Shorter Time Frame

To paint a room or large area in the least amount of time possible. use a 12" or 18" roller.  These two rollers hold more paint then a 9" roller and cover a area faster. With the 18" roller you can knock a project out in half the time, if not shorter. Use the 9" or smaller for , small jobs, jobs with a lot of corners or cuts like a kitchen area.

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Cleaning Your Tools

When cleaning your brush, rollers and pads, when using latex paint. Wash brushes in warm or hot water, then add soap and use a small wire brush to get paint from in between bristle and rinse well. After rinsing your brushes, shake all access water out and dry them with a rag. Then wrap them in plastic wrap and hang them for storage. With rollers, use a 5 in 1 tool to squeeze out all access paint and then follow steps for cleaning out brushes. As for pads use the steps for brushes. When using oil based paint, use a paint thinner. Soak brush, rollers and pads in paint thinner. Rinse in warm or hot water, then adding soap and use a small wire brush to get paint from in between bristle and rinse again. When finish, wrap in plastic wrap and hang for storage as well.

Left Over Paint

Save that small amount of paint, left over from a job, in a screw-top jar. First cover top of jar with a strip of plastic wrap and then close tightly with lid. This will be your reserve for those inevitable touch-up job.

Basic Painting Tools

A big wallbrush (3 1/2 or 4 in.), a trim brush (about 2 in.), and a "sash tool" (about 1 or 1 1/2 in.) are the most useful brushes. Angled sash tool is the easiest to use. For rolling, you need a tray and various rollers. The 9 in. size goes faster. Use a long-nap roller for rough surfaces, one with a short pile for smooth surfaces. You'll find many different conical and V-shaped roller for corner, close-to-trim, and other difficult situations. And a 2 in. wide roller is handy for working between windows and in other narrow areas.