Wax sticks, command strips, and bulbs — oh my.
We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.
1.
A fast-drying grout pen so your tiles always have a bright and clean backdrop to gleam against.
Promising review: “These things are awesome! I cleaned my bathroom tile grout first because the lady who lived there before me really let it go. A few places stayed stained and I was worried it wouldn’t cover them, but all grout areas are bright white and look new now!” —Donna K Cook
Get it from Amazon for $8.99 (available in four colors).
2.
A bottle of Feed-N-Wax wood polish that’ll not only enhance your floor and furniture’s shine, but also layer them with a protective coating of carnauba wax and beeswax, so there’s less polishing for you to do in the future.
Promising review: “I LOVED using this in my kitchen. It made my cabinets look like they were recently redone. I didn’t do anything extra; I just wiped my cabinets with my normal cleaner and then used this and like magic my kitchen was brand-new. I also used it on some shelving, banisters, and my hutch and they all looked amazing. And the hutch wasn’t as annoying to dust for a while.” —tiffany b
Get it from Amazon for $8.98.
3.
A pack of Gorilla Grip rug grippers whose adhesive pads will keep your rugs from wandering across the floor. They’ll also help prevent the corners of your rug from staying permanently curled upwards.
Promising review: “These rug grippers are EXCELLENT!!! We recently bought two new rugs for our kitchen and needed something to keep them from sliding. These work great!! So easy to apply. We flipped our rug over. The grippers are marked; one side says rug, the other says floor. So we placed two in each corner. On our larger rug we placed one in the middle of each side. We stuck them to the rug. Flipped it back over. Got it positioned where we wanted it. Started with a corner and just went along sticking them to the floor making sure there were no bumps in the rug. Then we walked over each gripper to press it down to the floor. I promise you these rugs are not going anywhere! Great idea!” —Stacey A Morriset
Get a set of eight from Amazon for $7.99.
4.
A 25-foot measuring tape if you keep eyeing how much space you have in your home, which leads to buying things that absolutely do not fit. Be more precise next time.
Keep one in the house, one in the garage, one in the garden shed!
Promising review: “This tape measure ROCKS!!! The white tape measure is easier on the eyes/easier to read, and the lock feature actually works!!! I was doing a construction remodel at my house and my contractor misplaced his and was eyeballing my tape measure afterwards. I made sure that he knew it was mine and that if it came up missing, I would know who took it (lol). Hopefully he ordered several for himself!” —Arizona
Get it from Amazon for $10.25+.
5.
A four-pack of Command Strips because you’ll inevitably want to hang things on your walls, and if you’re anything like me, you’re not gonna want a hammer and nails involved…
Amazon, amazon.com
Promising review: “I ordered these to finish up a gallery wall I have been working on. These were much larger than the ones I bought in the store, so I cut them in half, and one was able to hand two 5×7 frames! Every photo in my home is hung with Command Strips because, if removed properly, they won’t ruin the wall. Just make sure the wall is not freshly painted. If it is, this will take your paint right off. I have never had an issue with a photo frame falling off the wall. If it is a larger photo or picture, I use two. They really are so easy to use and make gallery walls a breeze!” —Joy de Leyer
Get it from Amazon for $3.44+ (available in two colors).
6.
And a pack of clear Command hooks to hang towels in the bathroom, your keys in the entryway, or for any other storage problem that arises.
Promising review: “I was worried about buying these at first because we are currently living in a rental with cheap paint on the walls. I was worried it would chip the paint or something. Still, we used these to hang our Christmas stockings on the wall since we didn’t have another place for them. They held on the wall fantastically and after Christmas they came down with ease. No issues at all with the paint or anything! We packed them away with our Christmas stuff and will be using them again!” —holtmommyto3
Get it from Amazon for $9.99+.
7.
A two-pack of heavy-duty construction glue that’ll work on tile, wood, laminate, brick and more! In just 30 seconds, you’ll be able to restore broken, chipped, and cracked pieces.
Amazon
Promising review: “This stuff is amazing! We had a full basin under-mount kitchen sink that was falling away from the countertop. We are not handy whatsoever and were about to hire a handyman to fix it for us. We had a repairman out at our home for something else, and he happened to mention that all we needed to do was acquire some Gorilla construction glue. Well, this stuff WORKED!” —JW
Get it from Amazon for $12.99.
8.
Two packs of streak-free stainless steel wipes so your appliances can get some lovin’ too. These will remove residue, water marks, and grease while leaving behind a protective barrier to prevent smudges that’ll keep your stainless stain-free!
Promising review: “Wow! I call these my ‘miracle in a can/ wipes. These things are awesome. Buy them and cut down your cleaning time to just minutes. I used two and was able to clean my stove, refrigerator and microwave. What a great product. No buyer’s remorse here.” —Richard J. Jackson
Get it from Amazon for $14.20.
9.
A pack of Alexa-compatible, color-changing lightbulbs for when your reading light conks out at the climax of your romance novel. Easily replace it with one of these bulbs whose color and brightness you can control with an app or through voice control.
Promising review: “I’ve now got a great Echo 4th Generation Dot, so I decided to add these Alexa-compatible bulbs to my living room lighting. I really appreciate the tunable white and color lighting these produce. I can download an app to my phone for control, or use my Alexa app for easy setup. The instructions are clear and the setup is simple.” —David Rocks
Get it from Amazon for $29.99.
10.
A 10-piece paint roller set — never have to dull your excitement of watching your new paint get mixed at Home Depot by realizing you have nothing to paint with.
Amazon
The only other thing you’ll need (besides paint, of course) is painter’s tape!
This set includes: a tray, a 9″ roller frame, two 9″ x 1/2″ roller covers, a 4″ mini roller frame, two 4″ x 1/2″ mini roller covers, a flat sash brush, and two angle sash brushes.
Promising review: “I was skeptical about purchasing this product at first because of how cheap it was. However, it worked great for my quarantine home projects. I had no issues with it, and would definitely use it again!” —Brittany Pierce
Get it from Amazon for $14.99.
Promising review: “For $10 you can cover up so many scratches that you couldn’t buy a house big enough to run out of ink. I’ve had this for just four hours, but I fixed a table that was scratched when I moved it, kitchen cabinets, chairs, a wine rack, and some hardwood flooring. It does a good job at covering the scratches to a point where you have to stare at a spot to notice it, but don’t expect it to make your furniture to look brand new again. But for $10 you can make your furniture look reasonable! Would highly recommend to anyone who has pets who scratch the !@#$ out of their wood furniture.” —Phaedrus
Get six markers, six wax sticks, and a sharpener from Amazon for $7.21.
12.
A roll of fun wallpaper from Society6 to keep in the back of your closet for when you are filled with the HGTV spirit. And don’t throw away whatever you don’t use on your walls. You can always use leftovers to decorate furniture later!
Ana Rut Bre Fine Art/Society6, lizzy powers design/Society6
Get wallpaper from Society6 starting at $39.20+.
13.
A pack of two retractable razors so you can stop ruining the foil cutter on your wine opener by using it to open boxes…or is that just me? You’ll also get a pouch full of replacement razors. Boxes, stubborn plastics, and thick ropes/twine don’t stand a chance!
Promising review: “These are EXCELLENT utility knives for the price. You definitely get two sturdy knives, each wrapped in plastic, AND a box of spare blades. The ergonomic grip is excellent; the knives aren’t too thick or thin and the lever slides forward and backward smoothly, exposing the blade cleanly. They’re very sharp knives and replaced old metal handle utility knives we’ve had for many years. Best of all, you get extra blades contained in a plastic box.
The blade itself has no wobble tolerances as the handle holds it solid. This is extremely important as you cut into objects and boxes because you don’t want any wiggle or unstableness in the blade itself. I give 5 stars.” —Peter
Get it from Amazon for $13.98.
14.
A nontoxic leather conditioner that’ll restore your leather throne to its former glory. Just spread a thin and even layer of conditioner to reveal rejuvenated (and water-repellent) furniture.
Promising review: “I use this for my everyday boots, as well as my dress shoes. I’m not always gentle with my boots and I thought I had ruined them the other day (worn out color, scuffs all over), but I cleaned the muck off, gave them a brushing, then applied this leather honey and after letting it sit, my boots look almost like the day I bought them! It keeps the leather supple and restores color. You only need to use a small amount per use!” —David Horning
Get it from Amazon for $19.99+.
15.
A box of latex-free gloves for protection against harmful chemicals in that paint stripper so generously lathered on your to-be-refurbished door.
Promising review: “I buy a lot of these gloves and use them for painting miniatures, when airbrushing, and when I’m working with my resin 3D printer. I like the texture on them as the gloves do get slick when working with a print and it helps keep your grip. And they don’t tear often.” —Brian
Get it from Amazon for $24.95.
17.
A 200-piece portable first aid kit filled with everything you’ll need to take care of any renovation-induced boo-boos.
Promising review: “I have really loved this first aid kit! I shopped around a long time before a finally decided on this one, and I chose it because of the metal tweezers and scissors, the emergency supplies, and the red bag. This kit was the most complete, best priced, and well-loved kit I could find.” —Taylor
Get it from Amazon for $25.95.
18.
A drywall tool kit including taping knives and scrapers useful for painting, drywall, removing chipped paint, nail pulling and so much more.
This set comes with: a multi-purpose painter’s tool, a 6-inch flex joint knife, a 4-inch flex joint knife, an 8-inch taping knife, a 12-inch taping knife, and a 12-inch mud pan.
Promising review: “Awesome little set for drywall work! I’ve used Goldblatt masonry tools for a few years, so when I saw that they made drywall tools, I didn’t hesitate to buy this set. I’ve done a few small patches with it, as well as underneath and around a water heater that leaked all over.” —Thomas
Get it from Amazon for $39.99.
19.
A sleek cable box that’ll keep your cords safe, organized, and out of sight. No more worrying about cables overheating or tripping on your tangled, charging cords!
Might as well keep an extra two or so on hand because the likelihood of you buying more things with cords and plugs is fairly high.
Promising review: “This product really streamlined and cleaned up the full size power strip and six chargers required for our AV set up. The cut-outs accommodated all the power, coax and network cables. This will also make dusting a single smooth surface, easier to keep clean.” —Amy S Douglass
Get it from Amazon for $16.49+ (available in two sizes and colors).
20.
A pack of disposable face masks to protect you from dust and paint as you turn your house into a dream home.
Promising review: “It fits my face perfectly. It’s comfortable to wear for hours at a time and works great in my woodworking workshop and while I’m painting.” —Adult Customer
Type Of Fit: Elastic Ear Loops
Pocket For Filter: No
Fabric Type: Non-woven fabric
Shipping Time: Standard Shipping
Get it from Amazon for $37.99.
21.
A pack of touch-up paint pens so you’re always ready to address any splotches you find after removing painter’s tape from your latest accent wall project. Just fill one of these pens up with your latex paint and brush away!
Amazon
Promising review: “I love this. They’re absolutely perfect for touchin’ up the little spots that need touchin’ up. I have several sets filled with different paints and so far they’ve stayed ‘usable’ without the paint drying out. I rinse the brush really well after each use (latex paints) and recap it.” —Hooked On Amazon!
Get a pack of two from Amazon for $9.99 (also available in larger pack sizes).
22.
An 8-foot extension cord with surge protection to charge your wireless drills or plug in your box fan to help your new paint dry.
Promising review: “An extension cord with surge protection, what a terrific idea! No longer do you need to buy a huge surge protector, you can just get this and it gives you three convenient outlets. The low-profile prong is great when you want this plugged flat against the wall, and the braided cord is good at keeping this tangle-free.” —benjamin bannister
Get it from Amazon for $10.85 (available in two other sizes and colors)
23.
A dozen cans of fade-proof spray paint for upgrading smaller pieces of furniture without the hassle of getting a dozen small brushes to fit in all those hard-to-reach spaces.
Evolve Colors/Etsy
Evolve Colors is an Etsy store owned by a graffiti artist who makes premium paints for all your creative needs.
Promising review: “These are great paints! They’re so even and smooth.” —Lisa W
Get it from Evolve Colors on Etsy for $62.
24.
A wallpaper smoothing kit because air bubbles are not a part of the design you’ve been mapping out in your head and all your walls.
Amazon
This kit comes with: a red squeegee, a felt-tipped blue squeegee, a razor, and extra blades.
Promising review: “I used this kit my first time using ‘peel and stick’ wallpaper. The velvet end of the small tool was superb for getting the edges perfect, and I used the larger tool to smooth things out as I was peeling the back from the wallpaper. It worked great. The knife cut really well for a large wall, and I only had to replace one blade so I have several unused.” —KLF
Get it from Amazon for $6.32.
25.
A gallon of self-priming paint made free of toxic solvents so you can upgrade your home knowing you haven’t compromised your air quality. Not sure if you can commit to a gallon? Get a color swatch for just $2.
Clare
Clare is a Black woman-owned business that makes paint-shopping easier than ever. These designer-curated palettes are sure to take your home to the next level!
And if you’re not sure what colors to go with, take Clare’s Color Genius Quiz!
Get a gallon from Clare for $54+ (available with or without the 5-piece paint kit).
26.
A set of nickel cabinet drawer pulls and knobs to help bring your cabinets and drawers to the 21st century with its contemporary details. No offense to the rusting knobs you have now that were installed back when sliced bread was invented…
27.
Or, a set of solid brass cabinet drawer pulls and knobs if luxury living is more your speed. And their knurled texture adds a unique ~touch~ of elegance.
Plank Hardware
Plank Hardware is a small business based in London crafting sleek and modern hardware for anyone living between 2021 and 3021.
Promising review: “They look amazing and are of such great quality. I was super impressed with the sturdy weight of the pulls. They look so smart, and I am glad I was able to dress up my IKEA dresser!” —Gabriella Marine
Get it from Plank Hardware on Etsy for $11.39+ (available in 10 sizes/styles).
28.
Disposable coveralls in case you never thought to invest in “paint clothes” and would rather not have your wardrobe covered in flecks and splotches.
Promising review: “This suit is very durable. A plus is that the hood that is attached. It was perfect for my crawl space work in which I removed old insulation and did mold remediation. In performing the mold remediation, I often got the solution on me which did not go through the suit which was great.” —Evangeline Chrisette
Get it from Amazon for $4.50.
29.
A drywall repair kit so you’re always prepared to patch up a wall where you attempted to hang a 50-lb gold mirror you found for free on Craigslist.
Promising review: “This spackle is so handy! Much easier and faster than opening a regular container of spackle, then finding a putty knife to use and sand paper. Everything you need is right there. I filled probably close to 50 small holes and nicks from kids throwing toys, etc. in less than 15 minutes. Would definitely recommend this.” —Michelle Smith
Get it from Amazon for $5.98.
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