Seed starting kit

This set of three plastic trays comes with 30 soil pods for foolproof germinating of vegetable seeds. I used it to start bean, basil, tomato, and catnip plants in my kitchen windowsill. Transplanting is easy — just place the pod with the sprout into your garden soil or planting container. — MF

Stunning travel instagram

Instagram encourages envy. I am totally envious of the photography of Jordan Hammond on Instagram. He travels to the kind of remote places I go, but he gets stunning images on a regular basis. Each one is a classic, requiring a lot of work, and captures the spirit of a place. — KK

Wake up earlier, naturally

I wasn’t sure if I would like the Philips Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock, but in one month it’s trained me to wake up earlier, naturally. I set the alarm for the time I want to wake up and the light gradually increases beginning about 20 minutes before the alarm is set to go off. During that time is when I usually wake up. When the wake-up light doesn’t work, I get woken up by the sounds of birds chirping. Either way, I’m never startled or grumpy. — CD 

7 secrets of advanced writing

I like this graphic shared by DailyInfographic which lists seven tips for better writing. Some advice for mastering them is to just focus on one or two at a time until they become habits. I am working on parallel construction, by taking out words I’ve listed and confirming the sentence still makes sense. — CD 

Page turner aid

I bought this Sortkwik fingertip moisturizer so I could do card tricks better, but it turns out to be excellent for separating sheets of paper and turning book pages, too. If you have dry fingers, give this stuff a try. It’s not greasy or sticky, it just adds a little extra grip. — MF

Underwater corrective optics

This made a huge difference to our family when we discovered them: you can get swim goggles and snorkeling masks with corrective lenses. Same price, see better! — KK

— Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder, Claudia Dawson