I Shop Amazon for a Living, and These Were the 15 Best Things I Bought This Year

Comfortable face masks, an inexpensive standing desk, and underbed organizers all made the list.

By Jessica Leigh Mattern December 22, 2020

Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.

2020 may not have been the greatest year ever, but we made the most of it.

While there were many challenges, like improvising a home office and finding a protective but comfortable face mask, my job as a shopping editor helped me discover some incredible products to make the new normal a little easier. Thanks to stay-at-home orders, I also had more time for self-care activities, like reading, exercising, cleaning, and cooking healthy meals, which were made even better with these helpful finds that I now use nearly every day. And since they're all on Amazon, Prime members can get them with free and fast Prime shipping!

15 Editor-Loved Amazon Finds:

Panasonic Battery Charger Pack, $18
Computer Desk Chair Seat Cover, $11
MainBasics Bath Shower Loofah Three-Pack, $7 (was $12)
HLXFHB Racerback Workout Tank, $14 with coupon (was $16)
Moft Z Invisible Thin Sit-Stand Desk, $70
Pure Enrichment Hume Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier, $60 with coupon (orig. $70)
Everlasting Comfort Desk Chair Seat Cushion, $40
Maxboost Magnetic Phone Car Mount Two-Pack, $9
Bondir Air Guard Reusable Adjustable Face Mask, $19 with coupon (was $20)
Truff Black Truffle Oil Hot Sauce, $18
Pavoi Lightweight Gold Hoop Earrings, $14
HomeSoap UV Light Sanitizer, $180 with coupon (was $200)
Rubbermaid FreshWorks Produce Saver Six-Container Set, $26
StorageLab Under Bed Storage Organizer Set, $34
Spieology Sriracha Spice Blend Six-Pack, $38

To enhance my comfort and productivity while working from home, I treated myself to Everlasting Comfort's best-selling desk chair seat cushion, which has earned over 34,000 five-star ratings, and Moft Z's $70 laptop riser, which doubles as a standing desk. While I could, in theory, live without these pieces, they were inexpensive upgrades that improved my posture and relieved the back pain I began experiencing at the start of the pandemic, making them priceless to me. Both will be in my tote bag when I return to the office in the future.

A few health essentials also proved to be invaluable this year, including the HomeSoap UV light sanitizer from the Shark Tank-famous brand, PhoneSoap. With Lysol wipes hard to come by, I used this disinfecting device to clean my most-used items (my phone, wallet, headphones, keys, etc.) by placing them inside of it for 10 minutes. The sleek little cleaner offers me the same peace of mind I get from washing my hands.

And now that winter weather has arrived, this small but mighty, now-$60 humidifier has proven to be a game changer. The lingering sore throat that I couldn't seem to soothe went away one day after I started running this powerhouse. With the dry air gone, my scratchy throat is better—and my skin is glowing, too.

Along with these handy health and work items, the rest of these new-to-me products have served as little life enhancers, too. They save me money (hello, battery charger!), improve my home (à la StorageLab's shoe organizers), and make life easier overall (thank you, magnetic phone mounts). What's more, they start at $7 and are all Prime-eligible, ensuring you'll have them in time for the New Year. We may not know what next year holds, but trust me, these editor-loved finds are sure to make it better.