I recently bought a house with a nice yard and planted a garden. This is just a test year to see what works out, but the plan is to turn as much of my yard into garden space.

Assuming things go well, I'll be learning how to can and pickle this fall.

I've been focusing on reducing my waste through recycling and compost. I'm at the point where I'm recycling more than I'm throwing away in the garbage.

Now that I have some space, I've come to realize that certain things are better done the old ways. Hanging my laundry instead of using the dryer, learning canning and pickling, using a non gas powered lawn mower, and doing things using my own power instead of using gas powered items.

Not only am I taking steps to reduce my dependency on the status quo, but it's helped me get much more exercise.