A Small but Crucial Advantage of Minimalism
Yer on the Wrong Side of That Window, Fella!
Here in Indiana, it’s time for the annual ant invasion. I live in a bungalow built in 1920, and while the previous owner did much to rescue it from dereliction, it still has “charming” qualities which make it vulnerable to nature’s more determined creatures.
None are more determined than our ants. In the past, the ants would raid the kitchen cabinets and the cat’s food bowl without mercy. I’d get a warning ant or two for a week, and then suddenly have an entire colony in everything and everywhere. As my husband will confirm, I don’t go all Zen when ants invade–I go batshit crazy. Mice, ants, spiders, attic squirrels, it doesn’t matter, I want them outta here, and outta here now!
It was so much work to clean out cabinets, throw out sweet stuff, set out ant bait and traps, and do it again and again until the damn things decided it wasn’t worth it anymore and left me alone. I’d empty out my crammed cabinets and live with total disarray during the process, making the rest of life a little harder, too. Tiresome.
But the past couple of springs has been remarkably different, thanks to getting rid of clutter, improving my diet, and going all minimalist on their little thoraxes. My food cabinets are no longer crammed. Because they aren’t crammed, they are easier to keep clean as I go–no more sticky spots from the jar of honey or vanilla. We have very little in the way of sweet things anymore. There’s no other clutter to work around, almost no place for them to hide. The scout ants can’t carry tales of sweet riches back home >:-}
It’s the same with anything that wants to find a home in the basement–there are very few hiding places left, and the improved air circulation from having less clutter keeps it from becoming dank and inviting to whatever makes a spider’s day. I love it.
In the great outdoors, I am tolerant of most of Nature’s progeny. The bunny rabbit puts the fix to any vegetable I’ve tried to grow. I’m respectful but mostly unafraid of the honeybees that arrive in droves to feast on the lavender and sage flowers. It’s fun to watch the robins chase the chipmunks and the squirrels. But they gotta stay out of my house!
22 Responses to “A Small but Crucial Advantage of Minimalism”
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Minimalist Photographer
I live in Tucson so I know all about ants……Whole cloves works…..so does ground chalk if you put a line of it all the way around the cats bowls……so does spraying with vinegar in the cabinets.
We de-cluttered before we moved down here from Michigan! Everything went including the TV! So much happier and the people at the library have no idea how I read so many books in one month! It’s so much easier to stay on a budget without advertising intruding my brain all the time!
Mecha, is it easier to live in Tuscon than Michigan/Indiana? I hate hate hate the humidity and temperature extremes here. My husband lived in Israel for a while and loved the desert air, but I don’t know if I could handle a desert. We certainly don’t want to spend the rest of our lives here, though.
Will keep your suggestions in mind. I am tempted to draw chalk outlines of dead ants, but don’t suppose the ants would get the message ;D
You hit the nail on the head of my current trial Meg! Little creepy crawlies suck. Not so much if they’re outside doing their thing, but when they’re inside oh man.
I 1,000% back up your results. Before minimalism, a normal amount of bug crusading activities. After minimalism, a rarity!
My current trouble comes from our shared living situation with a clutterer. Dog and cat food bowls sitting out overnight, kitchen cupboards crammed full and inviting pesties inside. Crumbs on the kitchen counter. All of this equals a turbo-charged bug population. I’ve turned into a very good maid but I think this is karmic payback for my years of being a packrat and making Patrick clean up after my mess!
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Well, I have a feeling that you will soon invade those cluttered cabinets yourself ;D I can see it now…shelf by shelf, weeding through the contents just as you weeded through the sheds, toss, toss, toss, toss, toss, keep, toss, toss, keep, toss, toss, toss, ewwwwww, toss, toss…. It’s a potential photoblog, hmmm?
This is timely – we’re gutting our kitchen and while I found it easier since minimalism to transfer everything from the kitchen to the dining room, finding 5 pounds of mouse shit under my base cabinets was a soul scarring surprise. I mean, yes, living in the inner city in connected housing means that even if you are fastidious, all it takes is one filthy, cluttery neighbor and we all suddenly have mice, but I just didn’t realize how many. I can barely think about it without wanting to break open a gallon of bleach in order to make myself feel clean again!
But we’re putting in a free standing kitchen, popular in Europe, not popular with critters. No secret little passages to hide in!
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Terra, you point out something that I discovered when I reconfigured my kitchen base cabinets last year–they are perfect places for vermin. I am much inclined to go the free standing route myself, when time and money allow. GACK! bleach bleach bleach bleach!
What I’ve found to work very well on ants, though not instantly, is a product called Terro. It is a liquid (actually just sugar water and borax, I think; you could possibly make it yourself) and you just place a drop here and there where ants are seen. I try to put it right on the ant trail if one has already started. The ants find it yummy, take it back home and share, and in a couple days they are all gone. Oh, and it is harmless to humans and pets since it is not poison, so no worries putting it near the cat bowl.
- Mike
Mike | Homeless On Wheels recently posted..Poorly Packed Shipments
Borax is a great all-around cleaner and bug repellent, no doubt about it. I haven’t tried it around the cat’s bowl but might have to give it a go. Tomorrow will be the first dry day we’ve had in weeks, so I plan on liberally boraxing the front porch, which is humming with ant activity. It’s weird because the porch is made of synthetic decking, and not wood!
I agree with the ant theory. Outside is ok (my husband reminds me that ants loosen garden dirt and make it healthier) but not.in.my.house. I don’t cohabit with mice either as a little family of them discovered a few months ago. Disgusting little things and they’re rather blatant and pushy about setting up shop under my kitchen sink. Having an uncluttered cabinet made it so much easier to discover and capture them.
If you and Steve are looking for a less humid climate but don’t want desert, you might consider coastal SoCal. Even a little way inland (and away from major cities), it’s dry but not desert, and the cost of living isn’t off the charts high.
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It’s great to be able to spot trouble when it moves in, isn’t it? Before I decluttered, who knows how long it would be before I found the signs of vermin habitation?
Thanks for the suggestion of SoCal. Our research online also suggested that it has the kind of climate that we’d both find suitable–or rather, that San Diego has the right climate. I don’t think we’d ever be able to afford to live there, though, so further inland is a good idea.
What exactly does batshit crazy look like? Is there photographic evidence of this condition?
I started cleaning with more natural cleaning products last year. Borax is a popular ingredient in different solutions I use. It kills bugs and keeps rodents out too. Do a few Google searches on it. I live in Houston, lots of ants and roaches. Borax works as good as professional pest control does and no harmful chemicals.
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I bet it would be a pretty messy photo Marc.
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My husband has taken several candid photos of me in my batshit crazy condition, so might have to do a special blog post on the topic for your enlightenment and entertainment ;D
As I said to Mike in the above comment, Borax is going to get some serious use very soon!
Hi…..I live in northern Indiana and it is definately bug season! As long as they stay outside and don’t bite we can peacefully coexist together…otherwise they better watch out – lol!
Also wanted to say I enjoy reading your blog very much!
Hi Mary, and welcome to my blog. We’ve had so much rain this year, too, and I think it encourages the bugs!
My boyfriend just wrote a post about ants. How funny. It must be that time of year. We have been dealing with the ant invasion for the last couple of weeks. It makes me want to get rid of everything and start from scratch.
http://almostbohemian.com/ants/
Although I dread having to jump into spring cleaning, it makes for a much more peaceful life when you can see all the things you own. I love removing the items that are buried in the corner that you didn’t even knew existed.
Good luck with your ant invasion!
Hi, Meg–just read your bf’s post and it was wonderful! Thanks for bringing it to my attention and providing the link
I see you’re in SoCal–Willow suggests it as a suitable climate for us, and now you’ve posted, and I’m wondering if there’s some pro-Karmic force beginning to churn….
Yuck, yuck, yuck. I just poured borax on a ton of any hills right out our back doors on the patio yesterday. I’ve caught a few scouts sneaking in to take a peek around too.
I’m usually very respectful of all the insects and critters outdoors also, but I most certainly don’t want to live with them inside my house!
I actually just had to stop typing this and take a lap through my kitchen to make sure there weren’t any ants scouting the place out. I have a toddler, so getting every speck of stickiness out of the kitchen is an ongoing challenge!
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Here in Vermont we’ve had two months of just about non-stop rain (feels like it anyway), and the ants are coming in by droves.
We don’t have the little tiny guys that are just looking for some sugar–we have the huge, black carpenter ants, and they are DISGUSTING, especially when you reach into a cupboard and see one (or more) scurry away.
In years where we don’t see very many ants, tiny bowls of sugar and Borax mixed together and left near where they come in work well, but this year, much as we hate to, we’re going to have to sprinkle Sevin around the outside of our house to get rid of them. We’re surrounded by pine trees, which seem to be carpenter ant magnets.
I’m enjoying your blog very much!
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One thing I have found since beginning to mimimalize, is how much easier it is to clean overall. I mean, expecially when I have been on a lazy streak, and there is clutter from living lying around, it only takes a few minutes to pick it all up and get the place back in order, whereas in the past it could take ALL day long!
Good luck with the ants!
Bernice
Living the Balanced Life recently posted..Is your stuff holding you back
I’m enjoying your blog very much! I can barely think about it without wanting to break open a gallon of bleach in order to make myself feel clean again! This is timely – we’re gutting our kitchen and while I found it easier since minimalism to transfer everything from the kitchen to the dining room, finding 5 pounds of mouse shit under my base cabinets was a soul scarring surprise. Not so much if they’re outside doing their thing, but when they’re inside oh man.
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