Is this the self-adhering stuff? I just use a drop cloth and move it around as I work.

yes it's the self adhering stuff. I also use drop cloths but have a hard time keeping them in place and close to the wall. I just put carpeting down and will paint the walls navy blue and the celing a light color. I will never get the blue out if I get it on the carpet.

We tape off the baseboards and then if you want extra protection you can buy some 3 or 6 inch paper to stick under the tape too. Then the dropcloths slide under that paper.

So if I understand correctly I should tape the rug at the bottom of the baseboard to seal the rug from the baseboard then add paper out from the baseboard, the put the drop cloths under the paper. That should work thanks.

Well, no that is not really what I meant, but that will work too if you are painting baseboards. But sometimes painting baseboards with the carpet taped down doesn't work too well. I meant taping the baseboards off at the top of the baseboards, not the bottom near the carpet. You would do this anyway in order to paint the walls, but if you add some paper to the tape, this gives you a little bit more protection

I also will be painting the baseboards, what's the best way to protect the carpet at the bottom of the baseboard?

I actually don't use any protection there. I just compress the bristles of the paintbrush so that a few bristles can sneak behind the carpet fibers without actually getting any paint on the carpet. I suppose this is an advanced technique though. You can use some tape, probably 2" would be best and you don't want to use blue tape for this. The yellow is best, something that will really stick. You really want to tape down as far as you can because you don't want to see a ridge on the baseboards from where your tape line was when you are done. You can also use a carpet shield, but I don't like this method as much because you have to keep wiping the paint off the shield.

Thanks paintguy, your feedback is really appreciated

Another view...we've used self adhesive carpet film a lot and it does work well for these situations. You can just use a brush to try to get behind it, but inevitbly you will either get paint on the carpet or miss a spot on the baseboards.

I find that if you lay out the carpet film so that its still loose on the carpet and the side nearest the wall is touching the baseboard, you can then push down and "tuck" the film under the baseboard. This way, you have th best of both worlds -- a complete barier for the bcarpet and since it tucks under, you can paint very quickly . hope this helps!

Here is a link that might be useful: polypropylene - 3.0 mil - carpet protection film