Small improvements with oversize satisfaction.
Sometimes I look around my house and long for a massive remodel. Then I remember the chaos, mess, and expense that comes with tearing out walls or even changing color schemes. I decide that I don’t want the hassle of hiring contractors, replacing appliances, or even painting. Maybe a small fix — an organized closet, a bit of luxury, or better lighting — is all I really need to update my living space. Small upgrades can make a huge difference.
And, compared to remodeling, small changes are easy, painless, and affordable. Also, the only skill I need is patience — and maybe the ability to fold and sort. Also? You can buy a lot of organization, lighting, and luxury for the cost of a single new appliance. In lieu of the big projects, I discovered these 45 hidden gems under $35 on Amazon that’ll make your home so much better.
Turn that otherwise useless space on the back of your door into a display case for snacks, a big holster for your massive hot sauce collection, or storage for water bottles, backup condiments, or whatever clutters up your kitchen. Just pop on this over-the-door pantry organizer. There are 24 roomy, see-through pockets and they hang easily just by hooking them over the top of the door.
Your produce will last for weeks instead of days if you store them so they thrive in the fridge. These stackable storage bins get this trick right. There are elevated inserts that lift produce above any dampness and help circulate air around, as well as vents that regulate humidity to create the ideal environment for fruits and vegetables.
Create a coat rack, towel rack, or closet storage out of unused space by hooking this six-hook rack over the top of a closet door, bathroom door, or bedroom door. The elegant finish and six roomy hooks look good and provide lots of storage, while the fabric-lined hanging hooks protect the finish of your door.
Don’t turn on the harsh bathroom light in the middle of the night or fall down the stairs when you need a glass of water in the dark. Plug these motion-sensing lights into an outlet and let a gentle, adjustable light guide your way. They only come on when it’s already dark and they sense motion — and they turn off again a minute after you leave — so they make your home easier to live in with almost no effort on your part.
How nice would it be to open your fridge to find a waiting-to-be-sipped pitcher of fresh cold brew? It’s all possible with this borosilicate glass and stainless steel cold brew maker. Just put ground coffee and water in the pitcher and put it in the fridge. The next day, a delicious, not bitter, pitcher of coffee is ready. The fine mesh filter in the inner liner taps all the flavor of the beans without leaving grounds in your brew.
Plug this clever night light and charging station into an outlet in your bathroom, kitchen, or next to the bed and it turns one plug into three standard plugs, two USB ports, and a dusk-to-dawn light that turns on when it senses motion. (You can also turn that off.) It solves the bathroom’s lack of outlets problem, lights the kitchen at night while giving you a charging station, and much more.
Mix up some eggs, cheese, and tasty ingredients, and pour them into this handy omelet and frittata maker to turn out two perfect omelets in just a couple of minutes. Or get creative with dough and fillings to make your own pizza pockets. The exterior has a stainless steel top and color trim (there are seven color choices). And the nonstick interior cleans up with just a wipe.
All you have to do to create an oasis of soft comfort on your couch or bed is zip your pillows into these supremely soft pillow covers. They have a luxurious, fleecy texture so they feel great to lean or nap on. They come in 29 colors and patterns so you can easily change up the look of your room and there are five sizes to match the pillows you have.
Instantly stock your kitchen with multiple work surfaces that are easy on knives and can go in the dishwasher. Each of the white plastic boards in this three-pack of cutting boards has easy-to-grip handles, grooves to catch juices so your counters stay clean, and a colored border. They range in size so you can use them for big or small tasks and there are five colors to choose from.
This little Bluetooth speaker sounds great, looks cute, and is easy to pack along. Take it to the beach or pool and don’t worry about getting it wet because it’s waterproof. Use it to fuel a workday of music, phone meetings, and podcasts without plugging it in because it runs for 24 hours on a charge. It comes in three colors and connects wirelessly to your phone or another Bluetooth source of music.
You don’t have to agree on a toothpaste flavor in order to add a handy (and sanitary) dispenser to your bathroom. This bathroom storage system holds two tubes, five toothbrushes, and four cups so it’s easy to share the bathroom without having clutter all over the counters. You can even use the top two cups to store personal items like razors. The two cups on the bottom are held on magnetically, upside down, so they drip dry.
This clever, expandable U-shaped shelf is designed to help you organize the challenging area under the sink. Both the height and the length of the arms adjust to fit your under-sink area and create another level to stack supplies on. You will be able to see what’s under there and — more importantly— find what you are looking for.
The thick gel foam of this anti-fatigue floor mat creates a soft and squishy comfort zone for your feet, which can help alleviate back and leg pain caused by standing. It comes in three colors and four sizes so you can create a work area in your kitchen, workshop, or home office that feels great to stand on.
Create instant order inside your drawers with this woven storage basket system that looks great, fits together like a puzzle, and puts everything from toiletries to desk supplies to kitchen tools in their place. There are nine colors to choose from and the four pieces are designed to fit together inside a drawer to give you compartments of three sizes.
Want your bathroom to bathe you in blue? Need a quick way to light a dark closet? Wish you had better task lighting in the kitchen? There are so many places where this handy ceiling-mounted light can be useful. Use the remote control to turn on the light and to change the brightness, mode, and color. It’s a low-power LED so the battery will last quite a while.
When you are enjoying your deck or yard, going in and out of an irritating screen door — one that pets and small children need help navigating — can get old fast. Instead of leaving the door open and letting the house fill up with mosquitos and flies, hang this screen curtain. Everyone can go through it hands-free. And, because there are magnets sewn into the center screen, it closes itself. The fine mesh lets breezes in and keeps bugs out.
Turning your daily shower experience from ho-hum to amazing is super easy. Just unscrew the shower head you have now and screw in this rain-like high-pressure showerhead. The small rubber jets increase water pressure while the wide, angled deluge of water douses you with a deliciously watery experience. It comes in six colors.
Curling up on the couch is a lot more delicious and relaxing if you do it under this soft and luxurious sherpa throw. It comes in 27 colors, some with pom-poms, so you can match the style you like. And the thick, super soft fleece will keep you warm and comfortable when the world is harsh and cold — or the air conditioning is overzealous.
These weird hanger organizers are the smart way to make more room in your closet. To load them up, hang both hooks over the closet bar, and then hook your shirts, skirts, or pants on clothes hangers to them. When it’s full, unhook one end from the bar and your clothes will hang in an orderly display. Each one of the 16 organizers holds five garments.
You don’t have to drop a small fortune to outfit your wine gatherings with good wine glasses. This set of four 18-ounce stemmed wine glasses from Italy is elegant, beautiful, and shaped perfectly for sipping a big glass of red wine. This set has the added feature of not being delicate buttercups that will break easily. They are durable, made from shatterproof glass, and dishwasher safe.
A kitchen scale is a tool you might not think your kitchen needs. But it really does. It’s so much easier to bake by weight than it is to measure everything into measuring cups. A scale is also a great way to get an accurate take on portion sizes. And you will probably use it to figure out the correct postage when you ship small items. This precise scale will zero out your container, measure in metric or Imperial, and store in a drawer.
Want to grab a piece of toast without getting burned? Need to turn a steak on the grill? Have to reach into a jar of pickles? This set of three tongs will do everything your fingers can do without burning you or getting your hands covered in sauce. There are three sizes and the ends are covered in grippy and heat-resistant silicone.
Fix all your home lighting problems with these slick, waterproof LED strip lights. Stick them to furniture, under bars and cabinets, and inside shelving units to create colorful, ambient lighting that you can change with a touch of the remote. Just cut them to size, peel, stick, and plug in the business end. There are 30 LEDs in every meter.
If you’ve ever wanted a place to set your phone, a drink, or the remote — in easy reach —while you sit in your favorite armchair or on the couch, this bamboo armrest tray is here for you. Just drape it over a furniture arm and it creates a solid place to set your relaxation essentials. There’s a grippy surface on the top and the flexible side fits over the arm to grip it securely with a nonslip backing.
Stock up on these thick, absorbent, terrycloth kitchen towels to power through dish drying and other kitchen tasks. They are 100 percent cotton and super thick so they will keep getting more and more soft and absorbent as you use and wash them. There are eight color options and two sizes.
Get all your dry goods out of the packages they came in and into these airtight food storage containers so your goods stay fresh and your pantry is easier to navigate. The containers stack easily and fit into your cupboards with little wasted space. The locking lids and silicone sealing gaskets keep air out and liquids in, and they come with chalkboard labels and a marker.
Stick these battery-powered LED puck lights under your counters, in the closet, or on the stairs to quickly and easily solve all your bad lighting scenarios. The wireless remote lets you select the brightness and you can set the lights to turn themselves off after a few minutes or over an hour. You can also just tap them to turn them on if the remote isn’t within reach.
If you lift your monitor up a few inches, you can sit up straighter and stop hunching over while you work, which helps prevent a lot of pain and problems down the road. These two monitor risers will handle your dual-monitor rig or a couple of laptops. They are made of steel, create a space under the monitor for storage, and have a slot in the front to hold a phone or notepad.
There’s no need to struggle to get a bottle of wine open if you have this electric wine opener on hand. It turns the process into the simple press of a button. And it gets the cork out every time without breaking it or fighting with the bottle. It comes with a foil cutter and an aerator for a leveled-up and effective wine-drinking experience once you get the cork out.
Go for a little bike ride every time you cut a pizza with this adorable pizza cutter. When idle, it stands on the counter in its bike rack. But when the pizza is ready, just ride it across the pizza and the sharp food-grade stainless steel wheels will cut it into slices. It comes in five colors.
Be ready to bake anything by stocking your kitchen with this complete set of carbon steel, nonstick baking tools. There’s a loaf pan, two cake pans, a muffin pan, a baking sheet, and a roasting pan. You will never be caught without the tool you need to manifest whatever food mood strikes and cleanup will be super easy.
Upgrade your TV with these LED backlights that turn an ordinary watching experience into an at-home theater. The lights install easily — just peel and stick them to the back of your TV and plug them into the USB port — and throw light at the wall behind the TV when you watch. This reduces contrast so that your eyes can better see the colors, creating a more theater-like experience. These strip lights also make great lighting options for closets and under cabinets. You can control the brightness right from a switch on the lights.
Set this handsome valet tray down on your dresser or at your entry so you can empty your pocket of your everyday carry. It will be easier to load your pockets up the next day if everything is handy and organized so you will spend less time looking for your keys. And all that clutter will be contained and orderly in a nice container. There are five compartments. One of them has a lid that closes, and another is designed to hold coins.
This set of six drawer organizers will take your sock and underwear drawers from total chaos to all your ducks in a row, fast. There are cubbies for everything so you don’t have to fold tiny items then stack them and dig through them to find the thing you want. The cells are adjustable and the bins are stackable so you can look for today’s socks while everything stays in its place.
This double-level bamboo lazy Susan can turn a disorganized and difficult-to-access space into a smoothly functioning workstation very quickly. Load it up with spices, salts, or condiments and nothing will get lost in the back because you just spin and it’s visible whenever you want. The two levels of this one make excellent use of often-wasted vertical space, too.
This umbrella grow light gives your plants the light they need, wherever they are. Just plug it in and stick the umbrella into the soil of your plant. It douses them in a gentle, full-spectrum light so you can have plants even in places in your house that are too dark to support greenery. The lights come in five colors and look pretty cute, too.
Keep all your bathroom supplies organized and clean while imbuing your home with a cheery vibe by stashing them in these mason jars with lids. There’s a pump top on a large jar for soap or lotion, a divided toothbrush and toothpaste holder, and two small canisters for items such as cotton swabs and toothpicks.
If you are going for a modern, rustic, or caveman vibe in your home or man cave, you need these stone drink coasters. The mood they evoke is The Flintstones meets Mad Men but they are also practical and indestructible. This is a set of five and they have rubbery feet to protect your furniture and come with a slate chalk so everyone can mark their own beer pad.
This bamboo serving tray will facilitate the delivery of everything from cocktails to eggs. It’s just the right size, has easy-to-grab handles, is water-resistant, and is light. You will bring a round of beers on it to guests in the evening and then bring breakfast to your overnight guests in the morning.
Get a clean, spa-like vibe in your bathroom with a bamboo bath mat that never has to go into the laundry. Anti-slip feet on the bottom keep it from moving when you stand on it, and the water-resistant bamboo slats allow air to circulate so that it dries after you drip onto it while protecting your feet from the slippery tile.
Have cold, delicious beverage options ready in the fridge by filling these two glass carafes with iced tea, lemonade, or infused waters. Or use them to decant box wine into a decorative, dinner-table worthy consumable. Each one holds a liter, they have plastic lids to keep contents fresh, and they are attractive and easy to pour from.
Create order on your vanity, desk, or counters with this organizer bin. Fill it with all the small things — cosmetics, tea bags, snacks, or office supplies — that tend to create clutter. Everything will be easy to find and look tidy. The cubbies are adjustable and rise toward the back, and come in three sizes.
Create the illusion that your books are floating on your walls with this four-pack of invisible bookshelves. The book on the bottom slides into the shelf and you pile more books on top of it. You can also use a book as a base for a decorative item or plant. But these are great for creating artful book curations that transform your literature collection into visual art.
Put your houseplants in these hanging pots to upgrade them from the ugly nursery pots they came in and they will be just as happy. But you get to look at this decorative speckled white pot instead. There is a drain hole so plants don’t drown, and even the hanging ropes look good. This is a set of two and they work just as well outside because they are a lightweight and weather-resistant recyclable plastic mixed with stone powder.
This expandable shelf is the perfect way to prevent spices, canned goods, or even cosmetics from getting lost in the back of your cupboards. Just fit it into the interior of your cabinets. It expands to up to 32 inches wide and puts all your gear on stadium seats so they can see to the front and, more importantly, so you can see to the back. Since the shelf is clear plastic, you will hardly notice it once it’s doing its job.