My mother-in-law had these metallic markers ($10) on hand during the holidays to keep track of whose glass is whose. We had a full house of more than 10 people staying overnight, so this was perfect for keeping track of our wine and water glasses, and coffee mugs. — CD 

I drink coffee every day, and I use the Bialetti 6-Cup Espresso Coffee Maker ($40) more often than any of my other coffee making machines (I have a few). I fill the lower chamber with water, add ground coffee in the funnel, screw on the top, and put it on the stovetop. In about three minutes I pour a cup of strong, delicious coffee. — MF

Backyard eggs really do taste better than farm-raised ones. At least ours do. It may be because they get a more varied diet: we include our kitchen scraps, which they devour. Chickens will eat anything. I had always resisted raising chickens because of what I imagined would be a daily chore. But they are really very low maintenance. We’ve had half a dozen chickens for 6 years now. Their feed trough can hold a week’s worth of feed, and an automatic water feeder keeps them watered indefinitely, so we can leave them alone for days at a time if we need to. We can always find someone willing to pick up some free, yummy backyard eggs. You can buy chicks from a mail order like McMurray Hatchery, but most feed stores, even urban ones, will sell chicks one by one. The best intro book is Raising Chickens for Dummies. — KK

Gimmicky kitchen tools are usually worse than the knives, graters, and other kitchen tools you already own. This little strawberry huller is an exception. The spring-loaded jaws make it a breeze to remove stems, making short work of baskets of berries. I’ve used this $7 tool dozens of times since I bought it in 2015. — MF

We bought an OXO Good Grips Silicone Sink Strainer ($8) last year and it does a good job of keeping the kitchen plumbing clog free. It’s easy to clean too. Just hold it over the trash can and pop the rubber filter inside out. — MF

I got rid of all of our flimsy floppy pan turners. They were useless. Why does anyone even make them? We have two of these $19 nylon turners and use them daily for everything we cook in a pan. The nylon won’t scratch the pan, and the stainless steel handle looks nice. — MF

These magnetic measuring spoons are handy because they have two sides for each measurement. The oval side fits into smaller jars, and I can alternate between wet and dry ingredients without having to wash a spoon. Also, the magnets keep them together so I never have to search for the one I need. — CD

Everyone can use a perfectly balanced, lifelong kitchen knife. It’s an ideal gift. One I like to gift is the Kuma Chef Knife which gets rave reviews from kitchen knife aficionados who normally review two-hundred dollar knives, yet the Kuma only costs $25. It’s ergonomically optimized for your hand, easy to keep razor sharp, and will last generations. When I lift mine, I smile. — KK

This $18 8-inch Winco knife is the first knife I reach for when preparing food. It sharpens well, holds an edge, and is heavy. Read the Amazon reviews to learn how many people swear by this workhorse kitchen tool. — MF

If you are lucky enough to stumble across these lightly dried herbs by Gourmet Garden in your grocery store, give them your money. I always buy up basil, cilantro and parsley. They last more than a month longer than fresh herbs and taste just as good. Here’s a store locator. — CD 

During the summer, we barbecue a couple of times a week. I have the classic Weber charcoal grill. I grill beef and chicken directly over the coals, but I’ve been using these grill mats to cook vegetables and fish. They are so thin that they look like they would incinerate in a second, but they are impervious to high heat. They are easy to clean, too. Nothing sticks to them. — MF

I am very happy with my IKEA standing desk. I bought it because I needed an affordable corner desk for my small home office and the BEKANT sit/stand desk ($549) was half the price of other adjustable height corner desks on the market. There are different sizes and color combos you can choose from and the desk comes with a 10-year limited warranty. — CD 

I bought this small rodent trap ($17) a couple of years ago and have caught several mice and rats with it. It doesn’t kill the animal, it just traps them in the cage when they touch the lever with the bait. (I use a bit of peanut butter for the bait, and put a little bowl of water in the cage so they don’t get thirsty before I check the trap.) With this kind of trap you still have to deal with the problem of what to do with a live rodent, of course. — MF

We have pantry moths in our kitchen cupboards, and can’t get rid of them. But we can greatly reduce how many there are with these moth traps. They look like little scout tents but the inner walls are coated with a sticky substance. Once every 9 months we replace the trap, which by then is covered with the creatures. — MF

These Luminara battery-operated taper candles really do look real. I love having them on every night on the dining room table and watching the flame flicker. It makes the room look so elegant. There’s even a timer setting to turn off automatically after 5 hours. — CD 

It didn’t take long for my new kitten to discover all the fun cables dangling behind my desk, so I bought these black sleeves to keep them tied together and concealed. Now it looks neat and sleek. I also bought this 50-piece set of velcro cable ties to tidy up all the other cords around our house. It’s practically a lifetime supply for only $7. — CD 

Motion sensing lights are a rapidly evolving product. Nowadays the motion sensors are built right into the LED light bulb itself; no clunky hardware or switches. The same sensors in the bulb detect night, so the bulbs only turn on in the dark with motion of a body. They can be used in any socket, and can be placed outside with a little protection. I’ve been trying out the various Chinese-made versions. This one by Luxon costs about $9 and works well enough in our garage, hallway and porch. — KK

Claudia is getting a kitten, and knowing that I have three cats, she asked me for recommendations on things to buy. Here they are: Boxiecat Premium Clumping Clay Cat Litter is nearly dustless and not perfumed. I’ve tried many different kinds of cat litter and this is the best. PetLovers Extra Sticky Lint Rollers are a necessity. Our cats use the Ultimate Scratching Post about 50 times a day. They no longer scratch upholstery, as they find the scratching post more satisfying. Cosmic Catnip Cat Toys come in a variety of shapes. They play with them, bliss out, and roll around on the floor for about ten minutes. They will lose interest if you leave the toys out, so it’s better to hide them and give them to your cats as an infrequent treat. Cats never seem to get frustrated about not being able to catch a laser pointer dot. My cats get really excited when they hear me open the drawer where we store our laser pointer and they will run into the room and start meowing and looking around wildly for the red dot. The DuraScoop Jumbo Cat Litter Scoop is made from cast aluminum and looks like an Art Deco collectible. It’s very sturdy and makes cleaning the cat litter much less unpleasant. — MF

I bought these $8 gardening gloves for pulling up roots in my yard. They have a textured, latex grip that kept the roots from sliding out of my hand. They’ve held up well after many hours of hard work. — MF

We tried out several outdoor string lights for our patio area. Most were too bright, but these LED, white globe myCozyLites ($23) were our favorite. They are so warm and inviting, we’ve set them on a timer so they are on every night. — CD