Latex paint out of carpet

My mom thinks I am lazy. She thinks my laziness is why my house looks now the same way it did when we moved in 2 plus years ago. It's not laziness it is incompetency. No kidding. Often I will get inspired and try to do something but never fails, it always ends in disaster. Let me give you a recent example. As recent as today.

My inspiration came from my friend S. She was painting her child's room and I thought, you know, W needs a boy room. Something that looks pulled together. I should have stopped right there. Atleast I reduced the size of my dream. Originally I was going to paint his whole room and then I decided to just paint the inside of his bookshelves and start small. Baby steps, you know.

S gave me advice about where to go and how to paint, about the blue tape yada yada. The sheer amount of colors was overwhelming me. I picked one and it was heinous. Color is hard, especially blue. I was discouraged. Aunt Liz and Uncle Bob to the rescue. They helped me pick a color and I was back on track. Then the sweetest old man at the paint store, a customer, offered to help me. He pulled everything I needed for me and told me just what to do. I got home and realized after painting a section that the primer stunk and it was 5:30 in the afternoon and that there was no way W could sleep in there.

Incompetence. Should have done it in the morning. Ugh!

I couldn't clean the brush or the roller because it was oil based.

More incompetence.

I went back to the store today and got mineral spirits to clean the brush. Feeling better and ready to roll. I got upstairs. Shook up my paint, opened it....Ooooh! I need a wet rag for wiping up small mistakes (this tip I got from the sweet old man who told me I didn't need blue tape) so I ran to the bathroom to fetch my rag. I am feeling like a real painter at this point. I got back to

W's room and shook THE PAINT ALL OVER ME AND W'S NICE WALL-TO-WALL RUG! (forgot it was already open) I am screaming and Pman is just watching and Jessie, thank goodness she was here,came running up. There is blue EVERYWHERE!!!! I called S screaming! and we could have been a commercial for GOOGLE. Because she says, "Oh no! Google it!!!"

So I did and low and behold it worked. It took about an hour but you can barely tell what went down.

The total incompetence of it all just kills me. We're not a handy folk, my side of the family, but then again neither is J's. Anyway, this is how we cleaned up the mess.

(Actually, that wet washrag that the sweet old man told me to have handy, DID come in handy.)

1. blot, blot, blot with a ton of water. Blot from the outside in. DO NOT WIPE. Only blot. and get the carpet really wet.
2. Put dishwashing detergent in water and blot until you can't blot anymore. It can be sudsy. Don't worry.
3. Blot with a dry towel in between the blotting. It will pull up all of the moisture and the latex paint up with it. Be patient. It takes awhile.
4. Once it looks like you have gotten all of the paint up, vacuum. and continue blotting with a towel. It helps to blot with your feet..with shoes on.

So we are back on track. I have painted the first section of wall. and I still have 3 more to go. My only fear is that the whole cycle will begin again. Nothing is easy, for me anyway.

P.s. Don't tell J. There is no reason that he has to know.