A bathroom might be the smallest room in your home, but painting those small walls can take longer than you might expect. A trick to cutting down on the painting process is planning ahead: decluttering, cleaning and caulking the bathroom before you put that first layer of paint on the walls.

Step One: Declutter
Because of all the angles and corners, bathrooms can be tricky and time-consuming. Brushing and cutting in takes more time than rolling paint. To cut down on painting time, remove everything that could get in the way of your painting.

Start with the vanity and move on to the shower stall and tub. Remove anything that sits on those small shelves. Not only will it cut down on accidental paint blotches, it will prevent those items from being accidentally knocked over.

Next, move onto the switchplates. Towel bars, hooks and toilet paper holders are easy to remove. They are usually attached to a mounting bracket with very small set screws. If you don't have a tiny screwdriver, the tip of a sharp steak knife works just as well.

If possible, take the mirror down. Lights above the sink are sometimes a curlicue mess of multiple shades and decorative hardware. If you are comfortable with working with electrical things, shut the fuse off and take the whole light fixture down. If this isn't feasible, at least remove the shades.

Take the top of the toilet tank off. If you have fan grates or vents, remove those too. They can be left white or painted, but it is easiest to paint them off the wall to get to all of the detailed parts of the pieces.

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