Homesteading Goals

As I stare at this pile of homesteading books on my desk, I realize that one could quickly become overwhelmed with where to start, when to start, and what to do. There is gardening, home energy, building, preserving, housekeeping, animal keeping, and the list goes on and one. This post is about putting our priorities down on paper (digital paper that is).
Goal #1 - Recycle

• We are fortunate enough to have a city recycling collection that comes by our house once a week. Until recently, we have not used this service. About a month ago, we decided to start sorting though our daily trash accumulation and recycling what we can. This has turned into a trash reduction of about 60%!!
• Now that we are recycling, I want to begin to think differently about our trash. What can we compost (see below)? What of the recycling can we re-purpose? 

Goal #2 - Gardening

• Compost - We have actually started this already. I built a compost bin about two weeks ago from scrap lumber and we are filling it with kitchen scraps, shredded leaves, etc. This has also dramatically cut down on our garbage.
• We are planning to have a garden this spring. We are still in the planning phase but we would like to have herbs, lettuce, corn, tomatoes, beets, onions, beans, bell peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, corn, potatoes, carrots, rhubarb, squash, and cabbage. I am hoping to do this in a plot about 24'x24'. We also plan to use some containers and boxes.
• We want to make gardening a family activity where everyone helps. Being a teacher, I have the summers off so this will help in terms of time spent weeding, etc. 
• We plan to use a variety of preserving methods for the food we cannot consume. This will include canning, drying, smoking, and freezing.

Goal #3 - Chickens

• I really, really, really want chickens. I am going to try to build my own coop and have about 4 chickens to start. I would like to start with pullets. I am still in the research method on this. 
• The primary goal would be to have fresh eggs and manure to compost but I would also be open to an occasional meat bird.

Goal #4 - Housekeeping

• We want to do as much as we can in the home with homemade products. This will include homemade soap (see upcoming post), home-brewed beer, cheese, and other items.
• We want to be more conscious about where the things we buy come from, what methods are employed in manufacturing them, and what alternatives are out there. 
• Less store-bought!!

At this point, we are not taking the plunge to alternative energy or massive construction changes. This may be something we look into later.

Please leave comments with tips, suggestions, etc. both about homesteading and our blog!