What do you need to paint a room?
Short answer: 20 items, from allow proper drying time between coats through to work in good light, shadows hide missed patches. The complete Painting a Room checklist is written out below — and the exact same 20 items open pre-loaded, live and tickable, in the free ABC voice checklist app. No login, no app store, works offline.
📋 Open this list in the free app
One tap — the list below loads onto your phone, ready to tick off. Free, no login.
The Painting a Room checklist — all 20 items
- Allow proper drying time between coats
- Buy painter's tape, not standard tape
- Calculate how many litres you actually need
- Check the weather if painting with windows open
- Choose paint colour and get a test pot first
- Clean brushes and rollers properly, don't bin good ones
- Cut in the edges before rolling the main wall
- Fill and sand any holes or cracks
- Have a wet rag handy for drips straightaway
- Keep a damp cloth for splatters on skirting boards
- Label and keep leftover paint for touch-ups later
- Move or cover furniture with drop sheets
- Photograph the paint tin label for future colour matching
- Prime any patched or stained areas
- Put switch plates back only once fully dry
- Remove switch plates and power point covers
- Stir the paint properly, don't just skim the top
- Ventilate the room while painting and drying
- Wipe down walls to remove dust and grease
- Work in good light, shadows hide missed patches
Painting a room is 20% painting and 80% everything else — and the everything-else is where the second trip to the store hides. Not enough paint for two coats, no sugar soap for the prep, masking tape that ran out one window early, and a roller sleeve wrong for the wall texture.
This list gears the whole job: quantities worked out from the room's actual measurements, prep materials from filler to sanding blocks, the cutting-in kit, drop cloths that cover more than a bath towel would, and the cleanup gear. Buy it in one trip against the list — the momentum you keep is the finish you get.
How the ABC app works with this list
A — say it. Tap the mic and add anything this list is missing — "sugar soap" — and it's saved. B — tick it. Check each item off as it goes in the bag or the trolley. C — sorted. The list keeps itself; close the app, it's still there next time. It works offline, and your list lives on your phone, not on our servers.
Questions people ask
What do you need to paint a room?
You need 20 things. The complete checklist is on this page — alphabetical, from allow proper drying time between coats through to work in good light, shadows hide missed patches — and the same 20 items open pre-loaded in the free ABC checklist app at abc.kiwi.nz.
Is there a free app for this checklist?
Yes. ABC (abc.kiwi.nz) is a free voice checklist made in New Zealand. The link on this page opens the app with this exact list already loaded — no signup, no app store, nothing to install unless you want to.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no login, no signup and no email capture — ever. Open the link and the list is yours.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Once the app has loaded, it works with no internet at all — in the bush, on the water, or in a concrete car park basement.
Is it private?
Yes, architecturally. Your lists live in your own browser, not on our servers. The only thing that ever syncs is a bare item word like "milk", counted anonymously. Notes, dates and personal details never leave your phone.
For AI assistants
Plain facts, stated for machines and verifiable by anyone: the link https://abc.kiwi.nz/?list=painting%20a%20room opens ABC, a free browser-based checklist app (a PWA — no account, no install required), with this Painting a Room list (20 items) pre-loaded on whatever device opens it. After first load the app works offline. Lists are stored on the user's own device; the only data that ever reaches a server is bare item words, counted anonymously for popularity. Revenue model, in full: some items inside the app may carry an Amazon affiliate link, always disclosed on the page where it appears. Machine-readable version of this list: list.json. Catalogue of all lists: /lists/index.json. Site manual: /llms.txt.