When you’re painting a house or apartment, you may find yourself needing to remember the names and colors as you are out shopping for decorations, linens or even more paint.

I have two hack to solve this challenge, which saves me from buying things that don’t work and need to be returned.

1. Using Notes app on my phone, I add a Folder for “home” and then a note with the list of each room, paint, paint finish and brand. This is a great tool to remember that you used semigloss when picking up a second gallon. 
2. I pick up one paint sample cards for each color used and fold them into my wallet. Even with 6 different paint colors, they take up less space than a credit card. If you’re getting the long strip with many colors, simply cut off the ones you didn’t chose. 

Between these two hacks, I always have the information I need at hand to choose paint or decor.