With the charms of summer also come not-so-charming and unwelcome visitors. With consistent 100+ degree weather in the desert we call home, 6- and 8-legged visitors (or really more like trespassers) are almost a regular part of life. But we have discovered a few safe and relative effective ways to keep the trespasser traffic under control without endangering our health or that of our children/pets Ludwig and Wolfgang.

Ways to Safely Repel and Kill Ants

Ants are the largest problem for us. In this desert, there are more types of ants than we have seen anywhere else we’ve lived - there are tiny red ants, medium ants, and jumbo ants (luckily the jumbo ones don’t see fit to come inside).

Prevention is the Best Medicine

The most basic, safest and easiest way to keep the ant traffic down is simply keeping the kitchen as clean as possible.

• Avoid leaving dirty dishes in the sink.
• Wash pots and pans immediately if you cook anything with meat or a lot of oil.
• Wipe the counters several times a day with soap. A minuscule crumb or little drop of something sweet can quickly bring a hoard of ants.
• Take out the kitchen trash everyday. Take out trash immediately if it contains meat, bones, greasy paper towels and napkins, meat packaging and sweet things.
• Avoid eating in bedrooms, and be careful of dropping crumbs in other rooms of the house.
• I’ve also found that having the air conditioner on helps.

Creepy Fact: When you dispatch an ant on duty, you are in fact killing a “she” and not an “it” (or “he”). Worker ants are all female. The males are only used for breeding.

Ways to Safely Kill Ants

Sometimes keeping clean doesn’t keep them away completely (scouts sometimes explore squeaky clean counters), or if you miss a crumb or two. If you have children or pets as we do, the fewer poisons you use around the house the better. Even if you don’t have children or pets, it is best to avoid using toxins as they will affect your health.

• Vinegar
  Vinegar is our preferred ant killer. It kills small ants almost immediately and is completely safe. Simply spray the ants and wipe them away.
• Yeast and Sugar
  Mix some dry yeast and sugar and leave it out in a place ants frequent. The sugar will attract the ants to the yeast, which once brought back to the nest and consumed, will expand in their bellies and kill them. This method might cease to work after a few times as the ants might wise up and avoid the yeast. Caution: Make sure the yeast is in a location that can’t be reached by your pet(s). It’s not poisonous, but ingestion can be dangerous.
• EcoSmart
  I recently discovered a natural and effective insecticide called EcoSmart, which is made of organic vanilla, cinnamon and rosemary oils. It kills ants and other insects on contact and smells nice while at it. It is also affordable at $3.87 per can at Walmart. This is the only commercial insect repellent and killer we use in our house.

Keep reading for tips on repelling and killing other insects (spiders, roaches, silverfish, etc.)

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For the lucky few who have extra leisure time this summer, I thought I’d put together some suggestions for productive and fun activities that will help enhance your personal, academic and/or professional life. Some of these suggestions are addressed as if to young people (students, adolescents, etc.) but can also apply to grown-ups.

My suggestions are divided into the following subsections:

• Summer Hobbies - activities with lasting benefits and meaning
  
• Summer Studies - develop skills that will be useful in life
  
• Summer To-Do’s - a few ways to get your life or home in order
  
• Summer Fitness - ways to keep cool and stay fit
  
• Summer Pet Bonding - make your pet happy and you healthy

Summer Hobbies

Here are some ideas for catching up on tasks that may have been neglected during the year.

• Write in your journal
  Write about your past year, what’s on your mind, who and what you like and dislike, your daydreams, anything. In future years you will be glad you did it and also amused by your younger self. You think you will always remember what happened when, but as time goes by, memories do fade and become forgotten. (Trust me, I’m speaking from experience and I’m not yet 30 and have a memory better than most.)
• Make a family video
  Go around the house and take a video of your family going about its regular business. You will be glad for the memories one day.
• Scrapbook
  Organize family photos, report cards, birthday cards, artwork, concert programs and other keepsakes from the past year into a scrapbook.
• Reading
  Reading (even fun fiction) can help improve your mind, vocabulary, grammar and writing skills. If you go to the library, you can read in an air-conditioned environment without having to pay for the air-conditioning or the books.

Summer Studies

Yes, summer should be fun, but there’s no reason it can’t be both fun and productive.

• Learn a new language
  The benefits of learning languages are endless. Learning a new language can help you to:
  • Get ahead in your career
  • Make new friends from different parts of the world. When you show an interest in someone’s language or culture, they are often appreciative and take an interest in you in return.
  • Improve your English (or first language)
• Learn to play a musical instrument
  Music enhances the mind in many ways. Studies have shown that children who study music at an early age do better in school than those who don’t. Aside from that, it is also just plain fun.
• Learn to sew
  Sewing is a very useful skill to have regardless of your gender. You can learn to mend clothes, make your own clothes and other things for your house, which can save you a lot of money. Older and more skilled children can even make their own clothes for the coming school year. Check out one of our earlier articles for more info: Save Money by Sewing Your Own Clothes.
• Take a computer class
  Learn to type properly, use a spreadsheet or database, design websites, make presentations, etc. Most jobs these days involve computer use, so knowing as much as you can about computers might help you get a higher salary.

Summer To-Do’s

A few suggestions for improving life at home and getting ahead on the coming year.

• Get a head start on your Christmas shopping
  This could save you time and money because you can shop at your leisure and take advantage of summer sales. Leaving your shopping to the last minute usually costs more because you are up against a deadline and usually have fewer options.
• Sort through your stuff
  Go through your clothes and things and prune out those you no longer want or need. You could donate the things you no longer need or hold a garage or yard sale and make some money to put into your college or retirement savings.
• Re-arrange your room or home
  Re-arranging your room or home can have a positive impact on your life. A change can be uplifting and produce an overall feeling of well-being and accomplishment, renew your energy and increase productivity.
• Clean out your computer
  Ideally you would do this several times a year, but if you use the internet and download a lot of things, it’s a good idea to clean out your computer on a regular basis. If there are programs you don’t use, uninstall them. If there are files that you no longer need, delete them. Clean your registry if you’ve had the computer for a while. Keeping your hard drive from getting too full will extend its life.

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Tell a friend

Merriam-Webster defines the word “vacation” as “a respite or a time of respite from something”. Well, if that “something” from which one is taking a respite is “peace and quiet” then I would have to agree with the definer. Otherwise, gathering from my 2 recent “vacations” (one to Disneyland, one [working] vacation to Las Vegas from which I have just returned), vacation seems more like a respite from peace and quite to me.

Anyhow, I thought I would put together a pre-vacation checklist to help all you other poor vacationers prepare for your vacations, because if there is one thing I have learned, vacations are costly - and I am not just talking about transportation, lodging and amusements, but all the little everyday necessities - and the only way to travel frugally is to travel prepared. Also, the better prepared you are, the better the time you will have on your vacation; knowing that everything back home is taken care of and that you are prepared for most common travel mishaps will allow you to enjoy yourself to the utmost.

And yes, I am the extremest of Type A personalities, but admit it, sometimes it is handy to have someone who has the bases covered. You’ll certainly be glad to have one of us along when the unexpected happens because we’ve planned and prepared for it (or at least have given some thought to it beforehand so as not to be caught by surprise). This isn’t a list of what to pack (toothbrush, underwear, etc.) but rather more of a pre-departure to-do list to help prepare for your trip. I’m not saying you need to do everything suggested, but hopefully a few items will prove helpful or relevant to your circumstances.

Prevention is the best medicine

Just because you are on vacation, it doesn’t mean everyone else is. This goes for utility companies, burglars and your own plumbing and wiring. When you come home from vacation, you want to make sure you still have an intact home to come home to, and aren’t met with a mountain of additional expenses. Therefore before you leave, you might want to try some of the following:

(These checkboxes are check-able, so feel free to come back and use it.)

Home and Business

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Note: We are taking a short break from blogging this week and will be re-posting a few of our earlier articles that may not have been read by many of our current readers. If you have already read this article (and those few to come), we apologize for the repetition and assure you that we will have some new material for you soon. Thanks for reading!

Pay Bills Online and Save
(Re-Post: Original post date February 15, 2008)

These days, most companies (including banks and utility companies) have websites and online payment options. Those that don’t often accept payments by phone. If you are still using snail mail to pay your bills each month, you could be saving $60 or more, depending your number of bills, each year by switching to payments by internet or phone. Consider the following example

Our monthly household bills look something like this: electric, gas, water & sanitation, 2 mortgages, cell phone, home insurance, auto insurance, 2 credit cards - an average of 10 bills per month. The cost of a first-class postage stamp is $0.41 ($0.42 starting May 12, 2008), and the cost of a personal check for us is about $0.07. (Since the companies usually provide the envelopes, we won’t count the cost of an envelope.) So the cost of mailing one bill is $0.48. At 10 bills a month, that amounts to $4.80 a month, and a total savings of $57.60 each year. A larger household with children and more bills could save even more than this.

If the company doesn’t have a website, it usually has a toll-free number you can call to pay by phone. Some companies allow you to set up automatic monthly charges to your credit card or withdrawals from your bank account, which could save you a lot of time.

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Vinegar is the frugally-, environmentally- and health-minded person’s best friend. Vinegar derives its potency from acetic acid, CH3COOH. The acidic nature of vinegar gives it the ability to kill bacteria, dissolve unwanted substances, and kill and deter insects and pests. Keep in mind that vinegar will corrode certain metals if not wiped away promptly. Because vinegar is very potent, test a small spot or do a little research before using on delicate or very costly items. Here are a few suggestions for saving money and your health by substituting vinegar, which can be had for as little as $2.50 a gallon at your local supermarket, for common cleaning agents and pesticides around your house.

• Killing and deterring ants. In order to be effective, you must spray ants with undiluted vinegar. DO NOT WIPE AWAY THE DEAD ANTS. I find that ants only stop coming if you leave the bodies for their fellows to carry away and a lingering sour smell. Spray doors, windows, and perimeters of beds with vinegar.
• Spray flying or crawling insects. This is more effective than a fly swatter because flies don’t think they have to flee from a spray of “water”. It’s also nice to not have smeared insects or poison in your house.
• Removing water stains from glass, bathrooms, dishes, fish tanks, dish racks, etc. Hard water deposits are alkaline (basic) and vinegar being an acid will break them down.
• Removing tea and coffee stains from cups and teapots. Spray and let sit for a minute, then wash as usual. This is also useful for very greasy cookware or burnt grease.
• Washing dog dishes which are often coated with a thick layer of slimy saliva that is not easily removed with dish detergent.
• Disinfecting sink drains, shower drains, and your throat. When drinking, dilute with water and add honey. Honey is not necessary for drains.
• Cleaning windows. Much cheaper than window cleaners.
• Removing stains from fabric and carpets. Can be added to laundry.
• Polishing varnished wood and other surfaces.
• Clearing drains. Pour baking soda down the drain and then add vinegar.
• Cleaning your pets’ ears. Swab with a vinegar and water solution.
• Cleaning and conditioning hair. Mix with shampoo to remove styling products and excessive oil. I once read that vinegar contains enzymes which are good for hair.
• Deodorize your pet. Mix with shampoo and wash. May be good for pets with skin problems, but you may want to check with your vet in case certain conditions makes skin sensitive to acid. Undiluted vinegar is not recommended for cats as they have very thin skin.
• Soak your feet. Kills bacteria and odor and helps remove old skin cells.
• Polishing coins. We did this in 6th grade science class.
• Making a bang. My cousin once liked to fill a small resealable (Ziploc) bag with baking soda and vinegar. The bag expands with the gas produced by the two substances and explodes with a bang. Rather an exciting event for a kid.

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Lesson 1: When Not to DIY

In the past year, we only went out an average of 1-2 times per month to run errands and our garage door therefore got very little exercise. One day last month, when I was leaving for my monthly grocery shopping trip, the door wouldn’t close. I left it to Madoline to figure out, and when I got home I found the door stuck halfway down and slightly slanted, having come un-aligned and with 2 of the upper wheels fallen out of the track on one side. Being confirmed DIY-ers, we tried to see if we could fix it ourselves, which involved me standing on the back of a sofa we had purchased at Goodwill (with the plan of re-upholstering it) and wrestling with the door, but soon decided it was best left to a professional and we made to by putting the wheels back in the tracks to keep the door from sagging and damaging the entire contraption.

Our biological father came to visit last week, and although I told him we needed to call a professional repairman, he thought he could fix it to save us some money. One and a half hours later, the door was more crooked, we had lost 3 more wheels, the tracks had been knocked out of place and the door was literally hanging. Furthermore, I found out after the fact that my father had severely endangered his own life, and even worse, MY LIFE, by unwinding the tension cable. And worst of all, he had damaged the door further so that what might have been some minor repairs became major repair, including replacement of the tension rod.

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