Rental Decorating Digest has a handy breakdown of what they think all renters with a penchant for decorating and DIY should have on hand. Here’s their list–plus some additional commentary–which is categorized by job.
For Hanging Things:
- Push pins
- Plastic anchors
- Picture wire
- Thumb tacks
- Cup hooks
- Straight pins (You can use them to hang smaller pictures without creating unnecessarily large holes in the wall. About HALF of all the stuff on my walls is held up with straight pins–and I’m not ever a renter! You will, however, need a pair of pliers to force them into the drywall.)
For Attaching Things :
- Hot glue gun & glue sticks
- Can of spray adhesive
- Staple gun & staples
- Multi- sized rubber bands
- Plastic twist ties
- Fusible inter-facings
- Fabric glue
- Sewing needles & thread
- Liquid starch (Used for making easy on/off fabric wall decals.)
For Cutting Things:
- Good pair of fabric scissors (Designate them as FABRIC-ONLY as paper will dull them quickly.)
- Utility scissors for NON-FABRIC use
- Box cutter
- Light weight hand saw
For Measuring Things:
- Yardstick
- Tape measure
- T-square or level
- Decorating Things
- Gold touch-up pen
- Black & white spray paints
- Sandpaper
- Brushes
- Craft paints to match your decor
- Assortment of ribbons, buttons and fringe
Various Essentials:
- Hammer
- Screwdriver – phillips and flat head.
- C-clamps
- Pliers
- A toolbox into which fit the hand tools
- Iron & ironing board
(12″ Craftsman tool bag available at sears.com.)