I'm looking for something even as simple as notepad.exe, but with the ability to encrypt text. I've seen a couple -- some weird, awkward freeware programs like dsCrypt, and others like PrivyPad that aren't free. Is there any excellent freeware one? Or, if not, what is the best non-free one? Thanks!

I haven't used this, but SafeSex comes to mind.

http://www.nullsoft.com/free/safesex/

edit: Oops. It turns out this isn't a text editor.

Eek. Yea, no good. Thanks for the recommendation anyway, though.

I'd tell you to use Notepad itself. Just write them in an encrypted virtual drive.

I use BestCrypt to save my sensible content. It works seamlessly with every application, only it encrypts it on-the-fly.

For a free alternative to BestCrypt, TrueCrypt:
http://www.truecrypt.org/

if you are looking for something small I'd recommend cryptext ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/crypt/utilities/file/

thanks for all the replies. i'm looking through all of these.