Después de pintar la pared, lavamos la brocha y guardamos la cinta en el cajón.

Because después de is commonly followed by an infinitive in Spanish when the subject is the same as in the main clause.

So:

• Después de pintar la pared, lavamos...
• literally: After painting the wall, we washed...

This is very natural in Spanish. English can do something similar with after painting...

If you want a full clause with a conjugated verb, Spanish usually uses después de que:

• Después de que pintamos la pared, lavamos la brocha.

But with the same subject, después de + infinitive is usually simpler and more idiomatic.

Yes. Lavamos can mean either:

• we wash (present)
• we washed (preterite / simple past)

The form is identical for -ar verbs in nosotros.

In this sentence, the context strongly suggests the past:

• Después de pintar la pared...
• then lavamos...
• then guardamos...

It sounds like a finished sequence of actions, so English translates it as we washed and we put away/stored.

Because Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb ending.

• lavamos = we wash / we washed
• guardamos = we put away / we put away

So Spanish does not need nosotros here.

You could say:

• Después de pintar la pared, nosotros lavamos la brocha...

but that would usually add emphasis, contrast, or clarity. In normal sentences, leaving it out is more natural.

Both can mean kinds of brushes, but they are not exactly the same.

• brocha = a larger paintbrush, especially for walls or household painting
• pincel = a smaller or finer brush, often for art or detail work

Since the sentence is about painting a wall, brocha is the more natural choice.

Yes, literally la cinta means the tape.

In this painting context, it most likely means masking tape / painter’s tape. Spanish often relies on context, so it does not always need to say the full thing.

Depending on the situation, you might also hear:

• cinta de pintor
• cinta de carrocero

But in a sentence about painting a wall, la cinta is usually enough.

Because guardar means more than just to put. It usually means:

• to put away
• to store
• to tidy away
• to keep

So guardamos la cinta en el cajón suggests that after using the tape, they put it away in its proper place.

If you said pusimos la cinta en el cajón, that would simply mean we put the tape in the drawer, without the extra idea of storing it away.

Because guardar algo en algún sitio is the normal pattern:

• guardar algo en un cajón
• guardar algo en una caja
• guardar algo en el armario

Here en marks the place where the object ends up.

Using al cajón would not sound natural with guardar. If you want to emphasize movement into the drawer, Spanish more naturally uses a different verb, such as:

• metimos la cinta en el cajón = we put the tape into the drawer

But with guardar, en is the normal choice.

Because Spanish normally uses an article with each specific noun.

So:

• lavamos la brocha y guardamos la cinta

is more natural than trying to leave the articles out.

English often drops articles in this kind of sentence:

• we washed the brush and put away the tape
• or even more loosely, washed brush and put away tape in note-style English

Spanish generally does not do that in normal sentences. Each noun keeps its own article.

The comma separates the introductory time phrase from the main action:

• Después de pintar la pared, lavamos la brocha...

This is similar to English:

• After painting the wall, we washed the brush...

It makes the sentence easier to read and is very natural. In very short introductory phrases, commas are sometimes omitted, but here the comma is a good standard choice.

Yes, that is grammatically possible, but it changes the flow slightly.

• Después de pintar la pared, ... puts the time relationship first.
• Lavamos... después de pintar la pared gives the main actions first and adds the time expression later.

The original version is very natural because it sets the scene first: after painting the wall.

Here cajón means drawer.

So:

• en el cajón = in the drawer

This is a useful word to remember, because English speakers sometimes confuse it with box, but box is usually caja, not cajón.

It is singular because the sentence refers to one specific wall:

• la pared = the wall

If the speaker meant more than one wall, they would say:

• Después de pintar las paredes... = After painting the walls...

So the singular just matches the situation being described.