Up-cycle your old squeeze ketchup bottles. I use them to store my leftover water based paints. I use a funnel to pour the paint into the bottle and a rubber spatula to scrap the remaining paint from the can. Nothing is wasted, the empty can is nearly spotless.
This page contains the following solutions.
When you are done with a small glass jar with a screw lid, wash both pieces well and dry. The next time you have a paint job before putting the lid on the can, pour some into your little jar and store it.
Cut a piece of aluminum foil and place it directly on top of the paint. You can use the paint can lid as a template for cutting the foil.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have paint in very large containers that my painter used to paint my entire house. How can I put some in smaller containers that I can actually use to touch up small areas? Thank you.
I pour it into pint jars and put a piece of plastic wrap over the jar before screwing the lid on. Then I write on a piece of freezer tape the color, where I bought it, and when and where I used it and stick it to the side of the jar.
Don't remember what they cost, but Home Depot & Lowe's have a thingy made for this purpose. Even has a brush attached so you can unscrew it, do the touchup & put the cover back on.
If you have an automotive paint supplier close by, they sell cone shaped strainers and small (pint) paint cans. Be sure to keep the lid off the old can as it should have the "recipe" for the paint code on it.
I reuse baby food jars just for this purpose. I have one jar for each different paint color in my house. I just labeled the jars with the paint's location, and voila! Any time I need to touch up, it's easy to just grab the little jar and a paintbrush and get to work.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
To be thrifty with my storage space, I save the leftover paint in a small gladware type container rather than the large paint can.
