I just can take waiting any longer.  I need to start working on my house, but we have too much snow on the ground to do anything outside yet.  How can I possibly build my house inside while waiting around…. Prepare the stained glass windows.  My current plan (subject to …

Principle number 10…Use and value diversity.  I find this principle to very closely related to number 8, integrate rather than segregate.  In order to integrate, you need to have diversity.  Integrating has more to do with building systems and diversity is more about having many different options for your needs …

One of the most important reasons we changed our lives so drastically was that we felt living off grid out in the woods would be better for our children than living in town.  One of the ways it is better is that it provides opportunities  for children to learn hands …

Slow Down!….is permaculture principle number 9.  Everything going on in the world seems to have to be so big and so fast.  I moved out of town to slow down, why not apply that to my homestead building? My biggest example of small and slow solutions are my hugelkultur beds.  …

Here it is, my favorite part of planning a house, the floorplans!  I coudn’t get it all in one piece.  It hasn’t been sunny enough to charge my laptop that has the photo editing software on it. Here is the quick breakdown:  We will be off grid completely.  Up is …

Much of modern agriculture is large, monoculture farms.  Monoculture means that the farms produce one crop in mass quantities, like corn or wheat.  Permaculture focuses more on polyculture.  This means to grow many crops all together as one big happy family. There are a few reasons why polyculture works so …

Happy Spring! Our house was designed quite differently than houses are often designed.  Many people look at a cape or a split level and some fancy floor plans.  You look at what color roof you want and what color shutters.  How much can we get financed for? tends to be …

Permaculture principle number 7 is design from patterns to details.  A huge part of permaculture is following the patterns of nature.  Nature does things in a way that runs smoothly and efficiently.  It does not produce unusable waste or take in excess, usually.  Following the patterns of nature should help …

Building a house and living in a house both produce large amounts of waste.  Not our house!  This will be as close to a no waste as possible and our finished house will produce no where near what a conventional home might produce. Since we are using almost all natural …

The next permaculture principle is produce no waste.  No wasting things can be anything from recycling to being efficient and not wasting time.  Much of the “waste” we produce can be used for other things with just a little creativity. One of the most obvious sources of waste is simply …