Invasion Of The Ants!

ants aren’t fun Last night our home got overtaken by ants. Seriously.

We have had some ants in the kitchen before but you expect to have them in the kitchen, especially since we leave out cat food for our kitties. We would vacuum them up and treat with repellant and the problem would go away for a while. It was never a huge amount of ants anyways, just enough to be noticeable and annoying.

Yesterday, when I woke up, I noticed there were a few little ants on the carpet near my bedroom dresser. I thought it was strange but there were only two or three so I thought it was a fluke. After inspecting and failing to find more invaders I vacuumed the area and went on my merry little way.

That evening, as I got ready to go to bed, I walked around near my dresser and saw a massive pile of ants in the middle of the carpet. Apparently, a kitty had vomited while I was gone during the day and it attracted a ton of ants. It was horrible! I vacuumed them all up and treated the area. I also set out traps. I thought my saga was over but it had just begun.

So after taking care of that situation I headed to the master bathroom for my nighttime routine and as soon as I opened the door I called for my husband. There was a stream of ants running along the edges of the walls. Or maybe it was more like a river because there were thousands of them. We have a kitty isolated for medication in the master bathroom right now so we have kitty food in there. We have had food in there for almost a month with no problems but I guess those days are over. The ants seemed to materialize out of no where! We saw no sign of them that morning as we showered and got ready for the day but by that evening it was a different story.

The bathroom situation was much worse than the bedroom so I got my husband to help take care of that ordeal. After putting the kitty in a different room we vacuumed all those ants up and treated the entire area. We determined that they were coming in from behind the cabinets so we threw some baits back there, hoping it might help.

I have never had an ant problem before this year so I’m not sure how to actually get rid of them. I kill them or bait them but they seem to come back after a while. I wouldn’t think it would be this hard to get rid of ants but I hear that sometimes people battle these pests to no avail. I have found that the baits don’t seem to work long term like they promise. We have tried different brands and the ants still return in the kitchen. We have treated the outside in the past and have some new outdoor baits we will try. Now that the bedroom and bathroom are ant zones it really feels like we are being invaded.

Eric blames this problem on the fact that we stopped our bug service last year to help cut costs. I’m not sure if that is really the cause or if it is a coincidence. Either way, I find it hard to believe that we can’t stop these ants without paying for an exterminator.

Today I’m heading to the store to see if they have anything else that might help. I considered trying the inexpensive borax and sugar trick but these ants are clearly attracted to proteins and I’m wondering if sugar is the best way to bait them. Plus, whatever we use has to be completely safe around pets (e.g. no open lids of poison or dusting of cayenne).

I will share what ends up working, whether it be the expensive store-bought solutions or the cheap home-grown ideas. The ants haven’t been back today but unfortunately that means nothing. They could just be regrouping for another invasion.

Have any of you had to fight this battle? Do you have any tips that will get rid of these pests without breaking the bank? Suggestions are welcome!

Image Source: the bridge

Finding a New VoIP Provider

Wow - A Rotary Phone! It sounds like Vonage is going through some rough times right now. We’ve been using Vonage for, I think, a couple of years now. We’ve been really happy with the service, and have two lines with them. One is our normal home line, and the other line Melissa uses for some of her charity work.

Some people have suggested we just drop the home phone altogether and go purely with cell phones. I don’t like that idea as much. For me, my cell phone has always been more about giving me convenience to call people when I’m out, and not for the convenience of getting a hold of me. I’m selective about who I give my cell phone number to, but I don’t mind giving out my home phone number. I guess it’s more of a habit than anything else. Having separate home and cellular numbers just fits the way I want to live.

If you haven’t heard about Vonage’s latest trouble, several months back, Vonage lost a battle with Verizon over some patents. It was unclear at that time what would happen to them. There was talk that after the KSR vs. Teleflex Supreme Court case that Vonage might have a chance in appeals. I’m not sure everything is over yet, but at least for now, hope for Vonage may be slim after the appeals court has ruled for Verizon again, and this is just after Vonage lost a different case with Sprint.

Right now, I’m unsure of Vonage’s future, and I would really like to keep my phone number. I’m debating tonight whether or not I should switch. If I switch now, I have this theory that it will be easier than if I wait and Vonage is forced into raising prices or runs into even further troubles.

So, last night I started researching possible replacement providers. I didn’t realize how much things had changed. I had some friends who were trying to talk me into switching to SunRocket, but they are in bad shape right now too. I’ve got a couple of friends who have now mentioned CallCentric as an option. I like this one. It only costs $1.95 for a phone number, and it’s $0.015 for incoming minutes. Outgoing minutes are only $0.0198 / min (1.98 cents / minute). Seeing as how we only use at most a couple hundred of minutes on the home phone, this is only going to cost $1.95 + (200 minutes * $0.0198 = 3.96) = 5.91 a month. This sounds good to me! The only issue again is longevity. It’s not clear to me how long they’ll be around.

I was checking on some more providers, like Packet8. One reason I like them is a blurb on their about page :

Packet8 Internet phone service was introduced in 2002 by publicly traded 8×8, Inc. (Nasdaq: EGHT), a 20 year old telecommunications company with more than 68 multimedia and VoIP technology patents.

I’m not 100% sure what this will mean in a patent battle, but at least they might have a way to counter-sue.

We have Time Warner in my area, and they offer Digital Phone service, but it starts at $39.95 and that doesn’t include voicemail (that’s $3.95 extra). I always felt Vonage cost a little more than I wanted to spend. I can’t imagine spending more – especially when I get less for my money.

Another service I found intriguing was ViaTalk. It’s $199.95 if you prepay for a year, and you get two lines! That sounds like a pretty darn good deal. Plus, I might even be able to use my existing Linksys phone connector.

If anyone out there has some suggestions, I’m interested in hearing them. Leave a comment to the post if you’d like, or send us something via the Contact page.

For the immediate future, I’m sticking with Vonage as I continue to research what else is out there.

Image Source: spierzchala

The Lost Arts?

Sometimes I wonder if I should have taken Home Economics in high school. For me, it was a choice between that and computer science and I chose the latter. Although computer science helped prepare me for a career in the tech industry I feel like I missed out on learning some of the essentials for running a household that could help save money.

It seems most of my friends didn’t take Home Economics either. Are students are getting this knowledge at home instead? I didn’t and neither did a lot of my friends. Are frugal household skills that were once widely practiced becoming less common knowledge with younger generations? Are you proficient in these “lost arts”?

Sewing & Repairing Clothing

Sewing I have absolutely no idea how to sew. How many people do you know actually sew? The other day a button fell off Eric’s pants and I realized I’d have to dig up my little sewing kit and figure out how to sew it back on. I just never had the opportunity to learn. I view this as a tragedy because repairing (and making) clothing is economical and can save money. It seems to be a skill that isn’t getting passed down as often as it once was.

Not only is sewing important for repairing clothing it is also useful for creating wonderful household goods from scrap fabrics like bedding and window hangings. One of my very best friends makes the most beautiful quilts and even made a successful home business out of it. I am amazed by her and this talent she has. I haven’t been able to figure out how to properly sew buttons yet she can make works of art.

Cooking From Scratch

Homecooking I feel strongly that cooking is becoming a lost art outside of professional kitchens. I love to cook but none of my close friends routinely cook from scratch. Not one. Many of my friends lack even the basic fundamentals of cooking and they have no interest in learning. It’s a shame because cooking from scratch is a valuable skill that not only saves money but helps pass down family traditions. I am lucky I happened to really enjoy cooking as an adult despite having very little exposure to it growing up.

Once upon a time learning to cook was essential; you simply had to feed your family and convenience foods weren’t an option. These days, you can accomplish the same task without really needing to learn how to cook with ready-to-eat meals. Unfortunately, these prepared foods are more expensive than their homemade counterparts. Perhaps the ease of convenience foods has made cooking from scratch less desirable so less young adults are trying it. To get good at homemade cooking you must practice. That is why everyone loves Grandma’s cooking – practice makes perfect.

Balancing A Checkbook

First Checkbook Toy I haven’t balanced a checkbook since high school. I don’t even write checks anymore. With online banking, budgeting, and Quicken I have essentially lost the desire (and maybe the ability) to hand balance my checkbook down to the penny. I remember my mother teaching me how to do this when I was young but I never really got in the habit. Only one of my friends still does this and the rest don’t. Is the joy of having that checkbook ledger balance perfectly a thing of the past?

Gardening

Homegrown Veggies I always have considered gardening and cultivating homegrown food an art form. When I lived on a farm we grew fresh green beans and my grandmother always had a garden full of fresh food. When we moved to the suburbs we never again had a garden and I missed out on developing that skill.

Around here, I see people tending flower beds but not vegetable gardens. Imagine how much you could save if you could harvest your veggies from your backyard rather than the grocery store! How wonderful would it be to have fresh herbs around? I think we may see a rise in this “hobby” now that vegetable gardening is more in vogue. I am planning to learn how to garden in our new home.

I could go on and on with topics (canning/food preservation, ironing, even household budgeting, etc) that seem to be fading out with my generation. Maybe some of the need has been replaced by modernization. I think it is interesting to look at these “lost” frugal household skills and see if people are still practicing them.

Image Sources: oskay, EverJean, mrbill, David Blaine

Top 6 Things I’m Looking Forward To In The New House

Looking Good! Today we went and looked at the new house and it’s really coming along. We’ve had some delays but they have progressed to the electrical stage now. We can begin to get a real feel for what the house will look like even though it is just the framing, roof, and plumbing. I’m starting to get excited! It’s really happening now and we’ll likely be moving by the end of the year.

There are many things I’m looking forward to in the new house. Overall the house will be better suited for us and that will simply make life easier.

The top 6 things I’m looking forward to:

1. A bigger, better kitchen – This is the thing I’m most excited about. Our current kitchen is small and has only about a foot of usable counter space. I’ve had to resort to placing covers over two of our four gas burners to give us more usable space. Cooking is my true love and having space to stretch out will make such a difference. The new home will have much more counter/cabinet space and even a functional island. Woohoo!

2. A freezer – We will finally get to have a freezer! We don’t have the room at this house and we miss out on the cost savings of having a freezer. I can’t wait to start cooking meals in bulk and freezing them for backups when I don’t have time to cook. I want to be able to buy meats in bulk and freeze them as well. I need to start comparing models soon.

3. A utility sink – This will be really nice to have in the garage. Right now we have to wash larger objects like litter boxes in the bathtub. It will be great to have a place to wash dirty stuff outside the house. It will also come in handy for gardening.

4. Less carpet – We ditched carpet in most of the home in favor of tile. When you have pets the carpet just seems to get dirty so fast. We wanted to avoid dealing with stains and trapped dirt/hair if possible. I’m sick of steam cleaning! I’m hoping with tile we will be able to sweep and mop and keep a cleaner home. Not vacuuming three times a week could reduce our electricity bill. It will also help cut down on allergies, too!

5. More space and storage – We will have plenty of closet space in the new home. Maybe we will finally be able to park our cars in the garage. Here we have to use the garage for storage.

6. Having a garden – This will be an exciting yet challenging project for us. I can’t wait to start growing some fresh produce! I’m hoping it will be a satisfying hobby that also saves money. We are already planning the best spot for the garden in the new home. I still need to do the research on what grows best in my area but I’m expecting to try tomatoes, onions, peppers, and herbs at the very least. I’ll need to start with easy things and work my way up.

When Frugality Becomes A Dirty Stinkin’ Excuse

But they’re soaking… This morning when I got up to make breakfast I noticed something didn’t smell right in the kitchen. The garbage was full and it was starting to smell a little. I kept putting off taking it out because I could fit more in the garbage bag. I might as well maximize using that bag before tossing it, right?

Realizing my garbage was in desperate need of attention I also noticed the dishes in the sink were building up. And in the laundry room there was a pile of dirty laundry. What happened here? Why did I get so behind in my household chores?

Frugality. Yes, you heard me. Ok, well maybe not frugality but the guise of frugality. I think I’ve been using frugality as an excuse to put off doing some chores that needed to be done.

“I can fit a little more trash in this garbage bag – I’ll wait to take it out until tomorrow”.

“But if I wait to do the dishes/laundry until tomorrow I’ll have a bigger load and it will save water and electricity.”

Who am I kidding? I’m not really saving any real amount of money – I’m just being plain lazy. It wasn’t like I only had a few shirts to wash or a couple of glasses in the sink. I had big enough loads to make it energy efficient and worth the cost. I was simply finding a way to justify my lack of housekeeping yesterday with saving money.

What good is saving a few pennies if I have to live in home with stinky garbage and dirty clothes? Quality of life plays into this, too. I don’t have to be a slob to save money.

I know I’m being dramatic here – I wasn’t horribly behind in my chores – but the smelly trash did make me examine my thinking behind not removing it earlier. I remember thinking that in a way I could be saving money.

This applies to more than just household duties. Could a desire to save money be used as an excuse to hide the true reason behind certain actions (or inactions)?

Could there be other reasons besides frugality that someone would:

Avoid social situations like dinners or group activities?
Delay traveling or shopping in favor of staying home?
Neglect their health by avoiding doctors, health checks, dental exams, etc?
Avoid replacing things they need when they are clearly worn out?

I can think of a lot of ways frugality could be used to justify behavior that is really motivated by different reasons. After all, you can still attend dinners with your friends if you eat an inexpensive meal or split something. If there are ways to make it affordable and you still choose not to go then maybe the desire to save money isn’t the main reason you aren’t going. It’s just a side effect.

Anyway, this morning I went on a crash course of cleaning to restore my home to its usual condition. I need to be more honest with myself about my motivations sometimes. For instance, if I avoid going grocery shopping is it really because I want to save money or is it because I don’t feel like going that day?

In my case, it was pretty obvious I was just avoiding doing the dishes and saving money was just a convenient (and barely applicable) excuse.

Image Source: Old Sarge

← Previous Page — Next Page →