Nothing can change the appearance of a room quicker and easier than painting the walls and trim. It's also one of the least expensive home improvement projects that you can undertake, especially for the impact that it creates. So here are the steps that you need to go through to prepare a room for painting.

First of all get everything that you can out of the room. The less furniture and decorative items that you have to work around, the better. After you have done that take off the electrical faceplates and heating register covers. They are usually only held on by a couple of screws anyway, so it shouldn't be difficult to take them off. Also remove all knobs and handles that could be in close proximity to the paint. Then mask off all of the switches and receptacles in the room, and cover all the heavy furniture that is left in the room with dropcloths or bedsheets.

It's a good idea to protect the floor by running a 2 in. piece of masking tape around the edge of the entire room and then bringing your dropcloths right up to the edge of the tape.

Now is the time to remove old wallpaper if necessary, as its usually not the best idea to paint over wallpaper instead. Very often wallpaper will begin to curl a way from the wall eventually and can run your beautiful paint job.

At this point you will need to remove any paint that is chipping or peeling by scraping or sanding it off. The most important thing to keep in mind at this point is to only remove the old paint and not part of the surface itself. If the previous surface was glossy, then be sure to rough it up with some sandpaper before applying the paint.

After you are finished with scraping and sanding the walls and trim, now is the time to make sure that all the painted surfaces are clean, by washing them down with a phosphate free degreaser or cleanser. If there are mildewed areas, include some chlorine bleach in your solution to help kill the mildew. After this, let everything dry out for the next 24 hours or so.

While the room is drying, you can be masking off any areas that need to be protected. For instance, masking off the doorway if it will be a different color from the wall. If you are using a brush for painting, the kind of masking tape that you choose can be important. Most home improvement stores sell what is called "painters tape" that prevents paint from seeping through to the surface underneath and yet is still easy to remove.

Once all of this is done, you can get started with your paint job. The best way to start is to cut in all of the edges of the room first. This usually means using a brush to paint the first 3 or 4 inches in from all edges of the walls. Once you have the wall outlined with the new paint color, you can then use a roller to finish off the wall easily and quickly.

Painting your own walls and trim is a simple home improvement task if you approach it in an organized way. It's also well within the reach of almost all homeowners to be able to turn out an excellent, high-quality paint job. So why not pick a wall and get started right away?

Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including home improvement. You can find out more about bathroom remodeling ideas and basement remodeling ideas by visiting our Home Improvement website.