Name: Nola
Age: 27
Home: Coquille, OR

Family's Names and Ages:
Anthony 38,
Kristin 5,
Cayce 3,
Landon 20 months
1 dog, 3 cats, 20 chickens and some fish ;)

Occupation:
Before becoming a stay at home mom 5 years ago, before the birth of my first daughter, I worked in the forest products industry doing timber inventory.

If I had a day to myself...:
It depends on if my house was clean or not! If it was clean I would probably read a good book...but being it usually isn't clean I would try to catch up on a lot of the little things that I procrastinate about...like dusting or washing the bathroom mirror! ;)

Money Saving Tips:
I try to buy blue jeans for my daughters that I know will be ok for my son to wear when he gets older...that way they can make it through three children. I really feel that I get my money's worth from them then. Plus I usually buy them used off eBay to begin with!

Also, I have several fruit trees and really feel spoiled when summer is here! All the fresh fruit to eat and so many yummy recipes to use! I make my own apple sauce, pies, cider, and syrup! There is nothing like hot blackberry or plum syrup on waffles on a cold winter day to make you feel all cozy inside!

Bargain Hunting Strategies:
I live in a very small community so there aren't a lot of different stores to choose from, but I do keep an eye on the weekly coupon specials and try to compare prices to get the best deals. We do have a large freezer so if something is on a good sale I try to stock up on it so it will last until the next time there is a good sale!

Products we can't live without:

I am the kind of person who thinks I could happily live on a mountain and only go to town once a month if I could. So I like to make do with what I have and when that runs short we try and improvise!

In the Kitchen:
Clean as you go! The kitchen seems to be one of my hardest areas to keep clean...I love to bake but hate cleaning up after, so if I clean as I go or as soon as I'm done it isn't nearly as bad as if I let it stack up!

Organization:
Organization seems to be an uphill battle for me, especially with three little ones running around and undoing all that I seem to be accomplishing. But I do try and climb that mountain. I used to really let it stress me out but then realized that I don't want my kids to remember me always fretting about chores, so I do what I can and remind myself that it will still be there to be done when my kids are older and less dependant. For me right now my best organizational hint would be...do it now - the more I procrastinate the harder the chore seems to become!