Painting skirting boards (& not the carpet)

I hate painting skirting boards but the time has come around again to do it.

How do people generally avoid getting paint on the carpet?

I know I could peel back the carpet in stages but it never seems to sit back down properly for me.
Is a bit a thin bit of cardboard wedged in-between the skirting & the carpet the best approach?

Any tips will be tried & tested!

There is a thick masking type tape that could be used, affix it tothe carpet and peel off when paint on skirting board is dry.

You can get this at most hardware shops

yeah i use masking tape and its no problem then.

you can buy in woodies a thin plastic sort of strip that can be wedged between the skirting and carpet it can also be used on windows etc I think its called an edging tool you will find in the paintbrush area B &Q Homebase and most paint shops sell them