9 Life-Changing Things To Try In May

Because we tried them for you in April!

We hope you love the products we recommend! Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

Zoe Burnett / BuzzFeed

The BuzzFeed staff is always trying new products, apps, hacks, and DIY projects, and we decided it was time to start sharing the best of them with you. Each month, we post our recommendations for what’s actually worth it. This post features a mix of items that we purchased with our own money ("things we bought") and those that were provided to us at no cost for the sake of review ("things we tried"). (But! We’re under no obligation to write a review of those things, let alone a positive review.)

Let us know in the comments what sorts of things you’d like us to review next month!

1. A soothing bath soak that you can bet your bottom dollar on.

Erin Phraner / BuzzFeed

TMI WARNING: This organic Purasoothe Sitz Bath Soak is meant for moms healing after a vaginal birth, but it has done WONDERS for me as someone trudging through her third trimester of pregnancy and all of the gross symptoms that come with that. Turns out babies give you hemorrhoids and they're really disgusting and painful. Another fun fact: There's not much you can do about them, which really sucks when you're already uncomfortable and achy in other places. This sitz bath has been the only thing that gives me relief. You dissolve it in a shallow bath of warm water and literally soak your butthole for 15-20 minutes until it feels better. I hear the witch hazel is the ingredient that really helps!

One other thing I love: It smells amaaaazzzzziinnngg, which is such a nice perk when you're not feeling your best. I got into bed one night after using it and my husband said, "Mmm, you smell so good!" Thanks, hunny! It's my butt bath... —Erin Phraner

Get it from Amazon for $23.97.

2. A simple and practical lunch tote.

amazon.com, Rachel Miller / BuzzFeed

In the past few years, I have not packed my lunch regularly enough to justify buying myself a decent lunch bag. But recently, I've been bringing more foodstuffs to work with me (yay!), and my old Lululemon shopping bag has been looking increasingly grimy. So, as both a reward and as motivation, I decided it was time for an upgrade.

I knew I didn't need anything fancy and wasn't looking to spend a fortune, so when I came across this simple bag on Amazon that costs $6.82 (!!!!), I was basically sold. It’s similar in style to your everyday brown paper lunch bag, but it’s made of organic cotton and manufactured in the USA, so I get to feel vaguely virtuous when I use it. I was sold by two Amazon reviews: the one that showed how much stuff it could hold, and the one that pointed out that you could embroider (or otherwise customize) it. I ordered mine and then got to work embroidering it with the wildly creative design you see above. If you prefer a mini-cooler style of lunch box, this probably isn’t the one for you. But if you just want a chill little sack for toting foodstuffs to and from your work fridge, I strongly recommend it! —Rachel Miller

Get it from Amazon for $6.82.

3. An acupressure mat that will help you CTFO.

Terri Pous / BuzzFeed

Back pain, stress, and intermittent insomnia are pretty constant issues in my life, so when I saw that this acupressure mat promised to address all my woes (and then some!) from the comfort of my home for less than $27, I knew I had to give it a try. It took me a few times to really get the hang of using it, but once I did, I really loved it. I use the mat at night while doing a guided meditation or watching TV as part of my nightly routine. If you aren't into the whole mindfulness thing or don't have time for that, you could also just lie on it while you text or read — you can make whatever you want of it!

I was low-key worried that lying on a mat of pointy plastic needles would hurt, but it really didn’t. I lie on it for 15-ish minutes at a time, and it always goes by really quickly — and man, when it's over, I feel BLISSED. OUT. One caveat: If you’re lying on the mat properly, you'll get a burning sensation in your back, but Robert Doane, clinical director of Modern Acupuncture, told me that that's caused by an increase in blood flow, so it's completely normal and actually good for your health. Overall, the mat has brought a lot of relaxation and chill vibes into my life and made my aches and pains way easier to manage. —Terri Pous

Get it from Amazon for $26.97.

4. A silicone muffin pan to help you step up your baking game.

Gyan Yankovich / BuzzFeed

When it comes to food, I'm a total creature of habit. Seamless knows I'll always order Vietnamese when I'm at home, and Japanese when I'm in the office. I get the exact same salad every time I go to Sweetgreen and, until recently, I had three breakfast options that I rotated weekly: oats, Vegemite toast, and a very simple green smoothie. Looking to get out of my boring oat/toast/smoothie rut, I brainstormed other breakfasts I'd be able to make — or pre-make — easily and affordably. I came up with breakfast frittatas: so simple, so delicious.

I have an oven, whisk, and mixing bowl, so all I needed (minus the appropriate ingredients) was a tray to cook my bite-sized frittatas inside. After a couple of minutes on Amazon, I'd found exactly what I needed: the Keliwa 12 cup silicone muffin pan with its 1,700 reviews, 4.6-star rating, and A on Fakespot. I was over the moon to find that it delivered on every promise made by all those reviewers. My frittatas didn't stick to the tray, and it was easily cleaned in the dishwasher after use. Since I bought it I've actually started meal-prepping my breakfast, which is something I never thought I'd do. And it makes getting out the door in the morning so much easier.

PS: If you're interested in making the frittatas, I made them using four eggs, a dash of milk (I use oat milk because that's what I have at home), half an onion, a tomato, a handful baby spinach, one small zucchini, turmeric, nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper. —Gyan Yankovich

Get them from Amazon for $9.99.

5. A transparent bubble umbrella that'll keep your body dry and spirits high on super-dreary days.

Katy Herman / BuzzFeed

I've always been a believer in small, nylon umbrellas that you can fit in your purse, but I recently included this adorable baby in a post and decided to give it a try myself. After all, if something has a Frenchie on it, I'm basically sold. And the reviewers raved about how this truly kept them dry and let them protect their face from the elements while still being able to see where they were going. Plus, they said it was strong enough to not end up inside out, like my small ones always did. I still didn't love the idea of carrying around an umbrella so tall it could basically be a walking stick, so I remained skeptical. But all that changed one blustery day last week. Let me set the scene: I'd been sick with a nasty cold for almost a week, and one of my first ventures out of the house in days was in the early morning on a stormy Monday. I had to trek all the way uptown to a doctor's appointment in an absolute downpour with a cough that made it sound like I'd been smoking for 50 years. I was also carrying my laptop with me because I was going straight to work, so I had the added challenge of keeping one of my most prized possessions dry. This, I decided, would be the ultimate test for my new umbrella.

Let me tell you, this thing exceeded all my expectations. It made walking to and from the subway on that absolute garbage day NBD. It was like I had a happy little bubble all around my person protecting me from the nasty outside world. The little Frenchie faces cheered me on, at least in my imagination. And as for its portability? It was not the major schlep I had feared. The handle is amazingly smooth and sturdy and the whole thing is SO LIGHT. Plus, the U-shaped handle means I can grip it easily or even hook it over the edge of my tote. I am a bubble-umbrella convert, and the precious pups will be this woman's best friend on many rainy days to come. —Katy Herman

Get it from Amazon for $21 (available in 11 styles, including one with a cat).

6. A stylish way to ensure you never lose your sunglasses.

Kayla Suazo / BuzzFeed

I recently took a trip to Jordan, and I *almost* left my favorite pair of Ray-Bans at home because I have a tendency to frequently "misplace" my sunglasses, especially when I am traveling. But I didn’t want to part with my babies, and I thought surely there had to be a stylish way for me to keep them attached to my body even when I wasn’t wearing them to keep that sweet Jordan sunshine out of my eyes.



Enter: these flippin’ adorable sunglass straps from Sintillia. The stretchy attachments are adjustable so they can slide on to a variety of frame sizes, remain snug, and not fall off. They look incredibly stylish no matter how you wear them — around your neck or on your face — which, hello, is a huge plus because I’m not traveling around the entire world and not getting at least one cute photo taken of me. The best part is it’s hard to lose your fave pair of shades because they literally stay on your body at all times. My Instagram is so grateful (I would like to quickly give my boyfriend a shoutout for taking photos of me frolicking on the shore of the Dead Sea) and I am not even ashamed to say it. —Kayla Suazo

Get the one shown above from Amazon for $21 (chain and attachments available in two colors), and check out other straps on their website.

7. An easy way to get inspiration on Instagram.

Tom Vellner / BuzzFeed

My explore tab on Instagram is mostly videos of corgis trying to walk up steps, hot dudes, and drag queens, and while ~these are a few of my favorite things~, it seems to ignore all of the lifestyle accounts I browse, and doesn't exactly give me inspiration for recipes, style, or home decor — a few of my favorite...practical things. Home decor is something I'm really on the lookout for at the moment, because I'm moving to a new apartment in June!

SO, I recently discovered a way to curate an explore page that's more closely tailored to that interest. When you see a post you like, tap the banner button on the righthand side (opposite the heart button) and it'll prompt you to "Save to Collection." Do that! I started a collection called "Apartment Inspo," and once I had a few rows of saved posts in there, a new prompt appeared at the bottom to "See More Like This." JACKPOT.

I suddenly had a tab full of home decor posts, and even a few other lifestyle-related posts thrown in, like a graphic with "the zodiac signs as pastries," a meme about the struggle of deciding what to order for dinner with your S.O., and a video from Reese Witherspoon's account. INTO IT. So, there you go: a simple way to create a more refined explore tab on Instagram. Oh, and while we're on the topic of life-changing things — seriously, look up videos of corgis trying to walk up steps. —Tom Vellner

8. A little trick for reducing excess shipping materials when you shop online.

Amazon

In the last few years, I've made a lot of effort to reduce the amount of waste I create. I started small, limiting single-use plastics as much as possible and have slowly moved on to bigger things, like composting. But while I do make a conscious effort to do the best I can, I'm far from living a zero-waste life. One new little life hack I recently came across is Amazon's frustration-free packaging. This packaging was originally designed to limit the annoying extra packaging that makes things hard to open — think excess plastic and wire ties — and while it means opening your new stuff is easier, it also means less unnecessary packaging is ending up in landfill. Basically, it's the true definition of a win-win situation tbh. The frustration-free packaging option isn't available on everything on Amazon (yet?!) but it's definitely worth keeping an eye out for if you can't kick your Amazon habit, but are trying to be less wasteful. —GY

9. And an easy way to make your kitchen look sparkly clean.

mtreasure / Getty

I recently came across two sink-related tips that I've been using to great success! The first one is to actually dry your sink after you clean it with your cleaner of choice/water. I got this tip from Home Comforts and it was something I'd honestly never really thought about before. Turns out, drying your sink with a towel leaves the sink (and the entire kitchen) looking way tidier than just cleaning it and then leaving it to air dry. I was honestly sort of shocked by what a difference it makes. I also happen to find the act of drying my sink with a terrycloth rag to be weirdly satisfying.

The other related tip is one that I came across one day while on a Pinterest bender: if you only have time to clean one thing, make it your sink. The idea is that it's such a focal point in a kitchen (and, I suppose, a bathroom) that cleaning your sink will come back to you threefold. I honestly hate cleaning my sink (as I hate all water-related chores and activities) so I typically take the opposite approach, but since learning this, I've been forcing myself to clean the sink more often, and to make that part of my quick cleaning routine. And then I dry it. And...it works! Give it a try the next time you're feeling overwhelmed by your messy space, have last minute guests, and/or are having a bad day and just need to rage/sorrow clean something. —RWM