Storing Paint

** I have updated our old ways of storing paint! Check it out here!

Storing paint is such a pain. No joke! I wish there was a way to keep a tiny amount for touch ups and get rid of the rest. I am WAY too stingy to throw away perfectly good paint, and because it doesn't tolerate temperature change well, keeping it inside is the best bet.

We keep our paint in out hall closet, tucked back in the corner under a shelf (right next to our Emergency Kit). After years of digging through this closet looking for a certain paint (did I mention that this closet doesn't have a light?) I decided there had to be a better way. I have heard of people taping paint swatches in the corner of a bedroom's closet, or writing the paint color on the top the door moulding, but to me this is by far easier.

I labeled the top of each can (with my handy dandy label maker) with the room it goes to.

I made sure to keep the original color visible, and also the barcode. The barcode will give a 100% perfect match if you ever need another can. It's more reliable than just the paint swatch.

So there's all my paint labeled. I did "undo" the stacks a little bit to make it easier to see. How in the world did we end up with so many colors anyways??

When the can is empty I always keep the top of the paint can. When we move this won't be necessary to keep because I can just go from the paint swatch, but while we're here it'll save my life if I need touch up paint. It'll save me the headache from here of what sheen to use.

I also keep our current paint swatches in my home binder. If I need to know if something matches our paint I'll whip out my swatches (since I always have them with me- at least in my car) and make the decision right there in the store.

It takes up a lot of precious real estate in that closet, but paint is a pretty big deal in a home!