint tend to go bad after a while... Very smart!

[Karin]

This is a great tip and one I wish I had thought of six years ago when we moved in and painted our entire interior. I can't tell you how many times I've lugged those big ol' paint cans out!

[Cathy]

LOVE that idea too! btw, I started writing things that I wish I knew in my 20's for today's post, and realized that these are lots of things that I want to pass on to my daughters. I'm thinking I could make this WFMW a habit. I know, I'm slow. :)

[Mom Of Faith]

This is a great idea...we're in the process of buying a house and I'll be painting both my girls rooms and this is just perfect! Thank you so much for sharing!

[Tonya]

great idea!!

[Lauren]

That's such a great idea. You could also get sample sizes (if possible) of the paint to keep, so you don't have to mess with filling the jars. But not all paint comes in those small sample jars, so this is really helpful for those situations. I just had to go through a bunch of paint the other day to find my living room color for my mom to test to use in her house. It would've been much nicer to have a small jar of it ... much less to stir!

[Katy]

Ack! I didn't know you did this every week. The paint idea is great!

Katy
http://mynutvillage.com/

[Missy @ It's Almost Naptime]

Man alive. Where were you three years ago when I painted my now much marred family room??

[Tina]

Not to rain on the parade, but that doesn't always work. We tried that, and our touched up areas look a different shade from the rest of the wall. I'm not sure if the wall changed color due to sunlight, if the saved paint didn't get mixed up well or separated over time (even though I shook it up really well), or if if the wall is so dingy the new paint shows up (sadly I think that's the case). We now have a spot that hides my son's art, but it still stands out and we need to repaint the whole wall.

[Gina Abbas]

Thanks for hosting this. I always learn so much.

[onemotherslove]

That's a great paint tip. We're building a house, painting soon & I will definately use that tip! Thanks!

[Kalisha]

I never thought to do that--so clever! What works for me is the homemade dry erase chore chart I made for myself. You can see it at http://ajourneythrufaith.wordpress.com

[kim]

I have done this also, but a warning: make sure the lid and rim are very clean and dry of any paint or else you will never get the lid off again! That is the one big downside to this method. I think there's a reason those paint lids are made to pry off!

[AliAnn]

I love this idea. I actually first saw this on a friend's blog where she not only filled the jars but used them as part of her decor.
She says, "The jars looked so pretty full, and then I realized that they matched everything (of course). So.... what can I say?"
Such a great idea.
Her gorgeous pictures are here: (scroll way down)
http://ellieskees.blogspot.com/2008/05/our-home.html

[Kelli (Writing the Waves of Motherhood)]

Awesome idea! Those big ol' paint cans are a pain...this is soooo much easier. Thanks for sharing!

[diXymiss]

What a clever idea! ThanX for the useful tip.

[Marlene]

When will you have the backwards edition of WFMW?

[Amy]

Wow what a brilliant idea! I'll be using this tip in the future. Thanks.

[Tracy]

I love WFMW and all the great tips the readers have! And please thank Kelly for that great paint jar tip, I'm about to start painting rooms and I love this idea!

[cobblestones]

Now that is a GREAT tip! We just had to go buy a new quart of paint because we couldn't find the old gallon in the abyss of the garage :) Passing this along to my husband tomorrow!

[Anne]

Love this idea - especially as I plan on painting the house later this year. Thanks again Shannon for a great WFMW

[Elizabeth]

Great idea, now why didn't I think of that!?

[Katie]

Clean baby food jars work perfectly for this purpose. I figured it out by accident when I BARELY had enough paint to save in the big can, but needed some for touch ups. I felt like the smartest sleep-deprived person on the planet! :) But I'm feeling a little less creative now...

[Katie]

Such a fabulous tip! And I love the idea of "Works for me Wednesdays". I'd never heard of them before but now I'll definitely be participating! Woohoo!