37 Unexpected Buys on Amazon That Reviewers Say Changed Their Lives

One of my favorite things is stumbling across new products that make everyday life a little better. These 35 handy little strokes of genius won't solve all your issues, but they will help make everyday tasks a little more enjoyable and maybe even put a smile on your face!

From a cute squirrel tea infuser who brews your cuppa with his tail to underwater LED lights that make your kids actually want to take a bath, we're sure you'll find love at first sight with one (or more) of the uniquely handy products we rounded up!

We hope you find these popular products as awesome as we do. Just an FYI: 22Words is a participant in the Amazon affiliate program, and may receive a share of sales from links on this page.

This Cool Mist Humidifier Plugs Into Your Computer

This sleek little cool mist humidifier is going to be your best friend this winter (or all year, if you work in an air-conditioned office). It's ultra-portable since it's only about the size of a travel mug and plugs into your computer via USB, so you can take it with you for travel, too - save your skin and sinuses from the incredibly dry in-flight air! It comes in black, white and three snazzy colors and has an LED light display on top that rotates through seven pretty colors.

This USB Fan Is An LED Clock Display

This USB fan is a total conversation starter, in addition to being an instant cubicle upgrade. Simply plug the fan into your computer, turn it on, and the LED clock immediately displays the correct time while it gently fans your face! Don't be surprised if you suddenly get a lot more coworkers stopping by to bask in the futuristic glow and cool breeze of your new toy.

This Flameless Arc Lighter Is Infinitely Better Than Matches

What can't this amazing rechargeable arc lighter do? It has a long, flexible neck that can rotate 360 degrees, it's wind and splash proof and best of all it recharges via USB so you never need to refill it with dangerous chemicals! A much smarter way to light BBQ grills, fireworks, candles in tall, narrow containers and gas stoves since it has a safety switch to thwart curious kiddos, and a single charge will give you 500 uses.

This Thawing Tool Defrosts Meat 7 Times Faster!

This Thaw Claw gadget safely and quickly defrosts meat, up to seven times faster! I always forget to defrost meat until right before it's time to start cooking, then frantically try to thaw it in water. Do you know how frustrating it is to keep frozen meat in a styrofoam tray submerged? This deceptively simple defrosting tool uses a strong suction cup to stick to the bottom of your sink and hold the meat underwater, helping it defrost in about 20 minutes!

This Purse Light Illuminates The Dark Reaches Of Your Handbag

Just this week, I was marveling at how much stuff a friend had stuffed into her cavernous purse (personally, I don't carry one because my grown-ass ladyness is not that advanced). If rifling through your handbag interior is like venturing into the heart of darkness, this motion-activated purse light will change your life.  The sleek, unobtrusive design easily clips on the inside of any bag and helps you locate your lip balm or tampons, stat.

This Smart Plug Automates Your Home In A Snap

Want an easy way to up your home's technology game? This compact smart plug lets you can control your lights and appliances via voice commands or your phone - you can schedule lights to turn on before you get home, or to turn on & off randomly while you're out of town to better protect your home from would-be robbers. Bonus: this smart plug's space-saving design doesn't hog your whole outlet!

This Headphone Jack Adapter Lets You Charge Your Phone While You Listen to Audio

I'm pretty sure I lost the airpods in the first five minutes after I upgraded my iPhone. Good thing I have a million pairs of cheap plug-in headphones...that I can no longer use while I'm charging my phone. This headphone jack adapter helps alleviate a tiny bit of the anger I harbor toward Apple's annoying design decision since it lets me recharge while catching up on my fave podcasts or playlists just like in the good old days.

This Dog Selfie Stick Is A Must-Have For Dog Parents

Remember when you were getting a school picture taken, the photographer had a funny prop on top of the camera to coax a smile? This dog selfie stick is the same idea and is much more effective than a manky old puppet! It attaches to the top of your phone and holds a colorful ball that attracts your dog's laser focus while you snap away. (The customer images in reviews are so priceless, I just impulse-bought it for my doggo-obsessed friend!)

This Mini Crock-Pot Takes Desk Lunch To The Next Level

Amaze/annoy your coworkers when you pop this mini Crock-Pot food warmer on your desk first thing in the morning so they can enjoy the smell of your delicious lunch simmering away. This small wonder reheats your food to the perfect temperature and keeps it hot until you're ready to eat, no more jockeying for the gross microwave in the office kitchen! It'll save you money in the long run because last night's leftovers will smell so delicious you won't be tempted to buy an overpriced sandwich.

These Headband Headphones Are SO Comfortable

My kid has a unicorn version of this adult headband with headphones and loves it. This soft, stretchy headband with ultrathin speakers inside is comfortable for cold weather exercise, listening to music or a podcast while you fall asleep or just wearing for long periods of time like watching movies on a plane. It comes in four stylish colors and won't make you look dorky, unlike that fanny pack.

This Reusable Touchscreen Cleaner Sanitizes on Contact

This iRoller touchscreen cleaner packs a double punch as it removes fingerprints and smudges while it wipes away nasty bacteria that loves to collect on your screens. It's liquid-free so it won't damage your device and is small enough to take anywhere. It cleans up in a snap - just wash it with water and liquid soap every few months and air dry.

This DIY Video Game Makes Learning Fun

This DIY video game kit is genius - kids get to be the video game designer, developer and player when they publish their very own game on the Bloxel app! They can practice storytelling and STEM skills while entertaining themselves with hours of hands-on play. Parents love that it's a learning tool as well as a toy kids won't get sick of since you can use it over and over again to create as many video games as you want!

This Oil Infuser Ups Your Kitchen Skills Immediately

People can't stop gushing in reviews for this oil infuser that lets you make delicious flavored oil for salads, cooking, dipping bread or just eating straight, no one's here to judge. Simply put fresh herbs, spices or garlic in the bottle, then press the button to measure and pour just the amount of oil you want, keeping the rest sealed. It's a great way to use up the leftover fresh herbs I always feel guilty throwing away!

This Mini Wireless Speaker Is Squee-Worthy

This teensy tiny My Audio Pet wireless bluetooth speaker is the cutest desk accessory. Ever. It's available in 16 adorable characters like UniCHORD, MOOzart and OWLcapella, and probably technically meant for kids but the adult reviewers rave about how surprisingly loud the speaker can get and how easy it is to connect to your phone. It would be awesome for kids' birthday party music, summer parties or just your podcast-playing buddy to keep you company at work.

This Phone Camera Lens Set Transforms Your Phone Into A DSLR

Who needs a fancy camera when you can take amazing pics with this clip-on phone camera lens kit? This set of seven lenses includes a 2x zoom telephoto, fisheye, macro, wide and super wide angle, CPL lens to cut glare and kaleidoscope lens. These inexpensive (under $25!) but powerful lenses work beautifully for travel photos, nature, landscapes and cityscapes, group shots or portraits!

Cats Love This Fun Pet Water Fountain

I love a product that puts the "fun" in functional - this cat water fountain does all that and more. The whimsical design doubles as decor and your kitty gets access to fresh water instead of sipping from the toilet, everyone wins! You can choose from three water settings to please even the pickiest pets and the special filters remove tap water minerals that can cause urinary tract diseases in cats.

This Ultra-Slim Activity Tracker Does It All

This stylish activity tracker is slim enough for smaller-wristed adults or kids but still packs a ton of function into its sleek design. It tracks steps, distance and calories burned, performs sleep tracking and analysis, lets you set up to ten vibrating alarm reminders and shows you incoming calls, texts and social media alerts. Oh yeah, it tells time, too! Available in two neutral and two fun colors kids and grown-ups will love.

This Phone Screen Magnifier Lets You Easily Show Vacation Pics To A Group Of Uninterested Friends & Family

Easily read emails or longform articles, watch videos or share pics with a group using phone screen magnifier and stand. It enlarges whatever's on your screen by 2x or 4x, making it easy to read small text without hurting your eyes and lets more than one person watch cute animal videos on YouTube - this would seriously cut down on the aggressive sibling elbowing when everyone's gathered around the ol' smartphone.

These Underwater LED Lights Make Bathtime So Much Fun

These colorful battery-operated submersible LED lights make anything involving water about a million times more fun. You can put them in fishbowls, ponds, pools, hot tubs and aquariums, or vases for weddings, parties or holiday decorations. They come with a tiny remote that lets you choose between 16 static color options and 4 dynamic color changing modes. Bathroom dance party, anyone?

This Wine Aerator Spout Makes Cheap Wine Delicious

If you love good wine but don't love the price, this wine aerator pouring spout is your secret weapon. Simply pop the gadget onto the top of your wine bottle, pour through the decanting spout and voila: perfectly oxygenated wine that tastes like the spendy stuff even though you found it in the bargain bin. The almost 2,000 five star reviews rave about the ease of use and how much it improves inexpensive wine!

These Neoprene Bottle Covers Will Class Up Your Next Get-Together

These neoprene bottle covers keep drinks cold while looking cool and the different colors make sure nobody grabs the wrong bottle. This set of 8 covers is made from 4mm thick neoprene for optimum insulation and can fit any 12oz bottle. Awesome for BBQs, picnics, graduation parties, fishing, bachelor/bachelorette parties, tailgating or any event where beverages are present!

This Silicone Steamer Lid Is As Useful As It Is Cute

This versatile pig cooking lid helps food cook evenly, covers food in the microwave and even helps you open pesky jars! (Amusingly, when used as a steamer lid, the steam puffs out of the piggy nose.) Reviewers love how it doesn't let moisture build up but still manages to keep food tender and flavorful.

This Tiny Acorn Bluetooth Speaker Is Portable Fun

Reviewers are nuts about the sound quality and clarity from this tiny acorn bluetooth speaker. It's small enough to fit in the palm of your hand but loud enough to be heard throughout the house! The built-in mic lets you use it for answering phone calls hands-free, and the battery lasts for 8 hours/200 songs.

This Pirate Beer & Wine Bottle Opener Is Arr-mazing

This pirate bottle opener incorporates an easy-open wine lever, integrated serrated foil cutter and beer bottle opener in one cute little package. He gets rave reviews for durability and good looks. Pirate enthusiasts and amputees alike (seriously, read the reviews) love this thing.

This Electric Kettle Is Lightning Fast

Ain't nobody got time to sit around and watch water boil, but this electric kettle speeds up the process and looks good doing so. In addition to black and white, it comes in four bright, cheerful colors that'll snazz up your kitchen counter, is BPA free and has a removable, washable filter. The coolest feature is the blue LED light that illuminates the water inside as it boils.

This Ultrasonic Humidifier and Essential Oil Diffuser Doubles As Modern Art

This gorgeously modern aromatherapy humidifier has a minimal aesthetic that will instantly elevate your decor while it purifies and scents the air! The optional LED light function has seven soothing color choices and there's an auto-shutoff feature so it's safe to use in kids' rooms, too. I use one all winter and love switching up the oil scents to match my mood - during the day I use peppermint or citrus to energize and overnight it's lavender to relax.

These Oven Rack Shields Prevent Nasty Burns

Even when I'm wearing oven mitts on both hands, I seem to somehow burn that sliver of skin not covered by my sleeves or mitts. And those red-hot oven racks leave nasty marks that take forever and a day to heal! This set of 4 oven rack shields are a klutzy person's dream and your arms will thank you come warmer weather. Plus, they come with handy mini mitts!

This Desktop Vacuum Is A Necessity If You Live At Your Desk

If you eat snacks and desk lunch every day, you probably have crumbs lurking in every corner of your workspace. This mini desktop vacuum proves that good things come in small packages - the battery-powered ladybug is just a little bigger than a computer mouse but makes short work of your dirty, dusty spaces like keyboards, car dashboards, windowsills holding plants or anywhere a full-size vacuum would be overkill. Crafty reviewers love it for cleaning up glitter and stray threads in project spaces, too!

This Computer Monitor Memo Board Makes All Your Reminders Friendly

To-do lists and reminders are so much more palatable when stuck onto this panda-riffic computer monitor memo board! The acrylic memo board simply attaches to your monitor with included adhesive (don't worry, it's easy to remove without causing damage) and reviewers say sticky notes stay on the surface extremely well without obstructing your view. Teachers and receptionists in doctor's offices get constant compliments on this cute but functional gadget!

This Rechargeable LED Light Is Blooming Fantastic

This rechargeable Sapling LED desk lamp is such a great idea for desktops or kids' rooms since it's dimmable with three settings, so it works whether you need bright light for reading or a soft glow for the bedtime routine and runs for an incredibly long time on a single charge! You can direct the "plant's" flexible neck wherever you need light, it comes in 5 cheerful colors and incorporates a handy pen/office supply holder in the lamp base. It's easy to see why this adorable lamp has over 600 five star reviews right now!

This Dishwasher Basket Keeps Lightweight Items Locked Down

If you've got small kids, you know how annoying it is to open up the dishwasher expecting clean dishes, only to find all the kids' plastic bowls and cups filled with gross dirty dishwater because they flipped over during the wash. This dishwasher basket takes care of that problem since it holds all the little items down snug. It's also great for containing all those tiny sippy cup spouts and baby bottle pieces, leftover containers and lids that fall through the racks and end up in the far reaches of the dishwasher - this would be a great baby shower present!

This Electric Wine Bottle Opener Does The Hard Work For You

Although I've been considered an "adult" by society for a few decades now, I still can't open a wine bottle with a regular corkscrew. Thanks to this electric wine bottle opener, I never have to learn! Simply push the start button and the automatic corkscrew spirals into the cork and removes it in seconds, and you can open 30 bottles on a single charge. Great for parties or just a regular Tuesday night - hey, I don't know your life!

This Dinosaur Phone Stand Has 600+ Five Star Reviews!

This handy dinosaur phone stand has a huge fan base on Amazon! Reviewers love how it conveniently and securely holds their phones and tablets horizontally or vertically while they watch movies, video chat or read recipes. It's made from soft-touch silicone and comes in 15 colors including fun zebra prints. This would be so useful for watching movies on a plane especially if you have kids, so they can snack while they watch!

This Squirrel Tea Infuser Is So Cute It's Nuts

Do you see the adorableness happening up there in that tea cup?! This silicone tea infuser is pretty genius - you fill the squirrel's tail with loose leaf tea, rotate it into your cup of hot water, then turn the tail right-side up when you're done brewing. He perches snugly on the rim of any standard mug and will add a smile to your morning routine!

These Silicone Pot Lid Lifters Are Versatile Kitchen Tools

These silicone lid lifters do more than add a bit of fun to your kitchen - they'll prevent annoying boil overs when you're cooking by allowing steam to vent, keep your counters cleaner by holding your cooking spoon, and team up in a line to hold your phone or tablet while you read a recipe! This set of six little guys is food grade, BPA-free, heat resistant silicone so they can handle all the heat you can throw at 'em!