Ants, ants, go away, find your lunch some other way...

Does anyone have any ideas about natural ways to get rid of ants? I have heard cinnamon, I've heard cucumber, I've heard Ant and Roach killer.... that one doesn't sound so appealing, but I'm SICK of ANTS! It doesn't seem to matter how clean things are, they will still look for something to eat. Windows open are a requirement, and the ants that are coming in are coming through the screen--yes, they are that small. Soooo, I guess this is a plea for help. If anyone has any ideas, please leave me a comment and let me know. THANK YOU!

Babystepping

So I have been thinking about what all green entails lately. I have a friend looking for a wringer washer, because it will save on water from a front loader, is wanting to start canning for the year, and is just as chemical conscious as I am. Does it matter? No. I haven't been able to can before, I don't have a closeline, and I probably won't have one unless I move. Can I still look at how I can be more green than I am now? was a year ago? or five years ago? Definitely. It isn't a race, it is a collabrative effort. I live frugally out of neccessity. I can't afford every green gadget that is out, but thinking about it lately, do I really want to? 50 years ago, how many gadgets did they have? Yeah, I will pass on the newest gadget. I'll freecycle for the stuff to build a rainbarrel---when I get to it, and I will put the tomatoes I get out of the garden on a salad or let the kids eat them for the snack they want before they ever make it in the house. I'll can next year. I had a garden this year. That is better than last. Sometimes babystepping 2 green means babystepping... one thing at a time, one system at a time, one bit of effort. Over, and over, and over again.... and the persistance of the 5 minutes at a time over the course of the year, the decade, and the century add up. As flylady would say, it didn't get this way in a month and it isn't going to get better in a month either.