The pandemic made people behave in different ways - but for a lucky few people, buying stuff online became highly popular. These lucky people were able to switch to remote work, keep their jobs and paychecks intact, as well as stay home to minimize the risk to their health. I am one of those lucky people and I'm grateful each day for it.
Back to the online shopping trend: I do suspect it had something to do with the number of targeted social media advertisements disguised as helpful articles from harmless sites such as Buzzfeed etc (I'm talking about the 'the 10 hottest things to buy online', the '44 must-have items for the WFH routine' and the likes). Plus people were stuck at home and this became a kind of virtual window-shopping experience. Suddenly, some of the annoying updates/things at home that we had been putting off became more visibly annoying and pressing.
While I wasn't swayed with many of these targeted social media advertisements (specially for clothing - who needs new clothes and makeup when you're stuck at home), my online shopping for random stuff increased significantly.
Here are a few items that I bought online (from Amazon) that were totally worth it:
1- A white noise machine:
I realized that my upstairs neighbor has an obsession with opening and shutting her nightstand drawers in the middle of the night. Sometimes, she also drops what feels like bowling balls that roll around on the floor at around 5 am. Another neighbor probably works the night shift and must travel on his motorbike(?!) that I can hear often through my bedroom window. These were regular nuisances that became too much for me to bear during the pandemic, so I found a white noise machine on Amazon. This particular one was tiny, but the volume is surprisingly good. It comes with many noises, but I like a fan noise the best. It also has a night-light that I don't use. The white noise machine is a comforting presence, and sometimes I turn it on if I want to nap during the day as well. I don't think I can ever sleep without this machine!
2- Bluetooth Sleep headphones:
Plastic earbuds always make me uncomfortable, and after a while they start hurting my ears. If I'm trying to watch some youtube or listen to music, I always have to be careful of how my earbuds are placed. This was an awesome purchase, since it links up easily via bluetooth to my phone, and I can keep listening to music while I go about my day without being too concerned. It has easy controls for volume and moving to the next/previous item; I've even fallen asleep with these on and they were so comfortable. The battery lasts forever, I only charged it twice in almost a year, and it is also washable.
3- A hand-held steamer:
I bought this before the pandemic hit, but I'm still counting it as valid pandemic purchase. I have an iron and an ironing board, but the steamer has made my life so much easier. It is so fast and convenient that I haven't pulled out my ironing board in a long time. All I have to do is hang up my dress/shirt/skirt etc on a clothes hanger, and steam all the wrinkles away. It is also a type of disinfectant, as the steam temperature is above the boiling point of water, and can kill off germs and bacteria. This is a tiny little thing, but the value and convenience it provides is huge.
4- A fabric shaver:
This is really interesting - it runs on AAA batteries, but I was able to work it on a couple of my sweaters that had started pilling and it removed those in less than 5 minutes. I also tested this on other fabrics, like our couch cushions, works wonderfully. The only thing is, it takes a lot of effort to clean it afterwards, as the lint is collected and gets stuck in the little handle which is difficult to reach. I do think it was a good purchase, because it is gentle on clothes and gives them extra life.
5- Comfort Rescue Tooth Powder:
My teeth decided to get extremely sensitive just as the pandemic hit with full force, and most dentists were either closed or difficult to go to. It was scary to risk an appointment, but I am terribly scared when something happens to my teeth, so in desperation I searched for anything that would help. I even got a highly recommended sensitive toothpaste, (it was Sensodyne with an extra large dose of fluoride) but I also came across this miracle in a little bottle. It reminds me greatly of Dentonic tooth powder that we used to have in our previous country, and it used to be so much better than these commercial toothpastes. Did I mention this is a miracle? It is a miracle. It heals a lot of dental issues, and is quite obviously not dentist-recommended, because it will put them out of business.
Next, I went on a research quest on toothpastes and why they are not helping but hurting our teeth, and found a lot of information about the 'industry' and fluoride. In our previous country, we didn't have fluoridated water. I noticed the harmful effects of fluoridated water (at least on my own teeth) since moving here and consuming so much fluoride through toothpastes as well. But this could be a separate topic. My own conclusion is to avoid fluoridated toothpastes and try more natural tooth powders going forward.
6- Large Coffee Mugs:
These are so cute! since everyone got into baking during the pandemic, I tried something less conventional: Mug cakes and meals! There are hundreds of recipes available, and hundreds of Youtube videos for desserts and meals that can be made in a microwaveable mug. I got these two for the color, and also because having a larger mug would mean more brownie batter in them - yum! I also made some Mug cheesecake and mac and cheese in these mugs. Finally, they are great for just making some extra-creamy/foamy cappuccino!
7- A phone Selfie-stick & Tripod:
I'd been putting off buying one of these for so long. At each of my walks around parks and pretty places, I saw people whip them out and start taking photos right away. I also realized that holding the phone at arms-length and trying to focus and pressing the shutter-button at the same time makes me look either dazed and stoned out of my mind, blurred into a different dimension, or most definitely cross-eyed. I was so upset at the cross-eyes, that I requested my eye specialist to check my eyes again just to make sure. When I searched for these online, I found this specific one that not only has a removable shutter release button, but also doubles as a phone tripod. This was such a great feature and came in handy when my older laptop died and I still had video meetings to attend for work - setting up my phone on the tripod was a breeze. One of the best buys I made this year.
8 - An LED-lit Makeup mirror:
The best way to avoid mascara and eye-liner mistakes: get this mirror. It is has a magnifying side, it has 3 intensities of light so you can see how ugly you look in various modes, and it is USB-charged and each charge lasts 30 days at least. Totally worth it!
9- Hand-cranked Ice shaver & Snow-cone machine:
This is so much fun! I love making my own version of shaved ice & snow cones, so this was absolutely perfect. I was a little skeptical because it was really cheap, and many reviews said that the plastic would break off or the blades stop working, but I've had pretty regular uses out of this thing. It is fun to add a couple ice cubes and then crank the old-fashioned handle and watch it fall in the bowl below as pretty fluffy snow!
10- A multi-pack of notebooks:
For writing, what else! I aimed to have enough notebooks and pens/pencils lying around that I would have little excuse for not writing. So far I seem to be doing well, but haven't actually written down much of a story or fiction as I wanted to. Still, it is a start!
*There were various other purchases that I decided not to include, either because they were too silly or too shady - and yes, that will be all*
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