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Remodeling is a fun and exciting way for homeowners to spice up their homes. With a slower economy, many are choosing easy, do-it-yourself projects to stretch their paychecks and meet lower budgets. One of the most common of these is interior painting.

"Nearly everyone agrees that some jobs, like reroofing or electrical work, are best left to the pros, but most people think they can do their own painting," said Debbie Zimmer, spokesperson for the Paint Quality Institute. "And, generally speaking, they're right."

According to Zimmer, many people regard painting as a weekend project. As such, they want to see some results by Sunday’s end. "That's a realistic goal, but to achieve it, you have to plan out the job and be well-organized," she said.

1. Move all of the furniture out of the way. Push it to the center of the room, and use plastic sliders for heavy items to avoid heavy lifting. Cover all couches and furniture with plastic, blankets or old sheets. Drop-cloths are a great idea and will protect your floors from accidental sprays of paint.

2. Cleanse all of the surfaces you are going to paint with a sponge and household detergent solution. You definitely want a clean surface before starting the job. Give the surfaces ample time to dry before continuing.

3. No one likes multiple trips to the store—make a list and grab all the necessary paint, tools and accessories you need in one fell swoop. The Paint Quality Institute has a helpful checklist at www.paintquality.com.

4. Buy 100 percent acrylic latex interior paint. It’s technologically advanced and top quality. Some of these durable paints serve as a double agent—as both a primer and paint—and are better at hiding whatever color is underneath. Another plus, you may only need a single coat. It’s a great way to save time, money and effort.

5. Tape the edges of surfaces that you will be painting. Doing so will help you quicken the job, saving lots of your precious time. In addition, it’s way neater too.

6. Working from the top down is the smartest way to tackle the project. Paint the ceiling first, then move on to the walls, the windows and trim, and lastly, paint the baseboards. Following this exact order will prevent paint spatter or drip marks and will also prevent you from needing to do much touch-up work.

7. Assuming that you use the paint suggested above, clean up will be simple. These types of paints are water-based and can quickly be cleaned off of painting tools with just soap and water.

8. Another plus to using top quality latex paint: it won’t have as strong of a paint smell. You can put a freshly-painted room back into service almost immediately.

Source: The Paint Quality Institute