The hard part is over. You painted your entire house or you’ve finally gotten your living room just the right shade of beige. But what do you do with the leftover paint? Depending how much is left, there are a couple of options.

Re-use:

Stored properly, paint can last for years. Keep your cans lidded and wrapped in plastic wrap and store them upside down at room temperature. This keeps the air out to avoid drying. By holding on to your left over paint, you can use it for touch ups or paint small areas of your home. Light colors can be re-tinted at certain retailers so your paint looks exactly as it did when you first applied it. Older paints can even be mixed with latex paints for base coats on new walls.

Image via: Pablo McLoud

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Trash it:

If you have no use for your left over paint, or just not enough to use anywhere, you are going to have to dispose of the paint yourself. Gold Coast painters recommend always checking the level of paint you have in your can before you begin disposal.

Less than an inch?

Take the lid off of your can and let the paint dry naturally outside. Once dry, you can go ahead and recycle the can.

Larger amount? Method 1:

Take the lid off of your paint and pour an absorbent material into the can of paint. Kitty litter works best but a lot of shredded paper can also do the trick. Place the can with the lid off outside to dry. It can take a day or two for the paint to dry completely. Throw the entire can in the trash. You can opt to leave the can uncapped by your trash can to make sure sanitation officers know you are being compliant.

Image via: Joe DeMaio

Larger amount, Method 2:

Dump the leftover paint into a trash friendly container filled with kitty litter. Let the original can dry outside and recycle. Once the paint and kitty litter mix is dry, throw it in the trash.

Always remember to make sure your paint is water or latex-based before disposing of it yourself. Oil based paints must be delivered to hazardous waste centers and never put in the trash. Some of these rules vary by state, so check your local laws before putting anything possibly hazardous into the trash.

For more DIY ideas on Stagetecture, & Stagetecture’s YouTube Channel, click here.