Best Amazon buys of 2023

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Happy new year friends! How are you? I hope the year is going well for you. 

Personally, I’m fine and I’m really excited for 2024 across different areas of my life and my goals. One of these goals is to be more intentional about my money and things I buy this year. This led to me doing a review of items I bought last year, from which I’ve decided to share some of the most useful and helpful items I got. These items have been durable and improved the ease/comfort in my life since I bought them. I’ll be splitting these items into five categories: home, kitchen, books, and personal care, and all the items will be linked below. 

Home

I moved to a new city last year and, for the first time, I had to set up my apartment. This was really exciting! However, because this was my first time setting up my space, selecting these pieces for my home was not the easiest choice. I wanted durable items that would go with the visual theme of my home and fit within my budget. That being said, here are some of my favorite home items I got from Amazon that I’ve been really enjoying in my home. 

1. Gold arched-top full mirror: I love the gold borders on this, it blends really well with my home decor and adds a pop of color as well. The width and height is appropriate, not too bulky but covers the full length of a tall human too.
   
2. Faux Areca Palm plant: Right beside the gold mirror, is this tall and full faux plant. It adds the right pop of color and greens to my living area, without the need for sufficient sunlight and watering to keep it from withering.
3. Fancy book shelf: I love physical books and I definitely wanted a shelf to store my books. What stood out for me with this book shelf was the unique design. In my personal style, I love playing with lines, angles and shapes generally. So I was really excited to incorporate this in my home design. Plus, it has the capacity to hold 50+ books, of which I have about 30 books on the shelf currently.
   
4. Standing desk with keyboard tray: My work is hybrid, so I work from home on some days. Due to this, it was important for me to get a working desk that was sturdy, not too bulky, and adjustable in height to reduce my sitting hours.
5. Gap cleaning brush: Buying this cleaning brush was a game changer. It’s been so helpful in cleaning all the nooks and crannies, like the tiny corners of the sink, cooker, and counters.
   

Kitchen 

Moving on to kitchen utensils, here are a few items that I got for my kitchen that have been life changing. They have helped me explore more of my cooking and baking hobbies, making my life easier, helping me eat healthier and save money by preparing meals I like for a lesser amount than I would normally buy them for at a restaurant. 

1. Silicon baking mat: I discovered this late last year and now I can’t imagine how I’ve been baking without it. This mat is non-stick and non-movable, so you can knead and roll your dough on it without worrying about your dough sticking or the sheet moving. This helps you not ruin your dough and reduces the amount of excess flour you have to spread on your counter to knead or roll dough.
   
2. Meatpie cutter: I’ve been craving meatpies recently, and I was so excited to get this meatpie cutter to reduce the folding and cutting stress in the meatpie making process. Now, I don’t have to worry about my meatpie cut not being perfect or having to use a fork to seal my pie.
   
3. Cast iron skillet: If you love a good steak like I do, you may want to get this. I decided to start making steak for myself and this skillet did the trick for me. The material allows for retaining high temperature and evenly distributing the heat which results in a perfectly cooked and tasty steak cut.

Books

As I mentioned earlier, I love books, especially physical books; and I did get a lot of them last year. They are one of my favorite things to buy, so I’ll be sharing my top book buys from 2023 with you.

1. Dear 20 Something, You Will Unravel Beautifully: Your 20s can be quite a difficult and interesting decade to navigate. I got this book for myself and 2 of my friends last year, and it was such an easy, quick, and motivating read for anyone going through their 20s or just trying to figure out their life at any phase.
   
2. The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks Than Others Do in 12 Months: I mentioned this book in my last article on planning, setting goals, and taking stock of your year, and it’s definitely one of my best buys in the year 2023.
3. Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions: I love to discover why we (humans) act the way we do, how to make better decisions, and I absolutely love algorithms generally. This book is a perfect intersection of all three and you should definitely give it a read if you haven’t.

Personal items

1. Selfie stick tripod: This is the secret to getting perfect self portraits with ease. It is very compact, strong, durable, extends up to 60” and has a remote which you can use to take photos of yourself from a distance. This tripod came in very handy in my last year’s solo travels and adventures, allowing me to capture beautiful pictures of myself. I also had a personal challenge last year to travel with only a carry-on, and this selfie-stick tripod fit right in without taking up much space or weight.
2. Fitindex scale: My sister recommended this body scale and I love it so much because not only does it tell you your body weight, it also shows your body composition, such as muscle mass, body fat, etc.
   
3. Revlon one-step hair dryer: This hair dryer serves as a heated brush that straightens the hair as you brush through. It has saved me so much time and stress in detangling and stretching my hair. 
4. Fleece-lined tights: This allows me to wear dresses in the winter, keeping my legs very warm.
   
5. Polaroid camera and film: Polaroids are such a unique, timeless, and beautiful way to preserve memories. I got this polaroid camera last year with the films, and I’ve absolutely loved the polaroids I’ve created with them.

These are my top 16 favorite Amazon buys of 2023 and I really loved sharing them with you all. Doing this review actually made me see that while I shopped many meaningful items last year, there were also some items I bought that I didn’t really need. Going forward, I’ll be more intentional about what I decide to spend my money on.

I hope you enjoyed this article and hopefully have a few takeaways from this piece. Feel free to comment below what items are your favorites from the list, which you would be purchasing and which you’ll be adding to your wishlist.

Thank you for reading and I hope you have a beautiful year! 

Aniekan.