Hi ValerieAnne, first of all welcome to the forums.
Right now there’s only one thing you can do to remove those paid collections from your reports, you need to send what they call “goodwill letters”.
The best thing to do when you have an unpaid collection on your credit report is to try to negotiate a “pay for delete”. That is, paying the debt in exchange of having the tradeline deleted from your report. Most collection agencies are willing to negotiate, and sometimes you can even negotiate to pay only a percentage of what you originally owed (as you were able to find out). Once you pay, there’s really not much you can do, except for sending a goodwill letter.
Paid or unpaid collections will stay on your report for 7 years (from the date the account first became past due). A goodwill letter is basically a letter asking for deletion of these items early off your credit reports as a gesture of goodwill.
You have a strong case. I would just send each of these collection agencies (check the names and addresses that appear on your report), telling them your story and asking them (kindly) to delete these collections. Keep sending letters until you get a response.
Here’s an example of a goodwill letter: http://credit.about.com/od/creditrepair/qt/Sample-Goodwill-Letter-To-Remove-Negative-Credit-Report-Information.htm
Regarding your Capital One card, you don’t need to use it all the time. You just need to make small charges every once in a while (say you can pay for gas or food, etc.), pay your bill on time and don’t max out your card. You just need to re-establish credit and make sure your accounts are in good standing. Getting another card eventually would help too. By the way, I love Amazon as well and have their store card, maybe consider applying for their store card at some point…
Rebuilding your credit takes time, so don’t get frustrated if it takes you longer than a year to reach your goal. You need to be patient.