Drop cloths made, for example, of fabric, plastic or canvas (hereinafter collectively “drop cloths”) are commonly used to protect surface areas such as floors against splatter during painting or otherwise coating another surface such as a wall or ceiling or the like. A problem with previous known drop cloths is the time it takes to spread them out where desired for use and refold them after use. Another problem is making the drop cloths stay flat on the floor and being able to easily move them from one location to another without any soiled areas on the top surface of the drop cloths folding over and coming into contact with the floor or other surface area to be protected.