Like many of you, Amazon has become a go-to source for my husband and I for everything from storage to electronics, decor, household cleaners, and basic supplies that keep our home humming! With so many options available, it takes quite a bit of digging to find the gems. In creating our ANNUAL BEST-BUY LISTS, our intention is to help you find those gems that are also affordable, quality home solutions for you and your family. This year’s list is no different. The following 20 Amazon Home Best Buys are our personal top picks and purchases over the last year.
~The following contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Should you choose to purchase through them, this blog makes a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my disclosure policy here.~
20 AMAZON HOME BEST BUYS: Our Favourites Last Year
Here is our list, in no particular order:
1. Light Brown Linen Pillow Covers (2-Pack)
This light brown, lightweight linen cover (above) comes in a pack of two. Both are the perfect neutral addition to our sofa.
Inexpensive and lightweight, they add a lovely, airy touch that pair well with most other colours or patterns. Each pillow has a zipper along the back for a clean, minimal look.
TIP: Because these are lightweight, the material is more delicate so use caution when inserting your pillow inserts.
2. Flexible Microfiber Duster for Gap Cleaning
This purchase delighted me more than I can describe! It is a ‘gap duster’ that is slim, long, and flexible with an extendable pole that lets you dust those narrow, hard-to-reach spots.
You know the spots I mean: the gaps under your fridge, stove, washing machine, dryer, and even some furniture. And don’t get me started on the gaps BETWEEN the fridge, stove, washing machine, and dryer. I’m sure there are LOADS of hard-to-reach spots all around your own homes, too.
Just LOOK at how much cat fur I got out in one swipe – yikes!
For me personally, this little tool has been a real gamer-changer.
3. Ultra-Fine Mister (for Plants, Personal Care, or Household Use)
This specially-designed mister has a patented technology that provides an ultra-fine, ultra-gentle mist FOR PLANTS or, if you prefer, personal care FOR YOUR HAIR, FACE, AND BODY. But you can also use it for HOUSEHOLD CLEANING, DISINFECTING, even arts and crafts like clay sculpting or water colour projects.
Other things I like about this mister: It’s LEAK-PROOF and provides a CONTINUOUS SPRAY AT ANY ANGLE. A very useful design feature.
4. Portable Toolkit, 106-Pieces
After years of borrowing my husband’s tools for various craft and household projects, he surprised me with a toolkit of my own. It is a 106-piece kit that has all the tools I typically require PLUS plenty of room to add more.
THE KIT INCLUDES a hammer, level, auto lock tape measure, pliers, screwdrivers and bits, wrenches, scissor, utility knife and SK5 blades, hex keys, flashlight, and a hardware kit, too.
The bag is roomy with pockets inside and out so you have plenty of space to add more tools. Such a great purchase – no more stealing hubby’s tools!
5. Bed Pillows (gusseted design)
Finding the right pillow is so subjective! My husband and I are split on these. I love them, while he is ‘okay’ with them.
The reasons I love these pillows: They are the perfect combination of SOFTNESS with some ‘resistance’ when you lay your head down. This provides the FIRMNESS I’ve been looking for in pillows. PLUS they are breathable and COOLING pillows, a feature we BOTH LIKE.
Why a gusseted pillow? The advantage of this construction is that it supports the head and neck throughout the night, reducing neck pain. This works for back, side, and stomach sleepers alike – I tend to shift into all of these positions throughout the night. If this sounds like you, you may want to check them out.
6. Bissell’s “Little Green Machine” Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner
I’d been hearing about Bissell’s “Little Green Machine” for years and finally purchased it late last year. Ours came with an additional tool to clean the hose after each use, but it functions exactly like the the original.
What we like about it: It is portable and cleans a wide range of automotive and household rugs, carpets, upholstered seating and furniture.
So far my husband has used it to clean upholstered seating in an old pickup truck and I’ve used it to clean sofas and a few carpet stains.
We’ve been TRULY IMPRESSED by how much soil gets pulled out.
PHOTO BELOW: After a SINGLE CLEANING OF 3 SOFA CUSHIONS (one side only) and on a sofa that’s just a few years old, you can see just how dirty the holding tank got:
Here are the basics of how the Little Green Machine works:
My early impressions:
● If you’ve tried various cleaning tools and products and struggled to get some of the remaining soil or old stains out of your upholstered furniture, rugs or carpets, I definitely recommend exploring this option. It easily lifts and pulls out a lot of the dirt left behind from food and beverages.
● It appears that heavy staining may require a few more cleanings to lift it out. For example, the arm on one of our sofas has some heavier staining that was not fully lifted out the first time.
Overall, I am very impressed with this cleaner.
The Little Green Machine has HIGH CUSTOMER RATINGS on both AMAZON CANADA and AMAZON USA. Each site has over 80,000 REVIEWS with an AVERAGE RATING of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Given what it can do, this cleaner was not exorbitantly expensive and is a great addition to our cleaning arsenal.
7. Electricity Usage Monitor
A handy little gadget that my husband found to be extremely useful. This is what he had to say about it:
“This electricity monitor allows you to determine how much electricity anything you plug in uses. I was setting up a solar power system and this allowed me to accurately determine how much power I needed in my system. It is also great for showing which items have an electrical draw even when turned off. So if you are keen to reduce your power consumption, this tool comes in handy.”
Find it on Amazon Canada here or find similar monitors on Amazon’s international sites here.
8. Weekly Task Calendar (A4 size)
As a tactile person, I prefer paper calendars over online ones. But while my husband and I use a shared paper calendar to mark down things like personal appointments, I purchased this weekly task calendar for my personal use.
What I like about it:
– Practical: I can see the ENTIRE WEEK LAID OUT in front of me. As a visual person, I appreciate this feature.
– Not too big/Not too small: It’s an A4 size (LETTER SIZE PAPER) so it’s not as big as some weekly desk calendars but not so small that I don’t have room to make my lists.
– Variety of Uses: You can use it as a to-do planner, school planner, meal planner, family planner, cleaning planner, goal-setting, and so on.
– Use All Year: It will definitely last you the year as there are 50 PAGES with TEARAWAY SHEETS that are THICK and durable.
– Pretty: And, hey, it’s got a pretty design, too 🙂
9. Ceiling Fan Cleaner (and duster for high places)
This microfiber duster has AN OPENING IN THE MIDDLE and is ideal for cleaning a ceiling fan but, as with some similar products, it does a lot more.
Its EXTRA-LONG AND STURDY IRON POLE extends UP TO 83 INCHES, making it a great tool for cleaning out-of-reach spots like blinds, the tops of bookshelves, door frames, window frames, the corners of your ceiling, and more.
The microfiber head can be WASHED AND REUSED. The pole comes in 5 pieces that you can assemble using only the number of pieces you need, whether it’s all 5 or just 2 or 3.
When you’re done, disassemble easily and store it away without taking up much space – really love that!
10. Mesh Laundry Bags
I cannot get enough of these mesh laundry bags and others like them (as last year’s list of Amazon Best Buys can corroborate).
They are great for delicates, socks, underwear, or silky t-shirts and tops, as well as those tiny little microfiber cloths for cleaning eyeglasses and computer screens which often get lost in the laundry.
I like using mesh bags to SEPARATE ITEMS THAT I PREFER TO HANG DRY. It saves me time when sifting through our washed laundry to pull out those small and more delicate pieces.
11. WORX Circular Saw (cordless)
Ever since our review of the WORX 2-in-1 saw a few years ago on the blog, my husband has been a fan of this brand of power tools. Here is what he had to say about his latest purchase:
“I already own a variety of Worx power tools, so when I needed a cordless circular saw, I went with this Worx model since I already have the batteries [interchangeable with other WORX power tools]. I would describe this saw as “light duty”. That said, I put it through its paces this summer and it did everything I asked. It is very adjustable and has an interesting feature, the Exactrack, which helps you cut straight lines. The key flaw I noticed was that it is designed for right-handed users and if you use it with your left hand and you have the vacuum adapter installed, but not connected to a vacuum, it shoots the sawdust out right onto you which can get messy.”
12. UV Flashlight Black Light Pet Urine Detector
Ah, pets! These four-legged family members are a true blessing. We have two cats and love our little fur babies. But they can cause the occasional messy accident.
That’s where this UV flashlight comes in.
It’s designed to detect urine stains and spots that can’t be seen with the naked eye.
It’s been especially handy in places where I MISTAKENLY THOUGHT I HAD THOROUGHLY SCRUBBED AWAY A STAIN (see below):
If you have pets, this is definitely a great – and extremely affordable – tool available on Amazon.
13. Outdoor Firewood Rack Holder (for large quantities)
After getting full use of our wood-burning stove last winter and assessing our current storage, my husband decided to add this large-scale solution. Such a great find for the price!
Here is what he had to say about this purchase:
“These firewood racks offered the best quality and price on Amazon. They were quick to set up with some pressure-treated 2x4s. To save time I did not use screws to secure the 2x4s, just a friction fit. Plus, I plan to disassemble the racks for summer storage so screws would have been a bother. They do the job of keeping your firewood stacked neatly and off the ground. Throw a tarp over the rack and your firewood stays dry and accessible.”
14. Nut tightener (perfect for looms and stands)
If you own a hand or standing loom, needlepoint floor stand, or any other arts and crafts holder/stand that requires tightening as you work, you really need a handy gadget like this one.
Stands or looms often have adjustable settings that require tightening wing nuts attached to bolts to secure the project. In many cases, this involves using your fingers – not ideal. In my experience, it’s never tight enough and I often have to re-tighten as I work which hurts my fingers in the process. Alternatively, I’ve used pliers, but these often scratch and damage the attachments.
This small and inexpensive nut tightener was the perfect solution.
This is how I use it:
AFTER TIGHTENING WITH MY FINGERS, I go back and GIVE IT ONE FINAL TURN – something I was unable to do with just my fingers.
This nut tightener is also quite versatile. Whether the bolt is short or even up to 2 inches long, you are still able to reach the wing nut in order to tighten it.
It’s the small little tools that make the process of crafting so much more enjoyable.
15. SD Card Reader/4-in-1 (for iphone/tablet/camera/computer)
This SD card reader and adapter is perfect for use on your computer, iphone, ipad, and camera. You can transfer large files while charging at the same time. It’s small and portable, great for traveling and easy storage. It’s compatible with older devices, including iphone 8.0 and up and ipads 8.0 and up.
I personally like this little device, but there are lots of others on Amazon to suit your specific needs.
16. 3-Way RO Faucet (for homes with filtration systems)
Recently, we installed a WHOLE-HOME WATER FILTRATION SYSTEM. Part of that included a REVERSE OSMOSIS (RO) system for our drinking water which requires installing a special RO tap in the kitchen. But INSTEAD OF DRILLING ANOTHER HOLE in our kitchen counter to accommodate a separate tap for our drinking water, we found this 3-in-1 instead.
To release ONLY THE DRINKING WATER, we simply press the top button.
To release NON-DRINKING WATER, we can access the LONGER BUTTON BELOW. The faucet also has the features our previous pull-out tap had, including spray mode and stream mode.
This three-way RO tap is clean, minimal and has everything we need from a kitchen faucet.
If you prefer a different look or colour, it’s hard to find another all-in-one alternative on Amazon. BUT there are OTHER OPTIONS I found that add a ‘swing arm’ RO tap like this one, or some that incorporate a secondary RO tap like this one.
17. Tiered Metal Retro Side Table (3 colour options)
I purchased this tiered metal side table for our basement lounge room where our fireplace is located. It was the perfect addition to the mid-century/eclectic vibe we have in this space. I had purchased it to tidy up a book stack next to the sofa bed and to add some practical surface area, too.
It’s a great little piece if you are looking for something that’s PRACTICAL WITH A RETRO VIBE.
18. Braided Flat-Plug Extension Cord
You might be wondering why an extension cord has made it on this list. Fair question!
When you are a sucker for finding things that look ‘pretty’ (if such a word can be applied in this case) but practical, too, then the answer is obvious. Unlike orange or blue utility extension cords, this braided extension cord (and others like it) comes in soft shades of whites and greys and in a woven fabric that makes it easy to blend in with your interiors. I use extension cords A LOT. Whether I am working on my laptop, lounging on a sofa with an electric blanket covering me, or moving lamps around my home, I often use these cords to allow for MAXIMUM FLEXIBILITY.
I also like that it has a FLAT PLUG SO THAT IT CAN FIT INTO TIGHT SPACES. Just look at the difference between a typical ‘clunky’ plug and the flat plug, below:
19. Invisible Ring Size Adjuster
I don’t know about you, but I HAVE RING FINGERS that are BETWEEN SIZES. I wear whatever can fit over the joints of my fingers. This means that rings that “fit” end up sliding along my finger.
After searching for a solution, I found these inexpensive ring size adjusters and decided to give them a try.
I was so happy I did.
My wedding ring – FINALLY – fits without sliding around. As for the ring adjuster, it’s well hidden and is hardly noticeable.
NOTE: Just be careful to find the right WIDTH for the ring(s) you own. There are plenty of invisible ring size adjusters on Amazon but they are not a one-size-fits-all. I purchased two different sizes and found one worked better than the other, so it may take one or two tries before finding the right one for you.
20. Men’s Fleece Windproof Jacket (11 colour options)
Neither my husband nor I have a lot of luck with clothing purchases from Amazon (anyone else in the same boat?). But this purchase was a good ‘all-purpose’ find for my husband. Here are the reasons my husband added this to our top 20 list:
“This jacket is a spring/fall casual wear item. It is comfortable and it keeps me warm. It has a lot of pockets, which comes in handy. It comes in a variety of colours, but since I’m using it for a “head into the woods” jacket, I went with green. In terms of size, I normally am a medium and the medium size of this jacket fit well. My only beef is that it is only as windproof as fleece normally is. It does not have a windproof layer as a more expensive jacket might.”
I hope you enjoyed exploring our 20 Amazon Best Buys of the last year. More than this, I hope this selection points you in the right direction for creating better home solutions for you and your family in the year ahead.
Check out some of our other Amazon Home Favourites, below:
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