Chelsey's 60 Great Amazon Finds of 2025
When I first discovered that I could see how many Amazon orders I had placed in a given year, I was a bit ashamed of myself. It felt like overconsumption and like I was contributing to late-stage capitalism in a way I didn’t love. I have also read many articles over the years about people who decide to give up Amazon all together. We did manage to distance ourselves from Amazon Prime this year (although we have Walmart+ instead, so is it different) which led to fewer spontaneous purchases. But the truth is, we live 20 minutes from any store where we could find anything close to what we can get on Amazon. And there’s not a guarantee those items will be there. For some items, we’d have to go even farther.
And so instead of lamenting Amazon, I’m choosing to be grateful that we have access to the things we need, and I also thought I’d share just a portion of what I bought this year on Amazon. This is not everything I bought this year, but as I scanned over my 2025 orders, these are the things that stood out.
Chelsey’s 60 Great Amazon Finds of 2025
Pharmacy/Meds
In southern Georgia it seems like there is pollen year round. This bottle is almost a whole year’s worth!
This particular kind of magnesium is supposed to help with sleep. I notice a difference when I don’t take it, so it’s on our Subscribe and Save order every few months.
For some reason my kids are super prone to plantar warts. These bandaids work better than anything else (although at least once even this wasn’t enough and we had to go to the dermatologist).
I’ve been taking this for years and this is the cheapest place to get it.
I started taking this in the summer and I don’t believe in jinxing, but I haven’t been sick yet and it’s December.
Now that we don’t have tiny kids in our house, I’m not as concerned about super accurate temperature readings. This one is so easy and I love it.
Personal Care
Over the years I’ve tried tons of deodorants and this is the one both me and my husband like best.
I only wash my hair twice a week, but when I do, this is what I use. My teenage boys also use it with success!
My daughter uses this regularly and this has been one of the only ones that hasn’t irritated her scalp. We have this on our Subscribe and Save order.
One of my friends who is super into skincare recommended these not only to smooth out the skin all over my face but also to deal with pesky hairs that grow in annoying places on your face (IYKYK).
I will never use another hair tie again. My daughter and I both use these and despite the fact that we are both terrible about putting them back in the bathroom, one package lasts us for several months.
This is the only reason my kids floss their teeth. Ain’t nobody got time for dental floss.
After finding out that aerosol dry shampoos actually do have a risk for causing cancer, I switched to the powdered kind. I’ve been using this brand for years and will never go back. Not only will it hopefully not give me cancer, but it works great! I usually only wash my hair twice a week and this helps me through the washing gaps. (Note that this one is for dark hair!)
Pest Control
I mentioned these traps earlier this year in my list of my 39 favorite things, and they remain one of my favorite things.
This was a new addition to my war against house flies and this product alone kept me from losing my mind this summer. It is essentially just an insecticide that you spray around areas of your house. I sprayed the outside of all of our doors, including the one in from the garage. I also sprayed the crevice on our windows where the window lock is, because for some reason the flies loved those spots. The first time I used it, there was a noticeable decrease but after about a week I noticed an uptick. I suspect this was because I killed all the adult flies but eggs were hatching somewhere (gross). A second round of the spray almost wiped them out entirely, and I only sprayed one more time over the summer. I also sprayed it in our outdoor trash can. Between this and the fly traps, I barely used our fly swatters this year. My husband loved when I sent him pictures of the mat outside the garage door that would at times have dozens of dead flies laying on it.
Note: This is not a “clean” product and so be careful if you are spraying it where pets and small children may accidentally touch. We didn’t have this issue and any toxicity from this was well worth the mental health of DESTROYING ALL THE FLIES.
Gross, I know, but we live in the country and they were eating our vegetable plants. My husband set these with peanut butter and we caught several rats with these. They can also be reused a few times.
Household
I love to collect postcards from places I travel. I put them in these frames and hang them in the Dopamine Den for a very cost effective and memorable decor option.
We have a basic Canon printer and this off-brand ink works great and is much cheaper than the Canon brand.
We have a stock of batteries in the pantry and when it runs out, I order a new pack like this.
In my opinion, these are the only highlighters worth using. Amazon tells me that in the last several years I have bought four different packages of these.
My husband bought me an older version of this in 2020 and I am on my fifth one. They’re less than $25 and they allow me to stream white noise directly into my ears. It’s like sleeping in a sensory deprivation zone.
I often have to walk around stores for work and check things off a list or write things down. Using my phone is cumbersome so I finally got a heavy-duty clipboard with a space to keep pens. It also opens up to put stuff on the inside. Exciting!
Magnetic phone holder and magnetic phone case
Georgia is a hands-free driving state and yes, I have been pulled over for talking on the phone while holding it (thankfully, the officer only gave me a warning and that’s been my only offense). This means that if you want to use your phone as a GPS or even just select music you really need a good place to put it. I have tried tons of phone holders and this magnetic one is the best. You can also use this phone case with magnetic portable chargers.
You haven’t lived until you’ve used this on your calves and hamstrings.
Everyone knows these are *my* scissors, they are only for fabric, and DO NOT TOUCH THEM.
Furniture/Storage
My youngest wanted some shelves where he could display little Lego creations. I wish these were a bit deeper, but they are a pretty good price for what they are.
I bought two of these to keep our younger kids’ school uniform clothes in. I put a week’s worth in at a time (top, bottom, and socks) and they can just grab and go. This has been great because their uniform clothes don’t take up additional space along with their other clothes. It also doesn’t require a massive reorganization in the summer—we just pack these up and nothing else has to change.
We recently moved our teenagers into a larger room together and got them each desks and chairs. These chairs were easy to put together, relatively inexpensive, and seem pretty durable.
These are the desks we got for each of the boys. They are pretty solid and have enough room for a laptop and homework. I love that they aren’t too big because in a large family, we have to maximize space!
With each of our teenage boys having their own desk on opposite sides of the room, this lamp is not only great for lighting but also functions as a charging station.
This was a recent purchase for me at the encouragement of my physical therapist. Most of our bed pillows are at the end of their lives and I’m hoping getting a pillow that will help support my neck better at night helps relieve some of my chronic pain.
The rug we had in our bathroom had reached the end of its life. I got a plushier one and I’ve really loved it.
Kitchen
When we got our new fridge I was flabbergasted at the price of the Frigidaire water filter. I decided to try the generic brand and we’ve been using it ever since.
If you don’t have scissors in your kitchen, get some. I use them to open packages but I also use them to cut bacon into tiny pieces.
After months of frequently getting frustrated that we were out of clean dish towels, I realized maybe we just didn’t have enough. This set was a reasonable price and now we rarely run out.
We needed a new one of these after I left our old one on a hot burner on the stove. Oops.
These are one of those things you just have to replace after a while.
When I burned my hand because our old oven mitts had holes in them, I decided it was time to order new ones.
I buy my protein powder from Costco, but I love these protein shakers from Amazon.
I love making refrigerator pickles and other pickled delicacies in the summer, but since I don’t actually pressure can them, I don’t have to use the metal lids that the jars come with. I much prefer these plastic ones because they don’t rust and they don’t leak.
I forgot how enjoyable cooking could be until we got this new knife!
This is durable and spill-proof and keeps my coffee hot. That’s about all I need from a product like this.
I think every kitchen needs a scale, especially if you like to bake! Our old one had lasted for about 10 years, but it finally bit the dust so we got this new one.
Clothing/Accessories
I feel like I’m ordering socks every month for some kid in my family. These are thicker than your average sock and seem to be holding up to my 5 year old’s wear and tear.
I bought one of these for my weeklong beach trip, and I got two more for our boys for marching band camp.
I LOVE these shorts. They are high-waisted and have a wide band which makes them extremely comfortable for my wide hips.
I’ve decided I’m too old to wear shoes without any sort of padding. These are actually comfortable to wear at church.
I bought these back in the spring when I was having severe foot pain. These are great to wear with shorts and can be made to look semi-casual if worn with a dress.
After having custom orthotics for several years that cost hundreds of dollars, I discovered a pair of these every six months works just as well.
I am forever losing my sunglasses so I never want to spend very much money on them. These came in a set of 2 and I currently know where one of them is.
I got one of these to take on a trip this summer. It was WAY cheaper than the similar Kavu bags and worked just as well.
I’ve lost count of how many of these I’ve bought for my husband over the years. He always gets compliments on it!
If your kids spend time in the water, order Speedo goggles. Yes, they are more expensive than the ones from Walmart or the Dollar Store. But they will last all summer and they actually have suction.
Electronics
We have pretty much only ever bought Kindles for our kids in terms of devices or screens (except our teenagers now have phones). IPads have always been out of our price range. I have bought older versions of Kindle Fires over the years and this one has been the best in terms of speed and durability.
Fast charging iPhone USB-C chargers
These are worth it, especially if you’re someone who has to charge their phone on the go a lot and don’t always have a lot of time to sit near an outlet.
We have four iPhone users in our home and so screen protectors are a regular purchase. However, I’d much rather buy a pack of these every other month than replace people’s phone screens.
Food
One of my go-to gifts for teenagers is just a big bag of candy. Sometimes we will go to Dollar Tree or Five Below and grab a basketful, but this box of 30 candy bars is also a great deal.
This box is cheaper per cup than anything I can get at any grocery stores near me, especially if I use Subscribe and Save. I like all the flavors and it lasts for several months! (For reference, it’s 42¢/pod on Amazon. The cheapest I can get it where I live is at Walmart where it is closer to 45¢/pod; at other places it is closer to 50-60¢/pod.)
I don’t buy these all the time, but when I do, getting them through Subscribe and Save is the cheapest price. (I like the chocolate chip cookie dough flavor.)
As I look back over all these purchases, I don’t feel like they signify overconsumption. I purchase things on Amazon because 1) we need them and 2) it’s the best price. If we lived somewhere else, maybe things would be different. As it is, I’m grateful we can get the things we need at a reasonable price in a reasonable time frame, since that’s not true for everyone.
I’d love to know 1) how many orders you placed on Amazon this year and 2) your top purchases, if you want to share!
I use Amazon a LOT - usually for things I can’t find locally like certain grocery items (beaumonde seasoning, konjac noodles, specific curry paste) and things I’m sending to my college daughter (because no trip to the post office is required - shipping via Amazon is so easy!) I have some guilt about it, but Amazon does employ many people, and I support local businesses also.