Stepping Toward Self-Sufficiency

Some days, I'm fed up. I look at my grocery bill and think--there must be a better way. For years now, I've wanted to put in a vegetable garden and grow fruit trees to make our family less dependent upon others. One day, I picked up green beans from the store and they looked unnaturally green. Not only that, I've gotten spoiled with fresh eggs and honey from our pastor's farm. The turkey he sold us for Thanksgiving was 27 pounds!

While, I doubt I'll ever be raising chickens and turkeys like our pastor does, I want 2012 to be the year our family begins stepping toward self-sufficiency. Not only will it be good for us, it will be good for our environment too.

I hope those of you who have already been where I am are willing to share some advice. Where did you start? What project did you tackle first? Are there products to help us move toward going green and being more self-sufficient that won't cost an arm and a leg? I'll be writing up occasional posts to track our progress.

Thanks in advance for your help.