Amazon Purchases Q1

I have a very complicated relationship with Amazon. About a year ago, we cancelled our Prime membership….and we truly haven’t regretted it at all. I thought cancelling would mean fully breaking up with Amazon, and I was more than happy with that. Fine with it, even. But, it turns out that even without Prime, I still use Amazon quite often. As long as the cart totals over $25, shipping is still free. Sometimes it takes a few more days, but honestly- it usually arrives within 48 hours. And now you know my secret: You can still get free shipping and very fast delivery, even without paying the prime fee.

Of course, I know many people also rely on the photo storage, music and streaming services provided by Amazon prime. But if you don’t use those things- you really can cancel and still have very similar benefits.

So, we broke up with Prime…but I confess that we are still using him on the side. And I still do love to see what other people are purchasing on Prime, so this post will be a compilation of our purchases on Prime this year. According to my account, we have placed 13 orders this year. Of course, each order probably had more than one item in it ha. We also have an Amazon credit card and so we get Amazon credit for each purchase we make on our credit cards. We typically get about $30 of Amazon credit a month from our other purchases. I don’t know what our relationship with Prime will look like going forward. It’s convenient and easy, but I do still struggle with the fact that my money is supporting a big corporation that frankly doesn’t need my dollars. It’s been something we have made a conscious effort to lean away from, but it’s also something that we are still utilizing in this 21st century. Complicated feelings, but here we are.

• Elderberry Gummies

Self-explanatory, but we needed to restock on our elderberry gummies. Do these work? I don’t know. They don’t seem to work for our family as we have been sick nonstop this year. But….oh well. We are still going to try!

• Supplies for my prize box at school

These have been a huge hit and have lasted all year so far! My students can earn tickets by following directions, turning in homework, giving compliments, helping one another- really there is no limit to how they can earn 10 tickets! Once they have 10, they can pick a prize from the prize box. The prize box includes all this set of prizes as well as non-toy items like ‘eating lunch with Mrs. Hines’, ‘choosing to move your seat’, ‘using the library computer for 15 minutes’. It’s really fun to see what each student picks!

• Hand Soap

I made the grave mistake of buying hand soap at the dollar store. Pretty sure it was just water with a small splash of soap in it. HA. Since I really only shop in person at Aldi, and I kept forgetting to get hand soap when I popped into Walmart, I snagged this hand soap. It smells great, works great, I like the price point, and I like that it came in a pack of four so I don’t have to keep remembering to buy hand soap!

• Valentines

Of course, I ordered Valentines for the kids to give out in their classes. And then we had COVID and were quarantined during the Valentines parties womp womp. We also missed the Christmas parties if anyone wants to come to our pity party we are still having it in April. HA.

• Games for Our Cousins

My kids LOVE Tenzi and Slapzi so I ordered it as a belated Christmas present for my brother and his family. They texted us as soon as it arrived and said the games were a huge hit- they have twin 5 year olds and an 18 month old. I think these two games are the PERFECT family games for people with young children. The kids can understand and play it, but it’s also fun for the adults!

• Sperry Woman’s Snow Boots

I really needed some new snow boots. These were not cheap, and I did only end up wearing them twice this winter, but I know that I will get a lot of use out of them for many winters to come (I’ve had my previous winter boots for 13 years!)

• Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier

When I say that we have tried all the things to get Ezra to breathe better, I mean we have tried all the things. This was a middle of the night asthma attack purchase just praying something, anything will make a difference. Spoiler alert: it kinda helped but then started leaking water all over the floor and bending our floor boards so this is overall a thumbs down from us!

• Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey Box Set

I have heard great reviews on these and really wanted to snag them to read during our family devotions. They are not cheap at all, but I saved up some of our Amazon credit to purchase and that for sure made it worth it. We haven’t started reading them yet, but I’ll report back when we do!

• Cotton Farm Cheesecloth

Bet you didn’t expect to see that here. HAHA. I had strain my fire cider (an immune concoction that I make) and needed cheesecloth to do it, so Amazon to the rescue!

• Gun Supplies

Theo’s birthday is in March, so these next few purchases all have to do with that. I know nothing about these devices except they are gun accessories and they make my husband very, very happy.

• Hymn Study Book

This was another gift for a friend who is going through a challenging time. I know that when I’m in a challenging season, hymns can help remind me of the truth, so I wanted my friend to have this book for her piano. Not going to lie, I kind of want a copy for myself!

• Bluetooth Cassette Adaptor

Our vehicles still have cassette players (LOL) and there is no way to play our audiobooks through the van speakers, so I ordered this so that we can all listen to our Little House on the Prairie books while we are driving to and from school. Unfortunately, it was a total dud. I’m not sure if it’s the tape deck in the van that doesn’t work, the actual device, or user error….but I was so frustrated with this thing I was about to fling it out the window HAHA.

• Puzzle

With my spring break approaching, I was feeling super meh about it and decided to order myself this puzzle as something to look forward to. It’s beautiful! I haven’t completed it yet, but I’m excited to!

What about you? What have you ordered online recently? Did any of these items catch your eye?